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The opening exchanges were somewhat scrappy but it was the young Clarets who looked the better side and created the best openings. Twice Brad Maylett got clear down the right hand side but wasted good opportunities with poor balls into the box and on a number of occasions we looked certain to score but didn't take any of the golden opportunities that came our way.
For well over half an hour we looked the better of the two sides but as is often the case when you don't score a goal during a good spell you finish up a goal down. This happened just seven minutes before half time when Huddersfield got clear down the left and a low shot gave keeper James Salisbury no chance.
Just a couple of minutes later Salisbury made a good save but we were never really able to clear the resulting corner and eventually a header from defender Thomas Jordan saw us go two down. Jordan looked to have a full set of teeth to me but I was reliably informed that he is the son of assistant manager Joe Jordan.
It was 2-0 at half time and the scoreline was somewhat harsh but worse was still to come both in terms of performance and scoreline in the second half. On 56 minutes it was 3-0 and this was the strangest of goals. The assistant referee appeared to flag Huddersfield offside and the referee blew for a free kick. However he awarded it to Huddersfield (it wasn't Barry Knight so I'm sure there was a legitimate reason) and from the crossed free kick they headed in with some ease.
Things were not going well but we played without the usual encouragement from Ronnie Jepson. Usually at the edge of the technical area Ronnie was subdued tonight and was hardly seen or heard as he retreated to a seat in the dug out.
He would have seen the best goal of the game though when we pulled one back with just over 20 minutes to go. From a free kick on the left some five yards outside the Huddersfield box we quickly switched play to the right and got in a good effort on goal. The keeper could only parry it and Earl Davis reduced the arrears.
Four minutes later though and Earl was responsible for us going three behind again as he laid it on a plate for Huddersfield with a woeful back pass. The home player did everything he could to miss it but eventually after taking a few unnecessary twists and turns stuck it into the empty net.
Although the next effort on goal saw Paul Barrett's header saved but that was it as far as we were concerned and it was only a matter of how many they would get. It became five with just six minutes left and when the fourth official held up four extra minutes it looked as though that could have been the end of the punishment.
Not on your life, they scored another and really should have scored at least two more in the added time as the Clarets had just about fallen to pieces with players seemingly no longer aware of just where they should be playing.
It is all in our own hands now for this league. If we win our remaining two games we will be champions, any sort of slip up and we cannot win it. On this form and with this line up it is hardly likely that we will win the league. The young lads have done well all season but tonight, after a reasonable start, they were hammered and to be fair the final score could have been much, much worse. They looked as though they could have just done with a couple of experienced players out there encouraging them.
The teams were:
Huddersfield Town: Philip Senior, Nathan Hay, Chris Brown, Thomas Jordan, Adam Fowler, Paul Scott, Neil Simpson, Michael Senior, Chris Senior, Jonathan Stead (Jonathan Worthington 83), Doni Clarke. Subs not used: Dave Mirfin, Anthony Lloyd, Ben Austin, Adrian Ahmed.
Burnley: James Salisbury, Andrew Leeson, Liam Eves (Paul Barrett 61), Earl Davis, John Williamson, Andrew Waine, Brad Maylett, Richard Chaplow (Stephen Richardson 78), Damian Hindle, Matthew O'Neill, Mark Rasmussen. Subs not used: Luigi Cennamo, Paul Scott, Sean Blakey.
Attendance: 342 (how good to hear a club announce the attendance - very much a rare occasion at the Turf)
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