Report: Rotherham United 2-2 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town story posted by Sean Makin on 27/12/2014
Huddersfield Town let a two-goal lead slip away in the final minutes as Rotherham United fought back to rescue a valuable point in this Yorkshire derby at the New York Stadium.
Town looked set for all three points in this Boxing Day clash as James Vaughan put them in front in the first-half and Conor Coady put the Terriers 2-0 up on the hour mark.
But Rotherham substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris pulled one back with two minutes left and then fellow sub Lee Frecklington fired in the leveller in the 90th minute.
Town took a sell-out following of 2,609 to the New York Stadium and to let a two-goal lead slip away was tough to take for the travelling fans.
The Terriers had chances to score more when in front but they weren't clinical enough in front of goal.
Manager Chris Powell made three changes from side that was beaten by Birmingham last Saturday. Vaughan made his first start since September as midfielder Jonathan Hogg was absent due to illness.
Murray Wallace was back from suspension and went straight into the starting XI in place of Anthony Gerrard whilst Tommy Smith replaced Lee Peltier at right-back.
Nahki Wells was on the bench along with Oscar Gobern, which was the midfielder's first involvement with the match day squad this season.
Powell made a change to shape of the formation as Harry Bunn was brought in field to play behind the two strikers.
Rotherham were unchanged for the fourth match running and the Millers registered their first win in 10 games last weekend with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic.
It was the home side that had the majority of the possession in the first half but the quality in the final third of the pitch was poor, whilst at times Town's passing was equally poor.
It was the Terriers who carved out the first clear-cut chance on 13 minutes when Ben Pringle gave the ball away which allowed Bunn to set Sean Scannell away down the right. The winger's infield pass was superb to Grant Holt but the on-loan striker failed to hit the target from a good position.
A minute later Bunn's low cross from the right found Vaughan but the striker's snapshot was straight at goalkeeper Adam Collin.
Rotherham's on-loan striker Tom Lawrence looked threatening and Wallace was shown a yellow card for a foul on him.
Town captain Mark Hudson was also shown a yellow card for a foul on Lawrence just outside the box. The striker took the free-kick himself but his drilled shot was straight at Alex Smithies.
Rotherham were having plenty of the ball but Town struck on the counter attack to take the lead on 35 minutes. Smith started the move with a charge down the right flank, his pass led to Scannell playing the ball across the goal where Vaughan was waiting to tap the ball into the net.
The goal was a sucker punch for the Millers but they were back pressing early in the second half and Smithies was forced into a save from Emmanuel Ledesma.
Town were forced into a change early in the second half as Holt picked up a knock and was replaced by Gobern. A surprising choice and not one welcomed by some visiting supports in the away end.
Powell's choice was vindicated on the hour mark as Gobern delivered a superb cross from deep that found the head of Conor Coady, who planted a header into the back of the net to double Town's lead.
Rotherham looked out-of-sorts and Town continued to apply the pressure. Wallace had a header tipped over the bar by Collin before Jacob Butterfield fired over the bar.
Bunn should have done better after getting into a good position but he fired straight at Collin before everything unravelled in two minutes of madness.
Paul Green was allowed too much time to pick out Clarke-Harris, who headed past Smithies with two minutes to go.
It then got worse as the ball fell kindly to Frecklington on the edge of the area and his shot found the back of the net with the aid of a deflection.
A disappointing Boxing Day for the Town faithful and next up is in-form Bolton Wanderers at the John Smith's Stadium on Sunday.
Teams:
Rotherham: Collin, Wootton, Morgan, Arnason, James, Ledesma (Frecklington 74), Green, Smallwood, Pringle (Bowery 59), Lawrence, Revell (Clarke-harris 79).
Subs not used: Thompson, Skarz, Newton, Derbyshire.
Huddersfield: Smithies, Smith, Hudson, Wallace, Robinson, Scannell, Coady, Butterfield (Gerrard 91), Bunn, Holt (Gobern 54), Vaughan (Wells 78).
