Huddersfield announced their starting line up fourty-five minutes before kick off with just one change being made by Grayson as the suspended Lynch was replaced by Anthony Gerrard.
Town starting line-up; Smithies, dixon, P.Clarke, Gerrard, Hunt, Ward, Southern, Norwood, Clayton, Vaughan, Novak.
The terriers started very impressively and were quick out of the starting blocks as they set up their stall to play the long ball game which gave Blackpool immediate problems. Vaughan flicked a ball on with his head which Novak was inches away from latching onto behind the seasiders back line. Clayton then fired wide moments later which was closely followed by two counter attacks from the away side which were woefully wasted by poor crosses by Novak.
Huddersfield continued to push forward as Blackpool gave away the ball in dangerous positions and the terriers forced a corner in the 11th minute which Gilks punched away. However, the goalkeepers punch was a poor one which fell into the feet of Ward on the edge of the area. The winger fired in a quick shot which forced Gilks into making his first save of the match as he pushed it away with a diving save.
Huddersfield Towns pressure did finally pay off two minutes later and it was from a Peter Clarke long ball which opened up the Blackpool defence yet again. The skipper hoofed a ball upfield which Vaughan did superbly to nod on over the head of Baptiste and into Novaks clever run. The striker coolly slotted home after bearing down on goal under heavy pressure to make it two goals in two games. Blackpool were starting to look even worse now, passes were going astray and they just couldn't clear their lines as the terriers continued putting pressure on the tangerines in every part of the pitch.
Norwood threatened the goal from a free kick as the terriers looked to double their lead but Blackpool were finally starting to look a top side as Ian Holloway typically urged his team to press forward in attack. Ince had been the obvious threat for the home side from the start of the game but he could only head straight at Smithies after getting onto the end of a Tiago Gomes cross. The terriers broke away immediately through Danny Ward as the winger raced up the right wing with the ball at his feet. Vaughan was in support but Ward only had eyes for the goal as he cut inside and tried to bend one into the corner of the goal. Unfortunately it went a couple of yards wide of the mark but the intent was there for everyone to see and Ward was proving exactly why Grayson rates him so highly.
Blackpool started to string more and more passes together and they ditched the ball into the area looking for Ince in the 27th minute. The forward had his back to the goal when he brought down the ball in the area but some sleek skills earned him half a yard on Anthony Gerrard and he placed it across the six line area for ex Huddersfield Town midfielder, Gary Taylor Fletcher to place past Smithies and give Blackpool the equaliser.
The game started to ebb and flow from one end to the other as both Gomes for Blackpool & Clayton for Huddersfield wasted opportunities that could of given their side the lead. With just a minute of the half remaining, Jack Hunt earned the terriers a free kick wide on the right hand side and Norwood swung in a delivery which was met fiercely by the head of James Vaughan who found himself unmarked just seven yards from the goal. There was no chance the striker was going to miss and his fierce header rocketed into the back of the net as he ran away to celebrate in front of the Town faithful who had been in good singing voice all night.
Half Time: Blackpool 1-2 Huddersfield Town
The terriers came out in the second half just as they had done in the first and it only took a couple of minutes before they got their third goal of the game. Scottish international Paul Dixon was knocked to the floor as he burst forward down the left wing and earned his side a free kick. Norwood immediately stepped over the ball and looked to swing it into the box and did exactly that but with noone getting a touch on the ball and the goalkeeper failing to connect with his punch the ball flew into the far corner of the goal. Norwood had made it two in two just like Novak and the terriers were looking dominant now with a two goal lead over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.
It didn't take Huddersfield long to find the net yet again as Vaughan put the ball past Gilks but it was ruled offside to the disbelief of the away fans as replays showed he had been level when the ball was played through to him. Blackpool then broke through the Town defence themselves as Ince ran with the ball at his feet but an excellent tackle by Dixon denied the striker any chance of making Smithies make a save. Blackpool were trying to get back into the game as the minutes ticked by and Baptiste could of brought a goal back for the tangerines as he got onto the end of a Gomes free kick at the back post but he could only head over the bar.
Norwood's delivery from set pieces had been deadly all game and there was nothing different when he whipped in another free kick which had been won by Adam Clayton. His delivery this time was deep but Clarke nodded it back across the front of goal and onto the had of James Vaughan but he miraculously missed the target from just a couple of yards out. This chance sparked a reaction from Ian Holloway who threw both Kevin & Matt Phillips into the game which totalled four Blackpool strikers on the pitch.
M.Phillips was immediately into the action and burst past Jack Hunt before cutting inside and firing inches wide of Smithies post. However, with Blackpool throwing strikers onto the field it left the tangerines short at the back and Vaughan nearly made them pay after receiving a clever ball from Clayton and breaking away from the Blackpool defence. Vaughan once again slotted it past Gilks but once again his goal was disallowed due to being offside.
Time was slowly ticking away now for Blackpool but they just couldn't create any goalscoring chances as the terriers started to see the game out by keeping hold of possession. They could well have guaranteed all three points when Clayton lifted it over the Blackpool defence but substitute Scannell couldn't direct his header goalwards.
Huddersfield had just one more attack to defend as a Blackpool corner lead to a goalmouth scramble as Gerrard put his body on the line with a fully hearted block on the edge of the six yard.
Huddersfield saw the game out very well in the end and finished the stronger side to take all three points and second spot in The Championship!!
Full Time: Blackpool 1-3 Huddersfield Town
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