Huddersfield Town End Of Season Review

HHuuddddeerrssffiieellddTOWNSeason 2010-2011

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TOWN have already begun to pick up thepieces of their broken promotion dream withfirst-team coach Paul Stephensonpromising: “We’ll push for automatic nextseason.”

The 43-year-old says the Galpharm squadare still hurting from their 3-0 reversal toPeterborough in the League I play-off final –their first defeat in 28 matches at that level.

He’s determined, however, that when theplayers return for pre-season training in justa month’s time, they will be ready to learnsome important lessons which could just tipthe promotion balance in Town’s favourcome 2012.

“I’m obviously still very disappointed for afantastic group of lads and the people onthe staff, because we all worked so hard totry and achieve our one goal for the season,promotion,” said Stephenson.

“We came so near with a 27-matchunbeaten run, and while we didn’t alwaysplay our best we showed a fantastic spiritand great resilience and it was only at thefinal hurdle that we fell.

“The mood afterwards, understandably,was very bad. Everyone was so bitterlydisappointed because we all believed we

could do it. We tried and we went hell forleather to do it in the normal season, but wejust fell short in the very last game of theseason.

“Our season was 61 matches, more thananyone else and it was a magnificent effort– the lads were a credit to the area and didfantastically well.

“And we have to recognise that we’ve gotan awful lot to look forward to because ofthe spirit we’ve shown in the group and therun we’ve been on.”

Stephenson – a key member of managerLee Clark’s trusted backroom staff – hasalready started planning for 2011-12, with

the fixtures announced on Friday, June 17.“What the lads and the staff as a group

have got to continue to learn from maybe isthe first half of last season,” he explained.

“We did that by having a fantastic secondhalf of the season and if we can take thatform into the new campaign, then I don’t seeany reason why we can’t push for automaticpromotion again.”

So what was the coach’s take on eventsat Old Trafford, where goals from TommyRowe, Craig Mackail-Smith and GrantMcCann in the space of eight horribleminutes demolished Town’s hopes?

“We were on top, especially in the second

By MEL BOOTH Sports [email protected]

We pick up where we left off says

There’s great matchesahead next season

TOWN fans seeking solace after theplay-off final defeat by Peterboroughwill find some in the League I fixturelist for 2011-12.Published on Friday, June 17, it willinclude meetings with two of the club’smost traditional rivals, Sheffield Unitedand Preston North End.And with Scunthorpe United alsorelegated and Chesterfield and Burycoming up from League II, travelling fanswill have far fewer miles to cover.Wycombe Wanderers and Stevenage, aclub Town have never previously met, arethe other new names on the schedule.And with Plymouth Argyle, Brighton,Southampton and Dagenham andRedbridge among the namesdisappearing, there’s a huge difference inthe total distance to cover.In the season just ended, the 23 leaguegames involved a total round trip of 9,526miles – next time it will be 5,750.As well as Stevenage’s Broadhall Waybase, Town fans will get the chance tocheck out Chesterfield’s B2Net Stadium.John Sheridan’s side, which for the firsthalf of the season included Townfull-back Jack Hunt, celebrated their firstseason post-Saltergate by winning theLeague II title.Up the road at Sheffield United, there’sbig controversy over the Blades’ choice asnew boss – former Wednesday player and

boss Danny Wilson. The 51-year-old, whohas also been in charge of Barnsley,Bristol City, MK Dons, Hartlepool andSwindon, is the first manager to cross thesteel city’s footballing divide.And the man who brought PremierLeague football to Oakwell has promisedto win over the doubters down BramallLane.“I am not foolish enough to think it’s notdifficult to come across the city,” saidWilson, who has succeeded MickyAdams.“But as far as I am concerned, it is amassive privilege to come to a club of thissize and help turn them around.“You have to get the fans onside whereveryou go. I can promise to work very hardfor this football club and eventually wewill win people over.”Wilson is expected to drawn on membersof the side which reached this season’s FAYouth Cup final, and Preston could alsogo down the teenage route.North End chairman Maurice Lindsay,the former Wigan rugby league supremo,said: “We don’t have millions to spend asI’ve tried to explain before.“We want to restructure Preston, it needs

By DOUG THOMSONDeputy Sports [email protected]

a rebuild. In the last few years, the clubhas had a lot of players and managers.“That is not how we think a sporting sideshould be built. When you look at thesuccessful sides like Barcelona andManchester United, they build over thecourse of a few years.“The core of the team come throughtogether, learn their skills together, and goon to be successful.“We’re a billion miles away from clubslike that financially, but the sameprinciples can be applied in how thingsare done.“As (manager) Phil Brown has alreadystated, we’re looking to build a youngerside, mixed with some experience.”Stevenage boss Graham Westley andWycombe chief Garry Waddock will bothbe aiming to consolidate in League I.Play-off winners Stevenage have wonsuccessive promotions while Wycombemade an immediate return after theirrelegation in 2010.And while Alan Knill will try to guideScunthorpe straight back to theChampionship, his former club Bury havestill to confirm their manager.The Shakers, whose promotion wasclinched under caretaker chief RichieBarker, have at least agreed a newtwo-year deal with former Town defenderEfe Sodje. ■ CLASS: skipper Peter Clarke has a new deal to

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3Huddersfield TTOOWWNN 2010-2011Thursday June2, 2011

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half when we had good opportunities,” hesaid.

“We were two v one on two occasions butdidn’t quite find the pass when we needed it.

“The turning point of the game, from whatI saw, was when Charlie Lee came on forPeterborough (63 minutes).

“He went into two heavy challenges andhe was down for a while when we were ontop.

“The momentum was lost a little throughthat and, all of a sudden, Peterborough gota bit of a breather, got their heads turnedaround and then got the break when itmattered with the free-kick.”

Stevo

■ EYE ON THE BALL: first-team coach Paul Stephenson (left) with assistant manager Terry McDermott

OKAY, we’re all still feeling the pain of the play-off final defeat byPeterborough, but let’s be positive – there are plenty ofreasons to believe 2011-12 will be Town’s season.Here are 10 to be going on with:

1. Dean Hoyle: The club’s owner-chairman (right)will continue to back the push for the Championship.He’s been successful in business, and is equallydetermined when it comes to his beloved club.

2. Lee Clark: The Geordie boss is hard-working,highly rated within the game, totally focused, has gainedvaluable experience and works with trusted staff.

