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The object of the exercise was to get through and we accomplished that although it took an extra half hour that surely nobody would have wanted. The game produced very little entertainment and at times a disjointed looking Burnley looked all at sea.
It was a strange sort of night where at times it was difficult to see clearly at the far end with the lighting clearly substandard and the game was played in a very quiet atmosphere. Stan thought it was surreal on Saturday, tonight it was more like a reserve team game.
Stan did some shuffling again and this time it was Steve Davis who found himself in the centre of midfield. I can’t quite see what it achieved other than to convince me that the captain is not a midfield player. He looked lost at times and it was yet another game when our midfield failed to take a grip. We really do have a problem in that area of the pitch.
Huddersfield only have two problems, they keep conceding goals and they can’t score them. The second of these was only too clear and they really should have been two goals to the good very early in the game but failed to take either opportunity. They looked a side without any confidence whatsoever and were there for the taking. The problem was that we didn’t look capable of taking anything.
Without a defeat in seven games you would have expected a far more confident display than this but at times it was difficult to see just who was supposed to be playing where. It did look as though we should have Moore width but the namesakes down right and left had poor games and were unable to offer much whilst the centre of midfield toiled.
Robbie Blake always looked the best option but time and again he run into blind alleys with very little support and attacks came to nothing but at the other end there were lots of examples of lax defending that were allowing an inept Huddersfield team too many opportunities.
Burnley never looked the part tonight and quite honestly never will in one of the most dreadful kits they have ever worn. It is supposedly a 120th anniversary kit but in fact is an insult to our great club’s history. Whoever came up with this one should be picking up a P45. I have a horrible feeling we are going to have to put up with it again on Saturday, a ground where last season we proudly wore Claret and Blue just as we did on our last visit to Huddersfield.
Marlon made an excellent save as half time approached but it was only a taster for what was to come later. We had seen a lot of the ball during the first half but could well have gone in a couple of goals behind and were thankful that it remained goalless.
We stepped it up a bit at the beginning of the second half and had our best spell of the game and most of the good work involved Robbie Blake. He was looking the most likely to break the deadlock although the best chance fell to Arthur who completely missed his kick from point blank range.
Steve Davis came close to a goal with a superb header but the Terriers’ keeper Bevan was equal to it but shortly after this Blake was replaced by Dimitri Papadopoulos. The loss of Blake seemed to unbalance us further and suddenly the home side were right back in it and should have won the tie when they were given a great chance following a mistake from Mark McGregor. Marlon baled him out with a good save and McGregor recovered to clear the danger.
As the 90 minutes approached though there looked only one side capable of winning it and it wasn’t Burnley. We made a further substitution and again the fans let themselves down. Alan Moore, who had made no impression on the game at all, was taken off to be replace by Graham Branch and the welcome Branch received was neither necessary nor warranted.
It was still 0-0 after 90 minutes. There are games you never want to end but to add thirty minutes onto this one was sheer torture. Things got no better but with the first half of extra time close to an end came the moment we had waited for. Dimitri ran onto a through ball from Tony Grant (I think) and slotted it expertly past Bevan. Cue shirt removal and the first bit of excitement in the away end all night.
The last fifteen minutes were to be a nail biting time as the Clarets, do they never learn, defended deeper and deeper and deeper and might as well have handed out an invitation to Huddersfield to attack them.
They would have taken it to penalties and even worse but for the heroics from Marlon. The double save was incredible. He turned a long range effort onto the post and then recovered and twisted to save the rebound. That wasn’t it though and he had another good save to make before the whistle finally went.
The last time we won a 2nd Round tie was at Middlesbrough in 1982 and with ten men with Billy Hamilton sent off during the 2nd leg. Whether we can go on and equal or better that run which took us to the semi-final is doubtful but what a relief to finally make Round Three again.
The best outfield player for me tonight was Robbie Blake but there is absolutely no doubt who the award goes to. The only chant heard at the end was ‘Ooh Aah Beresford ……’ and never has it been more deserved.
Depending on the draw on Saturday he might just have earned us a much needed money spinning draw. Me, I’d take my chance and settle for Oxford at home and try and make it a stage further.
One final though and something I didn’t dare mention earlier. This was my eighth visit to Huddersfield to see the Clarets and I have no seen five wins and three draws. It is as far back as 1956 since we last lost there. I just didn’t dare say earlier that we never lose at Huddersfield.
The teams tonight were:
Huddersfield Town: Scott Bevan, Steve Jenkins, Jon Dyson, Kevin Sharp, Simon Baldry (John Thorrington 72), Dwayne Mattis, Chris Holland (Paul Scott 90), Danny Schofield, Nat Brown, Martin Smith (Paul Macari 108), Jonathan Stead. Subs not used: Phillip Senior, kevin Gallacher.
Burnley: Marlon Beresford, Mark McGregor, Ian Cox, Arthur Gnohere, Lee Briscoe, Ian Moore, Tony Grant (Paul Cook 116), Steve Davis, Alan Moore (Graham Branch 85), Robbie Blake (Dimitri Papadopoulos 76), Gareth Taylor. Subs not used: Gordon Armstrong, Andy Payton.
Referee: Graham Laws (Whitley Bay).