December 2001

December 22nd
Nationwide League Division 2
Colchester 3 - 3 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield staged a magnificent fightback only to be denied towards the end of a pulsating match!

The home side took the lead, despite a Terriers onslaught, after only 8 minutes when Duguid fired home a free kick and then went further ahead when Stockwell slotted the ball home after Martyn Margetson made a mistake in the 23rd minute.

Town recovered from this two goal blow and pulled a goal back in the 41st minute when Andy Booth converted a Jenkins cross.

Town were soon back into the game in the second half when Schofield connected with a Knight pass and fired the ball home for the equalizer.
Three minutes later Booth put the Terriers into the lead for the first time when he headed the ball home.

But victory was denied Town when McGleish fired home in the 73rd minute after Coote's shot had rebounded off the crossbar.

So Town had to settle for yet another draw.
This proved to be a negative when promotion places were at stake but, on the other hand, meant that they stayed well clear of the relegation zone.
One positive from the game was the return of Clyde Wijnhard after a lengthy absence due to injury.

December 8th
FA Cup - Second Round
Mansfield 4 - 0 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town were humiliated by the third division side, who scored two goals in either half, in this one-sided FA Cup exit!

The Stags opened the scoring with a fine goal from Greenacre in the 27th minute after a cross by Hassell. Town did threaten the Mansfield goal but attempts by Mattis and Schofield were comfortably dealt with by Pilkington.
Just before half time Mansfield made it two when Lawrence found Corden unmarked and the striker slotted the ball home.

After the break it was time for Greenacre to claim the man-of-the-match award when he scored two more goals, on 68 and 80 minutes, to record a hat trick and a tally of 20 goals for the season so far.

Although Lou Macari tried a couple of attacking substitutions it was to no avail and it was Mansfield who booked their ticket to the third round of the FA Cup.

December 4th
LDV Vans Trophy - Northern Quarter Final
Huddersfield Town 4 - 1 Scunthorpe
Town contrived to make life difficult for themselves yet again against a team that were made to look more dangerous than they actually were.

In the first half the Terriers had the lions' share of possession but failed to penetrate the Iron defence until Danny Schofield hit the mark in the 22nd minute, connecting with a Holland pass and firing the ball past the Scunthorpe keeper.

In the second half Town allowed Scunthorpe back into the game when Torpey headed home in the 63rd minute but then Schofield popped up again to restore Town's lead after being set up by Andy Booth.

With late goals from Chris Hay (shot) and Booth (glancing header) Huddersfield made the scoreline look respectable and ensured their place in the draw for the Northern Section Semi-Finals.

December 1st
Nationwide League Division 2
Huddersfield Town 2 - 1 Cambridge United
A dire performance from the home team after Cambridge United, who took the lead in the first half and then had a man sent off, looked favourites to leave the McAlpine Stadium with 3 points to add to the one other point they have gained in away games so far.

In the first half, and generally throughout the game, Town were guilty of wasting possession time after time - mainly through misdirected passing.
It therefore came as no surprise when Cambridge took the lead in the 30th minute after some good work on the wing between Kitson and Young gave Tudor the opportunity to run through the Town defence and score past Margetson.

Not long after Cambridge were down to ten men when Angus, who had already been booked earlier in the half, fouled Leon Knight. The referee had no choice but to wave a second yellow and Angus had to walk.

At the close of the first half Booth rattled the crossbar with a header which just about summed up the Terriers performance.

The second half was more of the same with the Huddersfield players guilty of wasting possession, perhaps looking a little dispirited.
Whenever Town were afforded a shot at goal it was either wide of the mark or deflected wide by a Cambridge player.

Midway through the half Hay came on for Heary and in the 75th minute it was the substitute, scoring his first home goal for the club since arriving from Swindon in the summer of 1997, who slid the ball into the visitors net from all of three yards to give Town an equalizer!

This acted as a spur for Huddersfield and they pressed the Cambridge defence looking for the winner.
This duly arrived via the head of Andy Booth in the 87th minute as a Kenny Irons free kick was missed by keeper Perez and arrived invitingly for the tall striker to score what turned out to be the decider.

Despite being on the ascendancy Town withdrew into defence for the remaining few minutes of the game, causing great anxiety to the home supporters. Indeed the general formational play has to be questioned after it remained unchanged, even after Angus' dismissal at the end of the first half, despite being a goal in arrears.

This game can definitely be described as a 'get out of jail' game for the Terriers.