3. Year-on-year improvement: Clark hasguided Town to final positions of ninth, sixth and third.Now his aim will be first.

4. Fan power: Town took more than 31,000 fans to the final atOld Trafford and will be among the best supported in League I nexttime around.

5. Facilities: There’s no doubting the quality of the GalpharmStadium, which will have a new pitch, and Town will soon have atop-class training ground at Canalside.

6. Odds on: William Hill have Town at 9/2 favourites (in front ofSheffield Wednesday and Preston) to win the division, and you don’tsee many hard-up bookies!

7. Wembley hope: Town came so close to making theJohnstone’s Paint Trophy final. Why not do it next timearound?

Andthere’salso..

play alongside towering Jamie McCombe (left) and international-pedigree Kevin Kilbane (centre) next season

8. Captain fantastic: Peter Clarke, whoalways leads by example, nailed his blue and whitecolours to the mast by signing a new contract.

9. International experience: Town alreadyhave Gary Naysmith, Joey Gudjonsson and Alan Leeon board, while Damien Johnson, Kevin Kilbane andNick Colgan might well return.

10. Up-and-coming youngsters: Can thelikes of Chris Atkinson (right), Jimmy Spencer, HatibCham and Greg Pearson follow Jack Hunt and LiamRidehalgh by making their mark?

So, come on. Let’s get positive!


JOY ANDDESPAIRIN CUPCUP football provided Town with two trips toPremier League clubs – and two contrastingJohnstone’s Paint Trophy clashes with CarlisleUnited.

They might have been beaten 5-1 at Evertonin the second round of the Carling Cup, but inround four of the FA Cup, Lee Clark’s sidecertainly did themselves proud at Arsenal.

It took a controversial late penalty, put awayby Cesc Fabregas, to cement the 2-1 win whichdenied Town what would have been a deservedreplay against Arsene Wenger’s side.

The Sunday showdown at the Emirates –where 59,375, including more than 5,000 Townfans, watched – featured a full debut fordefender Jack Hunt and a first Town goal forAlan Lee.

Former Crystal Palace striker Lee alsocounted (twice) in a memorable JP TrophyNorthern final second leg against Carlisle atthe Galpharm.

Town had won up in Cumbria in the firstround of the Carling Cup, but with aWembley trip at stake, crashed 4-0 back atBrunton Park in the first leg of the JPT areafinal.

If Carlisle thought it was done anddusted, they were wrong, because withAnthony Pilkington also on target,Town won the return 3-0, and cameclose to forcing extra time.

Clark’s men had beatenPeterborough United, RotherhamUnited and Tranmere Rovers tomake the Northern final foronly the third time.

In the FA Cup, Town got thebetter of non-league duoCambridge United and DoverAthletic either side of athumping 6-0 victory overLeague II Macclesfield Town.

Six different players madethe scoresheet in that success– Rhodes, Pilkington, BenikAfobe, Jamie McCombe,Antony Kay and Gary Roberts.

■ HISTORY: Herbert Chapman, former manger ofboth Town and Arsenal, was remembered at theEmirates when the two met in the FA Cup

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TOWN have solid foundations in placedespite their play-off agony – and willcontinue to move forward.So says Nigel Clibbens, the club’s chiefexecutive .He’s the man with his finger on the pulseof all things blue and white and he’soptimistic Town will turn the wheel ofemotion full circle next time.Clibbens is in place to manage chairmanDean Hoyle’s funding of the club and tooversee commercial and communityactivity – all of which provide a positivebackbone for what happens on the pitch.He sees no reason in the wake of OldTrafford for Town to feel sorry forthemselves or to take a backward stepfrom the long-term planning whichHoyle has put in place at the Galpharmand Canalside training complex to takeTown to the Championship.“Over the course of the season we have alot to be proud of,” said Clibbens, whomanages a turnover of between £5m and£6m in League I.“We have had some fantastic times, theclub has moved on and we’ve got to lookforward to next season and the prospectof doing it the ‘easy’ way by winningautomatic promotion.“There is a lot to build on from whatwas, really, a great season with 27matches unbeaten, 87 points and a recordnumber of away wins. Those are statisticsto be proud of and it was only at thefinal hurdle that it wasn’t our day.”Clibbens says manager Lee Clark and thedirectors – he works closely with directorof operations Ann Hough andcommercial director Sean Jarvis – will doall they can to keep the playing squad asintact as possible while recognising thebudgets that are already on the laptop.“We have some great foundations inplace and some excellent players, and we

are a far better team now than we werethis time last year (when Town lost in theplay-off semi-finals to Millwall),” he said.“Next season we will be even better, I’msure, because we’ve got some terrificplayers with lots of ability and we wantto keep moving forward with them.“We don’t really want any of them to goand we don’t see any of them going. Wewant to keep moving forward because thelads have done great.“It’s tough now, obviously, because weare all so disappointed, but I am surecome pre-season the players will all belooking forward to doing battle againand, next time, we’ll be determined to doit automatically.”Backed by over 31,000 fans atManchester United’s Theatre of Dreams,Clibbens knows expectations will be highonce again. With the bulk of the squadalready under contract, only a few bits of‘tweaking’ are envisaged to enable Townto stand shoulder to shoulder withPreston, Sheffield United, Scunthorpeand the other promotion favourites.“Last season was an exceptional League

I and the teams that went up were very,very strong,” he continued.“It just happens that, during the season,there were four of us vying for threeplaces – two automatic (Brighton andSouthampton) and one promotionthrough the play-offs (Peterborough).“One of us had to lose out and,unfortunately, it was us at the very lasthurdle.“It’s difficult for everyone at the momenthaving come so far and not done it, butlast year we were in this position andwent out a round earlier, so we havecome back stronger and I’m sure we willcome back stronger again.“We’ve have got absolutely nothing tofeel sorry for at all.“We have done ourselves credit, the clubcredit and, over the course of the season,the fans have been fantastic.“Give it a few weeks and we will all belooking forward to it all again – aimingto do what Brighton and Southamptondid this time.”So what were his reflections on OldTrafford, where free t-shirts for the fansmade the Stretford End and adjoiningbanks of seats into an impressive blueand white background?“We did ourselves credit as a club I felt,the players gave it everything and thecrowd gave it everything – it just wasn’tto be our day,” he said.“There was a long period at the start ofthe second half where we played reallywell and put them under a lot ofpressure, and if we could have scored atthat point you never know what mighthave happened.“Unfortunately we didn’t get our goalfrom a few half opportunities andPeterborough are very dangerous. Theygot one, then got another very quicklyand it was game over.“But as I’ve said, we will come backstronger. A lot of good things are inplace at our club and we will build onthem.”

The team’s ingreat shape ...on and off thefootball fieldBy MEL BOOTHSports [email protected]

■ PREMIER FOES: Gary Roberts and Theo Robinson dobattle with Everton and, main picture, Alan Lee celebrates hisgoal in the FA Cup clash with Arsenal at The Emirates

■ CLIBBENS: we’ll be stronger

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Notts County 0-3 TOWNPilkington (2), Rhodes. Attn: 10,342

TWO clinical finishes by Anthony Pilkington and aclose-range flick by Jordan Rhodes put Town at the topof the pile after day one of the new League Onecampaign.Of course it’s very early days, the only table which reallymatters will be that after Town host Brentford in game 46on May 7 – and there are likely to be an awful lot oftwists and turns between now and then.But as a statement of intent, this was pretty stronglyworded, and if Lee Clark’s men can produce 45 moreperformances like this, then the fans will surely becelebrating in 10 months’ time.Talking of fans, full marks to the 3,161 travellingcontingent in a 10,342 crowd at Meadow Lane.Taking up the bulk of a touchline stand and forming awall of blue and white, they set the tone for a thoroughlyenjoyable afternoon before kick-off by unfurling a giantflag and belting out a rousing rendition of the‘Yorkshireman’ chant which has become something of acult classic.They had to wait a while to celebrate. After Gary Robertsand Joey Gudjonsson were both unsuccessful withedge-of-the-area free-kicks Joe Garner then dinked a shotjust wide after being put through one-on-one with keeperRob Burch thanks to a lovely Roberts’ pass. There wasthe worry that Town’s total domination of the openingstages wouldn’t be reflected by the scoreline.But then the home defence was breached twice in fourminutes – and Town never looked back as they eased to afirst win in six visits to Meadow Lane.Both first-half goals originated from throw-ins, the firstby left-back Gary Naysmith in the 32nd minute.Roberts took full advantage of a wayward Notts header,making an angled run towards the penalty box, holdingoff a couple of challengers and slipping a low ball toPilkington.The winger took one touch then dispatched a risingright-foot shot into the roof of the net.Frustrated home keeper Burch must have felt the effectsof kicking a post in frustration, but he would have been ineven more pain three minutes later after being beaten forthe second time.Now it was right-back Lee Peltier delivering the keythrow.Gudjonsson flicked the ball back to Jamie McCombe, thegiant centre-back advanced and fed Garner, and thestriker’s low cross from the right was neatly turned homeby Rhodes, providing a first of the term for last season’s23-goal top scorer.Town had County in knots, and looked like making itthree when a poor back pass let in Scott Arfield. But asthe Scottish midfielder elected to go it alone rather thanpass, centre-back Graeme Lee made a saving tackle.There was just one nervy moment before the break, whenNotts came close to making their first corner of the gamecount.Big striker Ben Burgess nodded down a Ben Daviesdelivery and Liam Chilvers fired in a ferocious volley,only for the busy Garner to throw himself in the way, withthe brave block leaving him winded and in need oftreatment.Home supporters gleefully goaded the player on loanfrom their arch-rivals Nottingham Forest, but heresponded in the best possible manner, producing aman-of-the-match performance as one of five debutantsin the starting line-up (Plymouth loanee Damien Johnsonlater came off the bench).The goal his gutsy show merited eluded him, with adipping 20-yard effort in the 67th minute hitting the bar,but Town were still able to set the seal on a fine day’swork in the 72nd minute.It was another set-piece, with Gudjonsson’s free-kickfinding Pilkington, who found the net at the secondattempt after his first was charged down.It was no more than Town deserved. Last season’s LeagueTwo champions provided Town with their bestopening-day away win since Blackpool were beaten 4-1 in1994-95, a League One promotion campaign.

TOWN 0-0 Tranmere RoversAttn: 13,707

GARY NAYSMITH’S sending off set the seal on athoroughly frustrating afternoon for Town and theirexpectant fans.The Scottish international left-back will be suspended forSaturday’s trip to Peterborough United after seeing red inthe 86th minute.Already cautioned for a 64th-minute foul on Joss Labadie,the former Sheffield United man must have known hishome debut was to end early after bringing downsubstitute Kayleden Brown, the on-loan West Bromstriker, as he broke on the counter-attack.Sure enough Tyne and Wear whistler Geoff Eltringhamproduced yellow, then red, and Town were down to 10.They still managed to force their best chance of thesecond period despite being low on numbers, with Theo

Robinson looking set to clinch three points when heclimbed to meet Anthony Pilkington’s cross a minute intotime added on.The substitute’s header, however, drifted harmlessly wide,and for stubborn Tranmere, it was job done.At least Town collected a point, and the clean sheet whichmeans they go to Peterborough aiming to start a seasonwith four in a row for the first time in the club’s history.Rovers might have snatched the win their shut-up-shopapproach hardly merited when Ian Thomas-Moore ranonto on-loan Leeds right-back Liam Darville’s77th-minute pass.The striker who continues to be linked with Rotherham,the League II team managed by his dad Ronnie Moore,beat Alex Smithies with a low diagonal shot, but lookedon in anguish as the ball went just wide of the keeper’sright-hand post.Defeat would have been tough on Town, but despitedominating for long spells, they were unable to find thecutting edge which brought that impressive 3-0opening-day win at Notts County.Lee Clark tried to spark his side into action by makingthree changes within the space of 13 minutes in the secondhalf.Lee Novak, Robinson and Damien Johnson replaced JoeGarner, Jordan Rhodes and Scott Arfield respectively, butthere was to be no way through.The visitors were given a little too much leeway by MrEltringham, both in terms of physicality and eating up theminutes, but Town can expect more teams to comeprimarily for a point this season – and it’s up to them tofind a way through.There was some nice passing and plenty of running, buttoo often Lee Clark’s side were too ponderous in theirbuild-up and failed to present the man on the ball withenough options.That could have been part of the reason centre-back JohnMcCombe was caught in possession too many times forcomfort, while some of Smithies’ clearance kicks werequestionable, particularly the one which former Leedsman Enoch Showunmi charged down in the 23rd minute.With the exception of Robinson’s late header, Town’s bestchances came in the first half, when Pilkington had a shotfrom a free-kick deflected off course and McCombe alooping header held by Joe Collister.The Birkenhead stopper did well to deal with Rhodes’30th-minute drive – Roberts closed down left-back AaronCresswell to create the chance – and while he was beatenby Arfield’s low, angled effort a minute later, unfortunatelyfor Town the ball rolled inches wide of the left-hand post.Arfield picked up Peter Clarke’s pass and surged pastthree men before shooting, and the Scotsman’s workalongside Icelander Joey Gudjonsson in central midfieldwas one of the more pleasing aspects of this performance.Right-back Lee Peltier pushed forward withdetermination and Garner and Rhodes both worked hardup front, as did Novak and Robinson when they came on,and it was one of those days where one goal might wellhave brought more.Tranmere will surely have headed back to the Wirralsatisfied with the point, but for Town, the feeling that itwas two thrown away lingers on.

