Dixon's Reaction To Watford Game

Paul Dixon has spoken to the official Huddersfield Town website after a humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Watford. The terriers started the game off the better side but a penalty to Watford just on the stroke of half time was a massive blow to the confidence of Huddersfield and they went on to concede another three goals in the second half without reply;

"It was never a penalty. We did alright first half, but that decision went against us and ultimately it’s affected us. We went out in the second-half, didn’t perform well enough and lost another three goals. You can try and put days like this behind you, but you’ve got to learn from them. We really need to learn from this fast, because it’s happened a couple of times before this season before today; Millwall and Leicester being the outstanding ones."

"I don’t know what it is, but when we lose goals it seems to affect us. We need to stop letting goals affect us and work hard to get back into games when we concede first."

The heavy defeat today has taken Huddersfield Town's win less Championship league game streak to 12 and things dont look like they are going to get any better soon;

"First and foremost we have to work hard. That is the only way you can get out of situations like this. Hopefully the rest will come if we work hard."

Paul Dixon and the rest of the team will take a much needed break from Championship football as they take on Leicester in the 4th round of the FA Cup next Saturday and its a break which the defender is thankful to have;

"It’s always nice to play in the FA Cup. Obviously for me before this season I have played in the Scottish cups, but it’s great. It takes us away from the League for a week but if we can get a win next week, I hope that will kick-start our League season again."

Match Report: Millwall 4-0 Huddersfield Town

The New Den Played Host To The Terriers

Huddersfield Town were sent packing against Millwall in South London as they suffered their heaviest defeat of the campaign so far. Simon Grayson described his teams performance as a learning curve but that will not escape the fact that the bubble has finally burst for the high flying West Yorkshire side. Going into the game the terriers were sitting just outside the play-offs spot and coming off a midweek away defeat against Peterborough it seemed like the players were destined to get the club back on winning ways. However, Town fans were immediately left slightly worried as James Vaughan was excluded from the starting line-up and the bench due to a slight thigh strain.

Town's Team: Smithies, Lynch, Gerrard, Clarke, Hunt, Clayton, Southern, Ward, Hammill, Beckford, Novak.

Huddersfield Town started the game the better of the two sides and withing sixty seconds they were threatening the visitors goal mouth. Danny Ward's low cross was found by striker Lee Novak but he could only hook his shot over the bar of Forde's goal to the relief of the home fans. Beckford looked to be Town's target man and the on loan Leicester City player was receiving the full attention of the home crowd already.

Millwall managed to get their first shot on goal after some neat football down the left wing ended up with the ball being knocked down to Trotters feet on the edge of the area. Trotter swiveled on the ball before releasing a wild effort that only found the upper tier of The new Den stadium. Moments later, Henry's bizarre cross come shot caused Alex Smithies problems and the young goalkeeper was forced into making a save and conceding a corner.

With just over fifteen minutes on the clock, Wood who had scored twice midweek against Birmingham City for The Lions, sent a powerful shot towards the terriers goal that sizzled just wide of Smithies left hand upright. Huddersfield were looking the better team as both defences remained sturdy to keep the game at a stalemate.

The stalemate was broken on the 28th minute and it was the home side that took the lead. Darius Henderson was named by ourselves as Millwall's key player and it was the tall striker that provided the assist for the goal as he turned neatly on the edge of the box before crossing to Wood who easily managed to poke home past Smithies. Huddersfield should well of got themselves back on level terms just seconds after the restart as a cross was knocked into the path of Keith Southern by Jermaine Beckford but the midfielder showed exactly why he hasn't scored this season as he blazed his shot well over the bar when it seemed easier to score.

Half time was fast approaching and Huddersfield looked keen to get an equalizer before heading into the tunnel and they nearly managed to do so as Hammill delivered an excellent cross into the box from the right hand side which was expertly brought down by Beckford but he fired wide of the near post.

Half Time: Millwall 1-0 Huddersfield

Huddersfield Town started the second half as they had done the first at The New Den. Jermaine Beckford had looked the visitors main goal threat all game and it was him who ended up setting up Novak to unleash a shot on goal but Millwall's Jimmy Abdou managed to produce an amazing last second block to avoid the goalkeeper doing any work. Danny Ward then crossed for the visitors a few minutes later and the ball nearly nestled into the bottom corner as it came off Lions defender Mark Beevers. Luckily for Millwall it went out for a corner instead of an own goal.

As an hour of play passed, the terriers seemed to collapse as they were caught superbly by a speedy counter attack from Millwall. Henry lead The Lions attack before slipping the ball into the path of Wood who finished well past Smithies to get his second of the game and double the home sides lead.

Simon Grayson knew his side needed to get back into the game before it was too late and he illustrated this by bringing on both Dixon & Scannell to install some pace into his team. However, it didn't work as Millwall came close to getting their third of the game as Henry's in-swinging corner found Lowry but he could only volley off target. It wasn't too long before the terriers were picking the ball back up out of their net as Henry put the game beyond Grayson's men.

Wood was involved in the third goal yet again for The Lions and with Lynch down he took advantage of Huddersfield by squaring the ball across the face of goal for Henry who rifled his shot home to the roar of the home fans. Heading into the final ten minutes of the game, Darius Henderson had the opportunity to get himself onto the score sheet as he dribbled past Smithies before shooting across the face of the goal to the relief of the Town fans.

Huddersfield Town were then reduced to ten men as insult was added to injury. Jack Hunt was given a straight red card by the referee for direct abusive language to the official in charge. Hunt's sending off wasn't the end of Town's misery as a fourth goal was added to Millwall's total. Trotter picked up the ball on the edge of the area before fainting a shot to take it past two Huddersfield players & then curling it into the far corner past the diving Smithies.

Full Time: Millwall 4-0 Huddersfield Town

Lynch Wanting To Move On Quickly

Lynch Started At Left Back For Town

Joel Lynch returned to the starting lineup for Huddersfield Town as the terriers fell victim to a Millwall drubbing. Lynch expressed his frustration but has urged the team to move on from this result and look to put things back on track in their next game against Bristol City on Saturday. Lynch took up the left back position for the game against Millwall and although they lost by four clear goals, he didn't think it was a justified scoreline to be leaving South London with;

"Obviously it was good to get back in the team on a personal note, but that is a bad result,” said Joel. “The lads are gutted because everyone in the changing room cares – coaching staff and players – and we've let ourselves down in the way we played. We did alright at points in the game, particularly at the start, but individually we've let ourselves down through losses of concentration and as a team we didn't play well enough from our shape. I don’t think it was a 4-0 battering, but at the end of the day that’s the result that people will read in the newspapers."

Lynch has bags of Championship experience and this is one of the key reasons as to why he was brought in by Grayson in the summer. Lynch called upon this experience to explain that no matter what position teams are in this league, anyone can beat anyone on their day; 

"Anyone can beat anyone else in the Championship. During my career I've lost to some bad teams and there is no way that Millwall are a better team than us, but we've let ourselves down today. The quicker we move on from it the better; we need to get back on the training ground and work towards the next game and playing confidently. It’s one of those days and teams have them throughout the season. The quicker you can forget about them and get back to winning ways, the better. Hopefully today’s result will be forgotten about come the end of the season when we’re towards the top of the league. We have to move on as there is nothing we can do about it now and it’s a long season with a lot more games, so we have to keep going."

 As already stated, Lynch took up the left back position as Grayson opted for both Clarke & Gerrard to be at the heart of the terriers defence today. Lynch gave his opinion on playing in the left back position after the game; 

"I've played there quite a bit. I’m quite a tall, lanky lad and it’s quite hard to get up and down the wing but I’m quite comfortable playing there and I always do my best. Whatever position the Gaffer asks me to play, I don’t mind. I’m really happy to be playing in the team."

Grayson Describes Performance As Undisciplined

Simon Grayson could only watch from the sidelines as his Huddersfield side were dealt their second away defeat in under a week by Millwall. The terriers crumbled after an hour of play at The New Den and conceded three goals before the referee called an end to the game to the delight of the home fans. Grayson gave his post match interview to the official website shortly after full time;

"People will look at it from the outside and think that we got a right beating, but up until the 60th minute we were well in the game and arguably the better team. However, there is one word that sums us up today and that was undisciplined. We were ok for an hour, but then we got caught on the counter and completely lost our shape. We had too many players who didn't play from the shape and we got caught too easily on too many occasions." 

"We need to learn from the situations that occurred today; the players need to show better man-management. We were too open and didn't make the correct decisions. The younger players need to learn from this experience; we have been too easy to beat over the last two games. Today is a massive learning curve for the players; they now know what they have to do when they come to a place like Millwall. Despite that, we did make it look quite easy for the first hour, but the second goal killed us."

To add insult to injury, Jack Hunt was sent off late on in the game with a straight red for what looked like dissent. However, Grayson updated fans as to the real reason the right back was sent off;

"He got sent off for foul and abusive language, which he has apologised for. It is another case of indiscipline. We have got a young squad, who are willing. The players didn't give up the ghost, but I think our naivety got the better of us."

"Millwall is an experienced team at this level and they have players who can hurt you. If you aren't disciplined every time you step out onto the pitch then you will get punished. We had looked solid defensively ahead of our last two away games, but a lack of discipline has cost us seven goals in the last two games."

Grayson put to bed any fans asking for further players to be brought in just because of two disappointing results and stated that the team will start to prepare for Bristol City next week;

"We will work with the players on the training ground; there is no point in bringing new players in because the current group has shown how good they can be. They have got us to where we are in the division and I have got a lot of faith in them; they just have to understand what I want from them a little bit more."