Subs not used: Allinson, Peltier, Hammill, Lolley.
Referee: Mark Haywood
Attendance: 11,681 (2609 away fans).
Town looked set for all three points in this Boxing Day clash as James Vaughan put them in front in the first-half and Conor Coady put the Terriers 2-0 up on the hour mark.
But Rotherham substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris pulled one back with two minutes left and then fellow sub Lee Frecklington fired in the leveller in the 90th minute.
Town took a sell-out following of 2,609 to the New York Stadium and to let a two-goal lead slip away was tough to take for the travelling fans.
The Terriers had chances to score more when in front but they weren't clinical enough in front of goal.
Manager Chris Powell made three changes from side that was beaten by Birmingham last Saturday. Vaughan made his first start since September as midfielder Jonathan Hogg was absent due to illness.
Murray Wallace was back from suspension and went straight into the starting XI in place of Anthony Gerrard whilst Tommy Smith replaced Lee Peltier at right-back.
Nahki Wells was on the bench along with Oscar Gobern, which was the midfielder's first involvement with the match day squad this season.
Powell made a change to shape of the formation as Harry Bunn was brought in field to play behind the two strikers.
Rotherham were unchanged for the fourth match running and the Millers registered their first win in 10 games last weekend with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic.
It was the home side that had the majority of the possession in the first half but the quality in the final third of the pitch was poor, whilst at times Town's passing was equally poor.
It was the Terriers who carved out the first clear-cut chance on 13 minutes when Ben Pringle gave the ball away which allowed Bunn to set Sean Scannell away down the right. The winger's infield pass was superb to Grant Holt but the on-loan striker failed to hit the target from a good position.
A minute later Bunn's low cross from the right found Vaughan but the striker's snapshot was straight at goalkeeper Adam Collin.
Rotherham's on-loan striker Tom Lawrence looked threatening and Wallace was shown a yellow card for a foul on him.
Town captain Mark Hudson was also shown a yellow card for a foul on Lawrence just outside the box. The striker took the free-kick himself but his drilled shot was straight at Alex Smithies.
Rotherham were having plenty of the ball but Town struck on the counter attack to take the lead on 35 minutes. Smith started the move with a charge down the right flank, his pass led to Scannell playing the ball across the goal where Vaughan was waiting to tap the ball into the net.
The goal was a sucker punch for the Millers but they were back pressing early in the second half and Smithies was forced into a save from Emmanuel Ledesma.
Town were forced into a change early in the second half as Holt picked up a knock and was replaced by Gobern. A surprising choice and not one welcomed by some visiting supports in the away end.
Powell's choice was vindicated on the hour mark as Gobern delivered a superb cross from deep that found the head of Conor Coady, who planted a header into the back of the net to double Town's lead.
Rotherham looked out-of-sorts and Town continued to apply the pressure. Wallace had a header tipped over the bar by Collin before Jacob Butterfield fired over the bar.
Bunn should have done better after getting into a good position but he fired straight at Collin before everything unravelled in two minutes of madness.
Paul Green was allowed too much time to pick out Clarke-Harris, who headed past Smithies with two minutes to go.
It then got worse as the ball fell kindly to Frecklington on the edge of the area and his shot found the back of the net with the aid of a deflection.
A disappointing Boxing Day for the Town faithful and next up is in-form Bolton Wanderers at the John Smith's Stadium on Sunday.
Teams:
Rotherham: Collin, Wootton, Morgan, Arnason, James, Ledesma (Frecklington 74), Green, Smallwood, Pringle (Bowery 59), Lawrence, Revell (Clarke-harris 79).
Subs not used: Thompson, Skarz, Newton, Derbyshire.
Huddersfield: Smithies, Smith, Hudson, Wallace, Robinson, Scannell, Coady, Butterfield (Gerrard 91), Bunn, Holt (Gobern 54), Vaughan (Wells 78).
Subs not used: Allinson, Peltier, Hammill, Lolley.
Referee: Mark Haywood
Attendance: 11,681 (2609 away fans).
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