TOWN 3-1 Charlton AthleticRhodes, McCombe, Roberts. Attn: 13,858

A COMPREHENSIVE victory and plenty more to bepleased about besides.Jordan Rhodes, Jamie McCombe and Gary Roberts werethe men on the mark as Charlton were condemned to afirst League I defeat of the season.That’s four for the campaign for Rhodes, a first for theclub for McCombe and a first of the season for Roberts,his sweet volley putting Town three to the good andensuring Charlton’s stoppage time reply, a deflected shotby on-loan West Ham player Matt Fry, was ofconsolationvalue only.Lee Clark’s side more than deserved the three-point haulwhich puts them sixth in the table, and while this was avery solid all-round team display, there were somestand-out individuals.Well done Liam Ridehalgh for an excellent debut, the19-year-old left-back negating the threat of highly-ratedScott Wagstaff to such a degree that the winger wasreplaced with 20 minutes still remaining.And there was another highly encouraging bow by AlanLee.At 32, the new frontline arrival from Crystal Palace is atthe other end of the age range.But the way he kept Charlton’s defence occupied – andthe ovation given as he made way for Joe Garner after 87minutes – suggests he could become as popular at Townas he was down the road at Rotherham.With Lee Peltier serving a one-match suspension, ScottArfield produced a fine show at right-back, while GrahamCarey tormented Charlton down both flanks and set uptwo of the goals.Then came Antony Kay, handed his first start of theseason after coming off the bench in the Carling Cup tieat Everton and responding with a no-nonsense showalongside the slick-passing Joey Gudjonsson.Town had to be patient for their breakthrough, but twogoals in quick succession late in the first half rewardedtheir earlier domination.McCombe and Lee had both tested Ross Worner withheaders and Carey with a low shot by the time theCharlton stopper was left in no man’s land by Rhodes’sweet 39th-minute lob, the chance having been created byKay’s crunching challenge and Gudjonsson’s neat throughball.Less than 60 seconds later, Town had strong penaltyappeals turned down by Lancashire referee GrahamSalisbury after Worner slid out and Rhodes tumbled as hechased a Roberts pass.But the debate over whether it should have been a spotkick or a corner was short-lived, because Town fans soonhad another goal to cheer.Gudjonsson’s flag kick was cleared, but only to Carey,who sent across a well-judged cross which McCombeconverted with a powerful header.With Alan McCormack booked for a foul on Lee soonafter, it was all going wrong for the Londoners, and thingsdidn’t get a lot better for them in the second half.Kyel Reid, the former Sheffield United man whosespectacular strike earned a Galpharm point last season,posed some threat, but Town were still the dominantforce, with Carey bringing another save from Worner witha 57th-minute shot, thenlooking on in frustration asChristian Dailly hacked away his teasing 67th-minutecross.Simon Francis came close to turning Arfield’s pacy crossinto his own goal, and Lee rattled in a shot which Wornerdid well to push clear.But the visiting keeper had no answer to Roberts’82nd-minute volley, struck home with venom after Lee setCarey free down the left.Town were denied a fourth clean sheet in six games whenFry found the net, but that couldn’t take the gloss off afine afternoon’s work.Manager Clark spoke of the need to average two points agame prior to this match, and his side are doing that.Now Bournemouth come North on Saturday to providean intriguing clash between fifth and sixth.

Peterborough 4-2 TOWNRhodes, Carey. Attn: 6.647

THE pre-match entertainment from a singing triowearing cowboy hats and jackets sparked memories ofBrokeback Mountain.And just like the film, there was no happy ending, atleast for Town.There were highs, with Anthony Pilkington hitting thebar before Jordan Rhodes and Graham Carey put LeeClark’s side two goals to the good.But they were outweighed by the lows as Peterboroughpulled one back in first-half stoppage time, with keeperAlex Smithies making an unusual handling error, beforeturning the game on its head with two goals in as manyminutes soon after the restart.As Posh turned the screw, Town failed to respond withsufficient power, and Smithies had been beaten for afourth time before late pressure provided fleeting hopesof a fightback which failed to materialise.It was a big disappointment, particularly since Townwere seeking a fourth straight clean sheet and given theway they started so brightly, and it shows Clark’snew-look team is still a work in progress.Shorn of the experienced Gary Naysmith throughsuspension, the manager handed full debuts to loan pairCarey (Celtic) and Damien Johnson (Plymouth), leavingGary Roberts on the bench.Carey slotted in at left-back and Johnson was paired withJoey Gudjonsson in central midfield, Scott Arfieldswitching to the left.And while Posh made the early running – AaronMclean’s downward header bounced just over the barbefore Kelvin Langmead screwed a shot off target from agreat position – Town were soon giving as good as theygot.Gudjonsson fired well over after good approach play byPilkington, who then fired a screamer of a shot againstthe bar, keeper Joe Lewis, who seemed to know littleabout it, looking on in relief as the ball hit his back butwent for a corner rather than over his own line.Carey then had a well-struck free-kick deflected beforesending over the flag kick from which Rhodes headedTown into a 22nd-minute lead.Posh were still having their moments, and Ryan Bennetthad a headed goal disallowed for offside before ArronDavies latched onto Craig Mackail-Smith’s breakawaypass only to be halted by a fine tackle from thebacktracking Arfield.But the home fans were jeering manager Gary Johnsonand his men after a foul on Gudjonsson by JamesWesolowksi 20 yards out gave Carey the chance to net offthe right-hand post.Town had been 2-0 up at the same stage at Notts Countyand went on to close the game out, but Smithies’ lapse inallowing George Boyd’s shot to squirm through his graspgave the home side a lift at a key time.They were level within six minutes of the restart, whenMclean held off Lee Peltier to shoot home on the turnfrom Grant McCann’s inswinging free-kick, awarded forCarey’s foul on Mark Little.And worse was to come as Mclean’s pass freedMackail-Smith, who romped forward and put in a lowshot.

Jamie McCombe seemed to have got a key touch, but theball ricocheted against Mackail-Smith and rolled past thedespairing Smithies and over the line.Clark reshuffled in a bid to shore things up, replacingCarey, booked for a first-half foul on Davies and walkinga tightrope after his challenge on Little, with Roberts andswitching Arfield to left-back on the hour.Lee Novak replaced Rhodes, but by the time Lee Croftcame on for Pilkington, Mclean had notched his secondof the game, netting with an angled shot in the 67thminute after a high ball from the left deceived Townskipper Peter Clarke.Credit to Town that they managed to string togethersome late attacks, with debutant Croft, the Derby loanman, producing a busy stint.Arfield was just wide with a curling shot from Garner’sclever back-heel before Roberts swept past three menbefore rifling a low effort against the right-hand upright.But it was hard to argue with the home side’s right to thepoints after a storming comeback which leaves Townneeding to respond with resolution.

AUGUST

■ PRESSURE: Gary Roberts takes on the Notts County defence

League I, end of August


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SEPTEMBER

■ BOOM BOOM: Jamie McCombe hammers his second against Yeovil

TOWN 2-2 AFC BournemouthKay, Roberts Attn: 10,824

TOWN created enough chances to have won comfortably,but couldn’t really complain after being denied all threepoints.Lee Clark’s side struggled to find any real fluency formuch of a first half bossed by Bournemouth, who took a33rd-minute lead through in-form striker Josh McQuoid.But buoyed by Antony Kay’s headed equaliser in first-halfstoppage time, Town began the second period strongly,and were in front by the 48th minute, when Gary Robertsput away a penalty with aplomb.The strike sparked the home team’s best period of thegame, and had Alan Lee’s 63rd-minute effort gone inrather than hit the right-hand post, the visitors’ challengewould surely have been finished.The Cherries survived, however, and picked up a pointthrough Marc Pugh’s 79th-minute equaliser and somestubborn late defending.The bright reputation built by Dean Court boss EddieHowe was illustrated when he was linked with thevacancy along the coast at Southampton.And his reputation won’t have been harmed by thisdisplay, forged on a 4-1-4-1 system which proved tough tobreak down and provided opportunities to push forwardthanks to some quick closing down.Only elevated to the side by Brett Pitman’s transfer toBristol City, Northern Ireland Under 21 striker McQuoidhas certainly made the most of his opportunity.Midfielder Marvin Bartley might have done thespadework by robbing Joey Gudjonsson and surgingforward, but it needed a composed finish, and McQuoidprovided it with a curling right-foot effort from justoutside the penalty area.McQuoid almost claimed another on 35 minutes, whenhis close-range effort from Liam Feeney’s cross went wide,and Bournemouth were made to regret that missedchance as Town found their feet at the end of the half.Lee Peltier’s cross led to a Jordan Rhodes shot which waspushed away by keeper Shwan Jalal, and from Roberts’corner, Kay rose to head home his first goal of the season.Town began the second half brightly, and went in frontwhen Roberts sent Jalal the wrong way from the spotafter being fouled by Bartley.Things were looking up, and Lee came agonisingly closewhen his close-range shot hit the woodwork after Robertshad turned Lee Bradbury inside-out.Bournemouth refused to bow down, and drew level whensubstitute Harry Arter’s deft flick was headed in by Pugh.Town mounted a late push, with Novak forcing a smartsave from Jalal with a shot on the turn before, in thefourth minute of time added on, Lee headed over fromPeltier’s cross then had a volley held while claims for asecond Town penalty were turned down when JasonPearce threw himself in the way of another Novak shot.

Leyton Orient 1-2 TOWNArfield, Rhodes. Attn: 3,918

SCOTT ARFIELD scored his first Town goal and JordanRhodes his fifth of the season as Lee Clark’s side cameout tops in a game of tactical cat and mouse.Dean Cox’s spectacular response less than 60 secondsafter Rhodes’ deflected 78th-minute shot looped in madefor a slightly nervy finale, but overall, the visitors weregood value for their third League I win of the season andsecond away from home.Opposite ends of the emotional spectrum meant neitherright winger Anthony Pilkington, who had just become afather (to a boy) nor right-back Lee Peltier, who hadsuffered a family bereavement, were in East London.Arfield, who took on Peltier’s defensive duties, andGraham Carey returned to the side after Under 21 dutywith Scotland and the Republic of Ireland respectively.And in came Carey’s fellow loanees Damien Johnson, fora first start in three, and Joe Garner, for a first in four.It was an inspired selection, because Johnson and Garnerproved key in negating the threat of Orient’s centralmidfield trio of Stephen Dawson, Adam Chambers andMatthew Spring.It was testament to Clark’s containment policy thatOrient, having been limited to only half-chances beforethe break, tried several different approaches after it.Each time Town reshuffled as well, with Lee Novak,Jordan Rhodes and Joey Gudjonsson replacing Garner,Alan Lee and Carey between the 57th and 73rd minutes.When Rhodes doubled the lead provided by Arfield’swell-taken third-minute strike, it looked like Town werehome and hosed.However, having made two fine saves from ScottMcGleish, Alex Smithies, who was with the EnglandUnder 21s last midweek, had no chance of stopping Cox’sfiercely-struck first timer from Alex Revell’s lay-off.Orient were obviously lifted, but Town were still able tohit the bar through Jamie McCombe’s header before theysurvived a late scare when skipper Peter Clarke cleared offthe line from James Walker in time added on.Town rightfully accepted the applause from their 603 fansin a 3,918 crowd, the lowest at a league game involving theGalpharm club since Walsall away last season.Arfield must have been especially satisfied after a proudweek in which he helped Scotland join England in theEuropean Under 21 Championship qualifying play-offsbefore opening his goal account South of the border.The former Falkirk man’s third minute goal was exquisite,lofted in from the edge of the area after Carey caught the

Orient defence unawares with a free-kick from the right.Garner, having won the free-kick which provided thebreakthrough, continued to stretch the home team whiledoing a fine marking job on Spring, and with Johnsonand Antony Kay also putting the squeeze on theopposition and McCombe looking very solid at the back,Town looked the stronger side in the first half.Lee tested Jamie Jones with a low shot which the keeperneeded two attempts to smother then headed narrowlyover from an Arfield cross while Revell had to reactsmartly to block Carey’s deflected 30-yard free-kick.It was more even after the break when Gary Roberts hada low shot held and Arfield fired narrowly over fromdistance before McGleish looked on in anguish as his72nd-minute shot was spectacularly tipped over bySmithies and his 76th-minute drive pushed away, althoughhe was ruled offside in any case.Then came Rhodes’ successful strike, which hit BenChorley en route to the net, giving Jones little chance.Orient looked sunk until Cox's sizzling strike kept theinterest level high right up to the not-so-bitter end

TOWN 4-2 Yeovil TownArfield, McCombe (2), Roberts (pen). Attn: 11,222

STEP aside Thierry Henry – it was ‘va va boom’ as Townwent top of League I with a thrilling comeback victory.Jamie McCombe – the giant centre-back fans call BoomBoom – took centre stage with the first two-goal haul ofhis career.This was Peterborough away in reverse, as Town wenttwo down (within the first 14 minutes) before hittingback in stirring fashion.Scott Arfield, with his second goal in as many games,started the recovery with a superb 49th-minute strike.And Gary Roberts provided a crucial two-goal cushionwith a 75th-minute penalty.It was Town’s fourth reasonable spot-kick shout, andMcCombe must have been sorely tempted to grab theball and go for a hat trick.Having powered home a trademark header from GrahamCarey’s cross in the 66th minute to equalise, he’d shownhis prowess with the boot by firing Town in front just twominutes later.Carey’s upfield ball was headed on by the hard-workingLee Novak, handed his first start of the season, andMcCombe, still on the edge of the Yeovil penalty areafollowing an attack moments earlier, turned his markerand fired a right-foot shot across Stephen Henderson andinto the keeper’s right-hand corner.While it was a day to remember for McCombe, who nowhas three goals for the season and 28 in his career, it wasa debut to forget for his former Bristol City teammateHenderson, brought in on an emergency loan fromAshton Gate because of an injury to regular stopperJohn Sullivan.Yet everything had started so well for Yeovil – and poorlyfor Town, who had Arfield at right-back, the returningLee Peltier at left-back and Damien Johnson and AntonyKay in central midfield.Dean Bowditch took ruthless advantage when CraigAlcock’s cross skimmed off the head of Carey byswivelling to drill home a ninth-minute shot, then OwainTudur-Jones doubled the West Country team’s advantageby hooking home at the far post as Gavin Williamsdelivered a free-kick from the left following Arfield’s foulon Andy Welsh.Town were looking shaky, and skipper Peter Clarke

repeated his fifth-minute feat of robbing Bowditch with acrucial penalty-area challenge to prevent the formerIpswich man making it three in the 27th minute.By that stage, Peltier had switched to his more naturalright-sided defensive berth, with Carey dropping toleft-back, Arfield moving upfield and Roberts taking ona more roving midfield role, and Town were making farmore of an impression towards the end of the first half.Boss Lee Clark replaced Kay with Joey Gudjonsson atthe start of the second half, and Town had soon pulled agoal back.Yeovil failed to clear Roberts’ free-kick from the left andArfield, having seen a goalbound effort hit Alan Leerather than the net in the first half, picked his spot with asweet right-foot shot.Lee twice came close to a first Town goal as the screwwas turned. First, after Arfield crossed following a neatone-two with Novak, he was foiled by keeper Henderson,then the former Crystal Palace man headed Roberts’62nd-minute cross against the bar, with the busy DamienJohnson firing over from the rebound.There were also three reasonable penalty claims, forhandball by Adam Virgo and fouls on Clarke andJohnson by Nathan Smith and Luke Ayling respectively,and fans were still debating them when McCombeheaded the equaliser.The hopes of Yeovil and their loyal 165 travelling fanswere clearly crumbling and Town fans were on their feetonce again after McCombe’s classy finish put the homeside ahead.Tyne and Wear referee David Foster finally pointed tothe penalty spot after substitute Ayling was ruled to havehandled after Arfield headed on a Peltier throw-in.And Roberts made no mistake from 12 yards out, hissecond successful penalty (after that againstBournemouth) and third goal of the season.

Rochdale 3-0 TOWNAttn: 6,121

TOWN went down to a dramatic defeat, but the scorelinefailed to reflect the pattern of a rousing Roses showdown.Trailing to Jason Kennedy’s early goal, Lee Clark’s sidewere pushing furiously for an equaliser, only to be sunkby late strikes from Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and ChrisO’Grady.It was tough on Town , who made three changes to theside which started Saturday’s game at Swindon.Left-back Liam Ridehalgh, winger Anthony Pilkingtonand striker Joe Garner came in for broken-arm victimGary Roberts, Joey Gudjonsson and Alan Lee.Scott Arfield passed a fitness test on the calf injury hepicked up at Swindon and took up a central midfieldberth.It was high tempo end-to-end football all the way throughthe first half, with Garner denied by keeper Josh Lillis’sbrave dive before Kennedy struck with Rochdale’s firstattack in the sixth minute.Brian Barry-Murphy swung in a free-kick from the leftwhich was flicked on for the midfielder to fire home fromsix yards out.Town, urged on by more than 3,000 travelling fans whocreated a great atmosphere, responded strongly.Graham Carey and Garner combined to set up formerRochdale loan man Jordan Rhodes, but Josh Thompson’schallenge snuffed out the danger.Then Carey shot wide before Peter Clarke’s flick-on justevaded the stretching Garner in the 25th minute.Centre-back Marcus Holness did well to block whenCarey powered in a shot from Lee Peltier’s long throw.And Arfield, running from deep, was only just off targetwith a low drive from the edge of the area.Rochdale replied with a long-range Kennedy effort whichflew wide, and the goalscorer’s 35th-minute attempt from20 yards out was well held by Alex Smithies, who wasbeing watched by Football Association scout JoeCorrigan.Pilkington was seeing plenty of the ball, but after a sharprun down the right in the 44th minute, his shot was welloff target.Meanwhile Smithies had to be alert to block at the nearpost when Joe Thompson broke through in first-halfstoppage time.Town made the running at the start of the second half,with Rhodes and Carey shooting over before the lattercame close with a rising 54th-minute shot. But there wasrelief on 55 minutes, when Matt Done went down underJamie McCombe’s challenge, only for referee GrantHegley, a replacement for Phil Gibbs, to wave play on.Town boss Lee Clark replaced Rhodes with Lee Novakafter 61 minutes, and the Geordie came close with his firsttouch, a close-range header which went just over.Gary Jones powered a header from Done’s cross just widein a rare Rochdale attack on the hour, but Town wererelentless, and Damien Johnson was left shaking his headwhen his goalbound shot from Pilkington’s cross wasblocked in the 67th minute.Jones again came close in the 72nd minute with adeflected shot from a partially-cleared corner.Rochdale scrambled to clear Lee Peltier’s teasing85th-minute cross, but the tension was soon transferred tothe opposite end.Novak cleared Jones’ header off the line but in the 88thminute, Town’s goal was breached as Frenchman AkpaAkpro, just on as a substitute, broke clear and produced asweet finish from just inside the area.As Town pushed for an instant response, Rochdale tookruthless advantage when O’Grady pushed the ball pastSmithies and drove home.

