Town 0-0 Huddersfield - Match Report Saturday, 17th Oct 2015 17:25 Town recorded their third successive home draw after their game against Huddersfield ended goalless. David McGoldrick came closest to breaking the deadlock for the Blues in stoppage time, forcing a superb instinctive save from Terriers keeper Jed Steer, while Nahki Wells had the best chance for the visitors - who had sub James Vaughan red-carded in injury time - in the first half when Christophe Berra hooked his effort off the line. Town boss Mick McCarthy made three changes from the team which lost 2-0 at Blackburn a fortnight ago with left winger Tommy Oar handed his full league debut. The Australian international, who was making his first appearance at Portman Road, came in for Larsen Touré, who dropped to the bench, with Ryan Fraser, who missed the game at Ewood Park with an ankle problem, sidelined for two months with a knee injury. Jonas Knudsen, who was ill at Blackburn, returned at left-back with Jonny Parr also amongst the subs. Up front, Brett Pitman replaced Daryl Murphy alongside Freddie Sears. Town started brightly, Oar sending in a second minute cross which Pitman was only able to flick on towards Luke Chambers but Huddersfield left-back Jason Davidson cleared ahead of the Blues skipper. Two minutes later, Ishmael Miller turned Tommy Smith on halfway after Maitland-Niles had lost possession and broke away into the area on the left but Berra got across to block his shot. Play quickly moved to the other end and Oar whipped over a low cross from the left which Terriers skipper Mark Hudson cut out ahead of Sears. With Oar off the field receiving treatment for a nose bleed after an early clash with Huddersfield keeper Steer, Miller again escaped down the visitors’ left flank on nine but rather wasted the opportunity by scraping a poor effort across the face of goal and wide. The Terriers continued to have the better of it with the Blues giving possession away too easily with the ball rarely sticking up front. There was an escape on 10 when Knudsen slipped allowing Sean Scannell to get away from him on the right but keeper Dean Gerken easily claimed his cross. A minute later Chambers got his name in referee Andy Davies’s book for a trip on Harry Bunn with Huddersfield breaking following a Town attack. Maitland-Niles hit a shot against a Huddersfield defender on the edge of the area on 26, Town’s first strike of the afternoon, albeit one of little consequence. However, the Blues were starting to see more of the ball but without particularly threatening, while the home crowd were becoming increasingly frustrated by some of referee Davies’s decisions. On the half hour a contentiously freekick awarded against Maitland-Niles almost led to Huddersfield taking the lead. Miller flicked on a header and Wells, who scored three times in the two games against Town last season, lifted the ball over the advancing Gerken but Berra did superbly to get back to hook off the line. Cole Skuse showed an impressive turn of pace to get back to muscle Scannell off the ball in the 34th minute having initially slipped, the Terriers again having broken quickly with Town short of numbers at the back. Shortly afterwards the Blues midfielder mis-hit an effort from distance which trickled through to Steer. Three minutes later, Dean Whitehead, a Town target during his former Sunderland boss Roy Keane’s time in charge at Portman Road, was booked for a foul on Sears on halfway. With the half in its final five minutes, Oar whipped in two dangerous freekicks from the right which Martin Crainie and then keeper Steer cleared. The Terriers also managed to deal with the latest in a number of Knudsen long throws, albeit at the third attempt. The game remained goalless at the break with Huddersfield having gone closest to opening the scoring with the Wells chance that Berra hacked off the line. The visitors had presented the greater threat throughout the half, particularly on the break, with Terriers keeper Steer having had a very quiet first half. Oar’s first appearance at Portman Road lasted only 45 minutes with David McGoldrick replacing the Australian, who had found it hard to get into the game, at the start of the second half with Sears moving to the left. McGoldrick hit a low effort through to Steer in the 54th minute after Maitland-Niles had laid the ball off to him but the Huddersfield keeper was again untroubled. Four minutes later Smith was booked for a foul on Miller on the halfway line. Huddersfield put the Blues under pressure as the game moved towards the hour mark but were unable to create a serious chance. Then on 61 McGoldrick shot well over from distance. A minute later, Douglas was booked for a foul on Bunn. Murphy replaced Pitman on 68, while for the Terriers Mustapha Carayol took over from Scannell, who had suffered a knock a few minutes earlier. The Blues number nine made an immediate impact, feeding Sears, who hit a powerful low effort which forced Steer into his first proper save of the afternoon. There was controversy moments later when Huddersfield keeper Steer kicked the ball out of play as one of his team-mates was injured. As he did so the player got up and Chambers, much to the annoyance of the visiting players, took the throw quickly to Maitland-Niles. The on-loan Arsenal man crossed towards McGoldrick and Murphy but the offside flag was raised. Joel Lynch headed Carayol’s corner over, then at the other end Douglas nodded a Maitland-Niles’s freekick over at the far post. Town were having most of the ball as the game moved into its final 10 minutes but still without creating many significant openings. On 81 McGoldrick cut a low cross back from he byline on the right to Douglas, who was tripped, the loose ball falling to Murphy, whose effort was stopped brilliantly by Steer. However, it was all academic with the linesman indicating that the ball had gone out as McGoldrick crossed. Huddersfield went close in the 84th minute when Davidson's freekick from the left fell to Emyr Huws on the edge of the box. Gerken saved his shot, but the loose ball fell to Terriers sub Vaughan. His effort looked set to be saved by Gerken until it was turned over by Lynch. With four minutes remaining Touré replaced Maitland-Niles. Town continued to push, Skuse seeing a shot blocked after a Chambers cross from the right was blocked. The Blues had a great chance to win it in injury time. Knudsen’s long throw from the right was cleared to Touré. The Guinean international’s shot took two deflections and fell to McGoldrick eight yards out but Steer instinctively stuck out a leg to divert it wide. Huddersfield were reduced to 10 men in the closing stages when Vaughan needlessly threw the ball in Knudsen’s face as the pair argued over a throw. Referee Davies had no hesitation in brandishing his red card. The former Canary’s dismissal was the final action of Town’s third home draw on the trot with the Blues now having gone four games at Portman Road since their last win, against Burnley on August 18th. Their most recent previous 0-0 draw was against Bolton at Portman Road in January. Having been very much second best in the first half Town, who kept their third clean sheet of the season, were better after the break but without ever dominating or creating many openings. The Blues improved after the introductions of McGoldrick and particularly Murphy and probably should have claimed all three points when the former Nottingham Forest man had his chance late on. However, aside from that opportunity, Douglas’s header over was perhaps Town’s only other serious chance of the half and the visitors, who recorded their first clean sheet of the season, also might have won it via Vaughan’s rebound from Huws’s late shot. Town, who have now won just once in seven league games, are up to 10th ahead of back-to-back away trips to Hull City on Tuesday and Forest next Saturday. Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Skuse, Douglas, Maitland-Niles (Touré 85), Oar (McGoldrick 46), Pitman (Murphy 68), Sears. Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Bru. Huddersfield: Steer, Davidson, Cranie, Hudson (c), Lynch, Huws, Whitehead, Scannell (Carayol 68), Bunn, Wells, Miller (Vaughan 73). Unused: Murphy, Smith, Paterson, Dempsey, Billing. Referee: Andy Davies (Hampshire). Att: 17,937 (Huddersfield: 395).
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