100-years on from their first meeting, Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers fought out a thrilling contest which saw Rovers come out on the wrong side, as they lost their unbeaten away record at the hands of the rejuvenated Terriers.
Although Saturday’s emphatic 5-1 home victory over Cardiff City was billed by Rovers boss Tony Mowbray as a ‘brilliant performance’, injuries forced the gaffer to alter the team for their midweek encounter at the John Smith’s Stadium. Skipper Darragh Lenihan was the only absentee, as young Hayden Carter came in to replace him, as Lewis Travis took over the armband in order to skipper the side.
As the Rovers fans sang their hearts out in the away end, it was the Blues in Yellow who got the game underway under the instructions of referee Jeremy Simpson as they looked to build on their fantastic weekend performance, by extending the gap between themselves and their opponents in order to consolidate 6th place.
Inside the first minute, Huddersfield nearly got themselves ahead after Rovers looked lost at sea. Josh Koroma flicked Sorba Thomas’ cross into the path of Danny Ward, but the forward couldn’t keep his header down.
Moments later, Danel Sinani broke through and tried his luck, but he also couldn’t keep his effort within the confinements of the goalposts as it flew behind for a goal-kick.
After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Rovers managed to get a sight at goal after some good work down the right saw Sam Gallagher dispossess Naby Sarr near the corner flag. The forward laid it off to Tyrhys Dolan who found Lewis Travis. The stand-in skipper produced a fine cross towards Gallagher, but he couldn’t angle his header well enough to test the Town ‘keeper Lee Nicholls.
Lewis O’Brien should have really put the home side ahead in the 16th minute as he was slid through before releasing a left-footed effort towards the near-post, but it came back off the upright as Thomas Kaminski was left rooted to his spot.
Rovers were forced to make their first change of the evening in the 19th minute as Ryan Nyambe was deemed unfit to continue following a few challenges. The Namibian was soon removed and replaced by Tyler Magloire who filled in, as Rovers opted to change to a five-back, which saw John Buckley take up a right-wing-back role, as Magloire slotted in alongside Daniel Ayala and Hayden Carter. This change was confirmed to be a concussion substitute, which meant that not only did Rovers keep their three substitutions intact, but Huddersfield were given one extra, to even things up.
In the 31st minute, Rovers were able to create a chance following a solid spell of possession. Following a move which involved a handful of unopposed passes, Ben Brereton Díaz picked the ball up from around 25-yards out and tried his luck but couldn’t get his effort to curl enough in order to test Lee Nicholls.
All of Huddersfield’s early attempts finally resulted in them taking the lead in the 35th minute, courtesy of Álex Vallejo’s first goal in English football. After some pressure in the final third, Koroma created some space before finding Thomas, who beat his man before he rolled out towards the edge of the area where Vallejo was waiting. The Spaniard wasted no time as he expertly executed a low strike that left Kaminski scrambling as it sped past him and nestled into the bottom left-hand corner to make it 1-0 to Town.
Rovers nearly equalised straight from the kick-off as Brereton Díaz found himself one-on-one with Nicholls, but got his feet caught under the ball and although he tried to lay it off to Tyrhys Dolan, the retreating defenders did enough to block the attempts at goal.
In the 39th minute, Harry Pickering got himself involved in the action, following a Rovers corner, but his volley from just outside the box, narrowly veered past the near-post.
Rovers had reacted well to going a goal down as Ben Brereton Díaz seemed to be leading the charge. A cross from the right-hand side by John Buckley saw the Chilean leap highest in the box to connect with the header that was well-saved by the goalkeeper, Nicholls.
As the 45th minute ticked over, referee Jeremy Simpson added an extra three minutes onto the end of the first period.
With the extra time not having the desired chances Rovers would have liked, with the only opportunity coming from Lewis O’Brien, whose effort from range veered well wide, the match official soon brought the first-half to a close, with Rovers wondering how on earth they hadn’t entered the interval level.
Huddersfield Town boss, Carlos Corberán would have been delighted with all the aspects to his side’s game at the break but would have also been slightly annoyed that his side were only a goal up at the break, given the chances they had during the opening few minutes. The Spaniard would have been quick to offer his side lots of positive and encouraging words given their early dominance and play with the ball that lead to the game’s only goal, however he would have constantly reminded them of Rovers’ attacking prowess, especially after the weekend.
Rovers chief, Tony Mowbray would have been forgiven for being completely stunned during the intermission, as his side had created many good chances but failed to put them away. Although their opportunities had all mainly come through their Chilean attacker, the gaffer would have been annoyed that they found themselves behind at the break, given the nature of the Vallejo goal. He would have also been annoyed at the injury sustained to Ryan Nyambe, given the full-back’s importance to how the team plays both, going forwards and defensively. The boss would have been keeping spirits high in the dressing room, however, reminding the players of their skill and how well they had picked Cardiff City apart in their previous game, but also the manager would have wanted them to continue what they had been doing, given the chances they had created after going behind.
After both managers had got a word in to their team, the sides returned for the second-half as Huddersfield Town prepared to take the kick-off in the hope they could maintain their lead and close the gap between them and Rovers in the table.
The first few minutes in the second period saw Brereton Díaz have a couple of attempts which were blocked by the valiant defenders.