League I, end of September

Swindon Town 1-0 TOWNAttn: 8,652

THIS proved an expensive trip as Town lost the game aswell as playmaking pair Gary Roberts and Scott Arfield.Sean Morrison settled it in the last-minute of normal timewith a powerful header from Alan Sheehan’s corner whichbeat stretching Alex Smithies’ desperate attempt to save.It was tough on both the keeper and his teammates, whohad mounted a sterling effort to keep the hosts at bay –and looked like they had succeeded.Both sides were going for a third straight win, but neitherfound top gear in a scrappy contest which Roberts willremember for the wrong reasons.While the prognosis on calf injury victim Arfield, injuredin the same phase of play, is more hopeful, Roberts is setfor a spell on the sidelines with a broken arm.As referee Steve Tanner waved play on after Arfield wasbrought down in the 13th minute, Jonathan Douglassteamed in on Roberts, who landed awkwardly.Town players were far from happy with the tackle whichled to Roberts leaving the pitch on a stretcher, butDouglas wasn’t shown a yellow card.While Anthony Pilkington came off the bench, Arfield,who also received treatment, carried on until the break,with Antony Kay emerging for the second half.The changes certainly didn’t help Town, who had spurneda top chance to take a seventh-minute lead.Roberts was quickly onto the ball when keeper DavidLucas’s throw out failed to find right-back KevinAmankwaah.

Alan Lee stepped over the low cross to tee up JordanRhodes, but the five-goal top scorer – restored to thestarting side after two games on the bench – was unableto beat Lucas, who saved with his legs.Douglas was unable to capitalise on slick Swindonbuild-up play in the 37th minute, driving wide from fellowformer Leeds man Sheehan’s pass.Amankwaah shot over after McCombe blockedMorrison’s header two minutes later.Then, in first-half stoppage time, Smithies tipped over apowerful 25-yard drive by Sheehan.Togolese striker Thomas Dossevi was just off target in thefirst minute of the second half.Then he had a shot blocked by McCombe in the 60thminute, when Joey Gudjonsson dealt with VincentPericard’s follow-up effort.Meanwhile Douglas’s 67th-minute foul on Graham Careyprovided Pilkington with a free-kick chance, hiswell-struck effort being pushed over the top by Lucas.Pericard was off target when Morrison’s long throw hadTown scrambling in the 80th minute.And Swindon did get the ball in the net in the 82nd, butJon-Paul McGovern’s deflected shot was rightly ruled outfor Pericard’s push on Smithies.Peter Clarke then came to the rescue as Dossevi tried hisluck with an overhead kick, but despite his best effortsSmithies couldn’t prevent Morrison’s header hitting hisleft-hand corner.There was still time for Town to come close to anequaliser, with Lucas pawing clear McCombe’s headerfrom a Gudjonsson free-kick..


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OCTOBER

■ STRIKE: Anthony Pilkington nets against Southampton

TOWN 0-1 Bristol RoversAttn: 10,641

TALK about the one that got away!For this to have ended as a draw would have beenfrustrating, so losing was a real hammer blow.Will Hoskins’ curling shot in the fourth and final minuteof time added on put the tin lid on a tough eight days.Town, of course, went down to a late goal at Swindonbefore losing 3-0 at Rochdale in a match they dominated.Then, on home turf on Saturday, a stack of good Townchances came and went before Jamie McCombe’s89th-minute sending off for a second bookable offence.Hoskins, held back by the big centre-half as he pushedthrough on goal, took advantage in inspired fashion witha step-over and a sweetly-struck effort which gave keeperAlex Smithies no chance.It could all have been so different, and while it would beunfair to suggest it was one-way traffic, Town certainlyhad the lion’s share of possession, and opportunities.Joe Garner’s second-minute header from Graham Carey’sfree-kick which went just wide was the first of at least 15chances and set the tone for what was to follow as Roversstood firm through a combination of home profligacy andtheir own committed defending.Jordan Rhodes and Carey got into great positions butwere unable to convert, Town’s five-goal top scorershooting too high after McCombe’s 10th-minute headerwas blocked and on-loan Celtic man Carey crashing a55th-minute volley from Anthony Pilkington’s cross wide.In between, Garner’s goalbound shot was deflected for acorner, Damien Johnson was just wide from McCombe’snod-on, Rhodes had a drive blocked by Sawyer and firedoff target from a cross by Pilkington, who then saw hiseffort blocked by Carl Regan before his low shot infirst-half stoppage time was held by Danish goalkeeperMikkel Andersen, on loan from Reading.If anything, Town exerted more sustained pressure in thesecond half.Home supporters were still reflecting on Carey’s misswhen Rovers somehow kept out Peter Clarke’s headerfrom a Carey corner.Then, the busy Byron blocked Scott Arfield’s 62nd-minuteshot before heading away Carey’s follow-up, whileAndersen reacted smartly to save when Clarke powered ina header from a Lee Peltier centre.The stopper was back in the action when he palmed awaya header by Alan Lee, brought on along with Lee Novakin a double substitution on 51 minutes, when Rhodes andGarner made way.Then, in the 82nd minute, Town had a decent penaltyshout turned down by Lancashire referee Karl Evanswhen Johnson tumbled in a challenge from Danny Coles.It all went pear-shaped from there as Chris Lines, had ashot tipped away by Smithies before McCombe, alreadycautioned for fouling his former Bristol City teammateJohn Akinde in the first half, was red carded.There could be no real argument because Hoskins wasclearly impeded as he tried to break clear.FormerRotherham midfielder Hoskins had already testedSmithies with a 51st-minute shot, and his fifth goal of thecampaign left Town and their supporters stunned

