Match Report: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Derby County

The terriers found themselves in a real battle at The John Smiths Stadium and a resilient defensive performance was much needed in order for the home side to pull through with all three points. The visitors, Derby County, went immediately a goal behind with less than a minute on the clock as Ward finished superbly from a Hammill cross after the on loan winger had skipped past a couple of helpless County players.

Huddersfield continued with their strong start as the midfield duo of Norwood & Southern tried their luck from some way out but the Rams defence remained strong to block both attempts. Derby could well have got themselves back on level terms in the 15th minute when Joel Lynch passed wastefully short into the path of Jamie Ward who immediately started to run at the last man for Huddersfield, Peter Clarke. Jamie Ward enticed Clarke to take the ball off him before playing it squarely to Conor Sammon but just as he was about to send in a fierce looking shot, Peter Clarke put his body on the line with an amazing diving stop.

Hammill was impressing the home crowd with his 'no fear' approach to taking players on and he pushed forward before playing the ball to Norwood who swung a cross in for Vaughan. The striker made a neat first touch but was denied a shot on goal by John Brayford who made a timely intervention. The Rams were dominating the majority of the game before the half time interval and they were looking dangerous but just couldn't force Alex Smithies into any real saves as a dedicated terriers defence remained sturdy.

Half Time: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Derby County

Both teams re-emerged for the second half with no changes but it was once again the home side which started the quickest as Derby looked vulnerable at the back. Clayton smashed the post from range and the resulting corner saw Keith Southern get a glimmer of a chance but he fired wildly over the bar and into the stands.

The visitors then settled down into the game as they looked for the equaliser and Jamie Ward was looking the most likely to get it. Ward was drifting over onto the left wing in the second half and he shrugged off the attention of Jack Hunt before firing wide of the target. Ward didn't give up there and he was soon back with the ball at his feet pushing his way past Hammill before crossing to Doyle who must of been watching Ward earlier as he fired high and wide.

The game slipped into the final twenty with Derby still failing to test Alex Smithies in the goals for Huddersfield Town. The terriers were being pinned back into their final third and it looked almost certain that all of Derby's hard work was going to pay off. Rams manager Nigel Clough introduced ex Huddersfield striker Theo Robinson into the game on the 79th minute but he failed to make an impact for the visitors as time ticked away.

Lee Novak had a half chance to put the game beyond Derby County moments later as he found himself with a bit of space at the back post. A neat first touch allowed the striker to fire in a shot at goal but he smashed it way wide. The visitors nearly found an equaliser when Alex Smithies fumbled a low cross but an alert Paul Dixon cleared the ball to safety.

Huddersfield Town held on until the very end with a sterling defensive display especially from Keith Southern & Peter Clarke who showed the young lads how things were done with two committed performances.

Full Time: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Derby County

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone