By Nathan Findlay –
And just like that, the Terriers have survived to see another season in the Championship.
With only one game left in the season, there is no chance for Huddersfield Town to go down at this point.
Huddersfield are now on 48 points after the 1-1 result from the Coventry game. This was a decent result for Huddersfield, but it’s mostly thanks to a draw from Rotherham and Derby County falling to win that the Terriers survive the drop, however unlikely it would have been.
Match Highlights
The game stayed remarkably close between Huddersfield and Coventry, with neither side giving much ground until late in the second half.
A smattering of chances from either side meant either side could have taken the lead, but the scoreline remained goalless.
As the game entered the second half, we saw things start to progress and unfortunately it was Coventry who struck first. Jordan Shipley scored for the Sky Blues in the 69th minute.
Thankfully Huddersfield reacted positively to the situation, refusing to back down despite how little time was left. Town pushed hard and were rewarded with a goal coming in the 79th minute from Danny Ward.
It’s notable for a team like Huddersfield to come back from a goal down as it’s often been one of the biggest criticisms of the team in recent years, that inability to come back from behind. In a game this late in the season it’s positive to see that kind of progress being made.
Coventry pushed back once more with a couple more chances in the last 10 minutes, but the Terriers defended admirably and were able to see the game out to a draw.
Post-Match Thoughts
After looking at the game this was a fair result for the teams based on both of their in-game performances. Coventry had more shots than Huddersfield coming in with a total of 13 with five on target compared to Huddersfield’s seven shots with three on target. But the possession went in Huddersfield’s way ever so slightly coming in with a total of 56%. Overall a good game of football between the two sides.
One positive that I got out of the game was that of Huddersfield’s mindset. I mentioned this before, but the Terriers really proved us wrong here by not dropping their heads after conceding a goal. They put their heads together and adapted positively.
In his post-match Interview, Manager Carlos Corberan described the confirmation of safety as “a mixture of feelings”.
He added that: “We didn’t show the levels we needed in the second half but I liked the reaction after they scored”.
Relegation Battle
With Huddersfield having secured their safety, most eyes will be on the fight between Rotherham United, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday.
Rotherham still have one more game in hand which will be played on Tuesday night against Luton followed by Cardiff in their final game. If Derby loses their final game and Rotherham manage to get a win and a draw. Derby will be pushed into relegation.
The big sticking point is that Derby and Sheffield will be facing off for their final game of the season. It’s a massively important game for both sides, and a win for either team is vital for survival.
This is going to be anyone’s game and these bottom teams are really going to have to battle to survive.
Next game
Huddersfield will next face Reading in their final game of the season on Saturday the 8th of May, 12:30 KO.
Reading have had a good season, currently sitting in 7th place. However, a poor run of form with three draws and two losses in their last five games means just missed a spot in the play-offs.
Regardless, they will want to end their season with as many points as possible, so this is going to be another tough game for Huddersfield.
On the other side, it will be nice for the Terriers going into this game to know that they are safe, and hopefully, that will give them a bit of a boost in confidence.
It will be a good opportunity for both sides to give some other players a run out onto the field and get some experience on the pitch, so it will be interesting to see the line ups.