Match Report: Walsall 1-1 Huddersfield Town

Another disappointing game for Simon Grayson and his men who had to leave the Banks's Stadium with just a point after once again letting a goal lead slip away. Going into the match it's a result which, under the circumstances ain't a hugely bad result at all. Just because Walsall are near the bottom of the league didn't mean that it would be an easy victory especially when playing away from home. Walsall battled hard and deservedly got something out of the game as they had the chances to take all three points in the second 45 minutes.

It all started off amazingly for Huddersfield Town as Lee Novak slotted home the first goal in just 1 minute and 32 seconds. The recalled Kallum Higginbotham played a major part in the goal as he played the ball to Scott Arfield who neatly lobbed it over into Novak's path who's first touch, followed by a neat finish meant the terriers were off to a flyer. A few half chances were then created by the home side who looked for an equalizer and thought they had got a penalty when Alex Nicholls went down in the area under a tackle from Jack Hunt. The referee however thought differently and waved play on as the terriers cleared their lines.

Lee Novak celebrates his early goal for Huddersfield Town

Injury then hit the terriers as Calum Woods had to be taken off by Simon Grayson to be replaced by Tom Clarke. This didn't slow down Huddersfield Town who were improving as the half went on and came close when Scott Arfield tried to curl one past Walsall's goalkeeper only for it to take a slight deflection and clip the upright. Ex Huddersfield Town defender Andy Butler was causing the terriers problems especially from set-pieces where twice he came close to scoring by beating his marker only to head agonizingly wide or straight into Bennett's hands.

As the teams emerged for the second half Danny Ward had been replaced by winger Gary Roberts and later  we have found it it is due to Danny Ward occurring an illness. Huddersfield Town started off the second half just like the first and looked dangerous from the off but Walsall were having none of it and turned the tables with their first attack which lead to the equalizer. Florent Cuvelier found the ball at his feet after a cross from Sadler and he made no mistake by smashing it past Ian Bennett after taking on two Huddersfield Town defenders. 

Things went downhill for Huddersfield Town after being pegged back and Damien Johnson had to be subbed after picking up a slight knock. He was replaced by Oscar Gobern with less than 30 minutes to play.  The remaining half an hour saw Huddersfield Town struggle to create any threatening chances but Walsall were bouncing forward and keeping the pressure on whilst looking for the winner. Walsall came close with a header from Olly Lancashire than narrowly missed the target. Huddersfield Town did manage to get themselves back into the game with a few minutes left on the clock and Gobern had a half chance to secure three points for the terriers when Walsall failed to clear Roberts cross. Then, deep into stoppage time, Ian Bennett heroically dived at the feet of Ledesma to deny the striker any sort of chance on goal.

All in all, a drew and a share of the spoils for both teams was a fair result in the end but the second half performance was extremely disappointing for Huddersfield Town especially since they played half decent in the first 45 minutes. Grayson rested Jordan Rhodes ahead of the play-off semi final against MK Dons but the starting line-up for Huddersfield Town is still a mystery as players seem to not be able to perform when given the opportunity. A lot of work still to be done by Grayson and his squad as time is running out as the season draws to a close.  

Simon Grayson expresses his frustration after the game
by stating Huddersfield Town need to be more consistent.