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Huddersfield Town: Season End
Hello friends and welcome to my final update of the 2009 /10 season
Following the defeat at Wembley our first game of April was away to Wycombe. Jordon Rhodes put us ahead inside the first minute with a sweet glancing header from a Gasmi cross which was just what we needed. Then old habits suddenly returned. We dominated possession, won most of our tackles, created loads of chances but never found the back of the net again. Wycombe capitalized on our frustration and inability to add to our early goal and produced two second half goals themselves both through the middle of the park. The bounce back win we were expecting never came and so we tasted defeat for the second time in two games.
Next up was a home game against Oldham. In typical style we went ahead early on with Rhodes battling through the Oldham defence with his final touch finding Robinson who neatly placed the ball past the keeper. Rhodes almost doubled the score ten minutes later but his effort hit the inside of the post and rolled harmlessly away. The pattern of the game followed our previous encounter with Wycombe though we managed to get through this game without conceding any and take all three points.
Our next game was away to Brentford and the home side took the lead just on the half hour catching us on the break following a period of intense pressure that never materialized into a goal. Robinson though got the equalizer when again his pace proved too much for the defence after picking up a through ball from Sandrinho. Following the interval striker Lee Novak who has been in the reserves for months set up Robinson’s 20th goal of the season with a delicate chip into the box that the young striker headed into the old onion bag. Once we gained the lead we pretty much controlled the game and secured a valuable victory.
The following game was at home to 4th place Walsall and it turned out to be an uneventful match in the pouring rain. Walsall broke the deadlock after 30 minutes beating our offside trap as left back Robbie Williams had pushed just a little too far forward. At the other end of the field we managed just one weak shot on goal the entire game and in fact the whole affair was a miserable performance by both teams that undoubtedly complemented the weather conditions.
We were back at The Galpharm Stadium for our next game against play-off candidates Millwall. The first half was a very even contest with both sides creating chances but none of them bearing fruit. After the interval we cane out more aggressively and that soon paid off with Rhodes putting us ahead with a decent strike off a Gasmi cross. The second came three minutes from time when Robinson’s speed forced a penalty after being dragged down in the box and Roberts smashed the ball into the net straight down the middle. It was a good solid victory.
Our next game was away to Stockport and after an end to end start to the game we took the lead through Krystian Pearce who nodded in a rare goal from a corner. Stockport fought back and with the help of some poor marking and wayward passing the home side were able to score two in the space of ten minutes to lead the game at the interval. Rhodes put us back on track after some nice inter play between Sandrino and Berrett that created the equalizing goal. Stockport though took the lead once more heading in from a corner and then what followed was a string of missed opportunities from Robinson, Pilkington and Sandrinho. Despite having 63% possession we just couldn’t find the net and Stockport ran out the clock to gain all three points. That effectively killed off any mathematical chance of making the play-offs so it’s League One again next season.
Our last home game of the season was against Colchester and with nothing to play for other than pride I decided to field some of the fringe players. The visitors took immediate advantage of my changed line up and had the ball in the back of the net after 24 seconds. It took about twenty minutes before we started to find our rhythm and shape but we never really threatened the Colchester goal. After the interval I decided to bring on Rhodes and he began to frustrate the Colchester defence and was rewarded for his efforts with a goal just before the end nodding in from a Kirkut cross on the right flank.
The final game of the season was a trip to Devon to play Exeter City and could be my last in charge of the club as my job has been on the line all season. Right from the start it became evident that both sides were not putting any effort into to game and just wanted it over and done with. After an uninspiring first half we came out looking the more lively and Theo Robinson poached his 21st goal of the season from a through ball into the box by Sekour. That proved to be the only goal of the game and so now I wait and see what fate the board of directors have in store for me.
Final League Table
So that’s it. We ended up in 10th place but things could have been a lot different if luck had been on our side. I don’t think I have a bad tactic, the stats prove that and overall I have a decent squad but we’ve been so unlucky in front of goal and some silly passing has sealed our fate at the other end of the field. I just now have to wait it out to see if i’m in charge next season though based on this message it seems unlikely.
Thanks for reading and hopefully my next update will still be with Huddersfield