A poor goal-kick by Thomas Kaminski put Rovers back under pressure in the 49th minute as Danel Sinani picked up the ball just inside the box and drove it near-post, but the Belgian made up for his effort with a fine save.
In the 54th minute, the goalscorer Álex Vallejo was withdrawn due to an injury and replaced by Scott High, in the first of Town’s now four allowed changes.
Two minutes after the change, Rovers managed to get themselves back in the game after a fine run from Joe Rothwell saw him claim an assist for Ben Brereton Díaz’s fourth goal in two games. The former Oxford United midfielder picked the ball up from deep and ran past the whole Huddersfield Town backline, before getting into the box and cutting it back to the Chilean who popped the ball into the net as he drew Rovers level at 1-1.
The visitor’s jubilation didn’t even last five minutes, as Huddersfield Town found themselves back ahead within moments as Sorba Thomas put in a cross towards the six-yard box. Danny Ward fought with Tyler Magloire and came out on-top as he latched onto the header which he guided past Kaminski who dived despairingly, as Huddersfield retook the lead at 2-1.
Three minutes later, Rovers were back level, courtesy of Ben Brereton Díaz’s second of the night, which again came from the penalty area, as he extended his lead at the top of the Championship goalscoring chart. After he burst into the box from a Rothwell pass, the Chilean was brought down by Naby Sarr before the ball broke to Tyrhys Dolan who forced a fine save from Lee Nicholls, before John Buckley’s follow-up was cleared off the line. All that didn’t matter, however, as Mr. Simpsons had already blown for a foul on Brereton Díaz, which resulted in Sarr being given the game’s first booking. The weekend’s goal-haul proved vital for Brereton Díaz’s confidence, as he stepped up calmly and slotted the ball into the bottom right-hand corner, narrowly evading the full palm of Nicholls, who got a touch, but was beaten by the power as Rovers were drawn level at 2-2.
Danny Ward was proving to be a thorn in Rovers’ makeshift defence as he again got a shot away on the 70th minute, but this time, was denied by Thomas Kaminski.
In the 74th minute, Rovers were forced into their second change of the game as Joe Rothwell departed with an injury and was replaced by Ian Poveda.
The 78th minute brought a double save from Thomas Kaminski as he first, denied Tom Lees from the goalline, before he tipped a shot from just outside the box, over the bar for a corner which Rovers dealt with.
The 79th minute saw Rovers make their two final allowed changes as Tyrhys Dolan and Sam Gallagher departed with Reda Khadra and Leighton Clarkson replacing them.
Minutes later, Huddersfield moved to make their second and third changes of the night – given they had one more left due to the concussion substitution earlier – as Sorba Thomas and Josh Koroma departed, before being replaced by Duane Holmes and Ollie Turton.
The 84th minute surely gave Huddersfield the winner as Danny Ward grabbed his second header of the night. A Huddersfield clearance saw them bring the ball down on halfway, before a series of exchanged passes saw Ollie Turton pick the ball up on the wing and cross it into the box before Harry Toffolo flicked it on towards Ward who rose highest to nod it past the off-balanced Kaminski, as Huddersfield went back ahead for the third time in the game at 3-2.
The final Huddesfield Town change of the night saw Josh Ruffels replace Danel Sinani.
As the 90th minute approached, referee Jeremy Simpson added six minutes onto the end of the game, as Rovers pushed forward in the hope of grabbing a third equaliser.
Although Lewis Travis saw an attempt in the 92nd minute curl narrowly wide of the post, Lee Nicholls became the second player in the game to be booked, as he was cautioned for time-wasting.
Travis’ effort eventually proved to be the best opportunity that added time offered, as Rovers were forced to taste defeat on the road for the first-time in 2021-22, with Mr. Simpson soon bringing an end to this end-to-end encounter.
Whilst the unbeaten run on the road is over, this game offers a lot to look at and analyse from a Rovers perspective, whether that being the poor defending for the second and third Huddersfield goals, or the injuries that Ryan Nyambe and Joe Rothwell have picked up in this game. Although Ben Brereton Díaz remains the one shining light for Rovers, many questions have appeared for Tony Mowbray’s men, although the overall picture is far from disastrous to say the least.
As noted by Lancs Live’s Jaquob Crooke pre-match, Rovers’ record without Darragh Lenihan since the start of the 2018-19 campaign, is quite haunting. Rovers with their Irish skipper have a 39.6%-win percentage, versus the 15.3% without him and that drop was certainly evident in this encounter. Although Daniel Ayala’s start to the season has been mightily impressive, the whole defensive set-up Rovers had, once Ryan Nyambe departed, looked incredibly shaky.
After Huddersfield picked up the victory, the league table sees them edge closer to Rovers, but not enough to overtake the Lancashire side. Rovers remain in 6th place with 16 points, but their goal-difference has now changed from +7 to +6.
Rovers now have one more clash before the season’s second international break, as they travel to Lancashire neighbours, Blackpool on Saturday 2nd October at 3pm. Following the fortnight break, Rovers are back at Ewood Park to host Coventry City, before travelling down to London on Tuesday 19th October, to face Queens Park Rangers at 7:45pm.