A surprise to the starting line-up before the game was that Vaughan was not included and wasn't on the bench either. Grayson updated fans as to why this was the case;

"He has a slight thigh strain, which is why he went off on Tuesday night. He was touch and go and he won't be a major doubt for the Bristol City game; we didn't want to run the risk."

Huddersfield will be looking to put things right next week against Bristol City at The John Smiths Stadium. For now though, the terriers sit in eighth position in the league just one point off the play-offs.

Smithies Ready To Bounce Back

Alex Smithies was beaten three times in Huddersfield Town's last outing against Peterborough. Now, the young 22 year old goalkeeper is ready to bounce back and show that the terriers can travel to tough away grounds and come away with vital points. Smithies is just one of the handful of players still at Huddersfield Town from the last time they faced Millwall at The Den and he knows all about the hostile nature of the place;

"We're going to have setbacks along the way, but we know we are a far better side than we showed at Peterborough."

"It's all about how you bounce back from a defeat, and we believe we can go to Millwall and put things right. Last time we went there, we had quite a young side and our inexperience showed through, but we're a different proposition now."

"I'll get pelters, but I don't take it personally. The Millwall fans really get behind their side, but our supporters have been fantastic home and away and I know they'll be making some noise as well. I've learned to shut out the background noise and focus on the game, and we're going there well prepared and in good spirits."





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Pre Match Analysis: Millwall

Key Player: Darius Henderson
Darius Henderson signed from Sheffield Utd in June 2011 & he was an instant hit becoming Millwall's top scorer last season, even after missing a quarter through injury. He is a target man. Powerful and strong he will win the majority of high balls and although he is not the fastest player, he is able to perform some decent trickery. With six goals already this campaign, Henderson is one of the first players on the team sheet and the terriers will have to keep an eye on him at all times.


Last Time Out: Millwall 3-3 Birmingham (23/10/12) 


Last Time We Met: Millwall 2-0 Huddersfield (2009/10 League 1 Play-Off Semi-Final) 


Biggest League Victory This Season: Millwall 3-1 Middlesbrough (01/09/12)


Biggest League Loss This Season: Hull 4-1 Millwall (15/09/12)


Top Goalscorer: Darius Henderson (6) 


Most Assists: Andrew Keogh (5) 


Form: LDDWDD <--most recent 


Score Prediction: Millwall 2-2 Huddersfield (Beckford & Hammill)






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What To Expect From Millwall

Huddersfield will travel to The Den to take on Millwall on Saturday in a game which both sides will want to take maximum points from. The last time Huddersfield travelled to South London is under the reign of Lee Clark which ended any promotion hopes for yet another season as they lost two nil. We managed to get hold of a Millwall football fansite, Total Millwall, to see what awaits the terriers on Saturday;

"Millwall were originally founded in East London in 1885 but had to move south of the water in 1910. Their new home was Bermondsey and settled down with our infamous The Den. Known to many for being a lively and hostile ground. In 1993 we moved a short distance to The New Den. The first ground to have all the recommendations from the Hillsbrough Report and Millwall were the first London league club to move grounds. The ground is situated in an industrial site away from urban life."
"There are several 'proper' pubs around the ground that I'm sure you'll appreciate. No swanky pubs for Millwall fans thank you! The ground is split into four sections. This allows the ground to dry quicker if needed as well as segregating home and away fans. Away fans have the whole North Stand to themselves. Each stand has a plethora of refurbished food and drinks stands supplying luxurious food and drink to those willing to pay for it!! Be warned, a bottle of Peckham's finest water does cost £2!"
"Our glossy friendly programmes are sold in and out of the ground and costs £3. It gives you insight to our club and the great work we do within the community that'll make you ask the question: what are the media on about?!"
"Don't worry about us. We are RAF but friendly...as long as you don't think you're billy big boots! We enjoy banter and always welcome the away fans. Inside the ground, however, you will be met by a lively and passionate crowd. We are a proper club with proper fans who drink beer and pies rather than flavoured water and prawn sandwiches!"
"You will enjoy the game, but hopefully you'll go home upset with the result!!"
"Be warned Beckford and Grayson will receive abuse after their comment about Millwall when they were at Leeds!!"

Thanks to Total Millwall for the insight into their club as well as what to expect from them on Saturday.



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Rearranged Fixtures

The fixture list today took a revamped look for Huddersfield Town as quite a few of the ties got new days/times to help the police and other parties involved.

Here is a list of the rearranged fixtures that were announced today;

Sheffield Wednesday (A) - Wednesday 19th September (7:45pm)

Leeds United (H) - Saturday 1st December (12:30pm)

Sheffield Wednesday (H) - Saturday 29th December (12:30pm)

Hull City (H) - Saturday 30th March (12:30pm)

Millwall (H) - Saturday 20th April (12:30pm)

That your lot for the time being but all matches have the possibility to be altered at any time. A lot of early matches for Yorkshire derby's to avoid trouble between both sets of fans in the list.




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