Colchester United 0-3 TOWNNovak, Pilkington, Rhodes. Attn: 4,211

TOWN produced a near-perfect away performance to ruinColchester’s unbeaten League I record.The only blot was the late dismissal of Lee Croft, whoseone-match ban, to be served when Southampton maketheir eagerly-awaited visit to the Galpharm on Saturday,comes with a question mark over the fitness of fellowwideman Anthony Pilkington.The 22-year-old was forced off early in the second halfwith a hamstring niggle having made a big impact with hisfifth goal of the campaign.Town also lost Lee Novak, who scored his first of theseason in the 34th minute to set Town on their way.Wincing after taking a knee in the lower back in an earlychallenge, he lasted until the 59th minute, when he madeway for Jordan Rhodes, Town’s top scorer, who cementedthe victory with his sixth of the season in the 78th minute.All three goals were well crafted and well taken, and cameafter Lee Clark’s side had a clear penalty turned down byBedfordshire referee Pat Miller, Ashley Vincent shovellingNovak’s 17th-minute shot off the line with an obvioushandball.Town channelled their frustration at that decisionpositively, and having come through an early spell ofhome pressure unscathed, with keeper Ian Bennett makinga vital block in a one-on-one with David Perkins, took areal grip on proceedings.Despite that sore back, Novak, making only his third startof the term, was a real bundle of energy, and home strikerDavid Mooney’s loose pass was the perfect invitation forhim to pick up possession, stride forward and slot a lowshot past keeper Ben Williams from 25 yards out.It was Town’s first goal in four league games, and theplayers’ celebratory charge towards the visitors’ dug-outsent out a strong message of club unity.Williams, who had earlier done well to prevent an owngoal by centre-back Magnus Okuonghae, needed twoattempts to gather Graham Carey’s 38th-minute free-kick.

But he was powerless to prevent Pilkington’s effortcounting in the 42nd minute.Lee Peltier’s throw-in was flicked on and Pilkingtonplayed a neat one-two with Novak, whose pass wasperfectly weighted for the former Stockport player to slidethe ball home.Town, chasing a first clean sheet since the goalless homedraw with Tranmere on August 14, must have beenexpecting home pressure at the start of the second half.Skipper Peter Clarke, partnered in central defence byAntony Kay for the second match running, made a vitalblock to thwart on-loan Reading man Mooney, whileVincent failed to make the most of Kem Izzet’s inviting63rd-minute cross, heading straight at Bennett.Meanwhile the 67th-minute introduction of the busy JoeGarner added zest to the attack, and his interception ofTom Williams’ pass towards Paul Reid set up Rhodes,who sent a low shot across Williams and into hisright-hand corner.The loss of Croft, already booked for handball thenshown a second yellow for an 80th-minute mistimedtackle, couldn’t de-rail Town

TOWN 2-0 SouthamptonPilkington, Gudjonsson. Attn: 13,273

ANTHONY PILKINGTON and Joey Gudjonssonproduced the sweetest of strikes to seal a hugelysatisfying win.Those two clinical finishes, in the sixth and 45th minutes,and a sheer willingness to work, ensured it was Townwho prevailed in the contest of two teams chasing a thirdconsecutive victory – and keen to play football.A Southampton side unbeaten in five outings and on theup under former Scunthorpe manager Nigel Adkins wererepeatedly closed down as Lee Clark’s side impressed offthe ball as well as on it.There were just two moments of worry for home fans, inthe 36th minute, when Damien Johnson cleared off theline from Rickie Lambert, and the first minute of thesecond half, when Lee Peltier blocked Guily do Prado’sshot.And even the delay in which Holme Valley-based fourthofficial Jason Tyas took over as assistant referee becauseMark Sutton was feeling unwell and which led to 11minutes of time being added on failed to de-rail Town’sdetermined drive towards another three-point haul.Clark named the same starting XI for the second gamerunning and his players really hit the ground running.Pilkington brought a fine one-handed save from KelvinDavis with a fifth-minute free-kick following Jose Fonte’sfoul on Novak.But there was nothing the long-serving formerSunderland stopper could do to prevent Town goingahead a minute later.Davis was rooted to his spot as first Gudjonsson crasheda shot against the right-hand post, then Pilkington firedhome first time from the rebound.It was a superb finish from the winger, his sixth goal ofthe season and fourth in three games.And it really lifted both Town and their supporters.Davis had to be alert to block from Kay before thevisitors, whose only previous effort had been a Fonteshot pushed away by Ian Bennett, finally bared theirteeth.

Good work down the left by the tricky Adam Lallana setup Lambert, but Johnson was on hand to divert his firstheader before Bennett punched clear from the follow-up.Town were soon back on the attack, and Peter Clarkeshot narrowly wide from a Carey free-kick before Peltierand Pilkington combined to set up Lee, whose low effortwas held by Davis.Town were worth another goal, and it duly arrived whenClarke’s challenge ensured Carey’s free-kick was clearedonly as far as the edge of the box, where the lurkingGudjonsson rifled a low shot into Davis’s left-handcorner to register his first Town goal.Saints must have been deflated, but they pushed forwardat the start of the second half, and Town were relievedwhen Peltier threw himself in the way of lively Braziliando Prado’s effort.Lambert’s 57th-minute header from Jason Puncheon’scross was calmly held by Bennett, but chances at eitherend were rare as a series of disruptions robbed the matchof momentum.Peltier and Pilkington were both brought off after feelingniggly injuries while Saints lost their five-goal top scorerLambert with concussion.The change of assistant referee – former Thongsbridgecricketer Tyas was given a warm round of applause byfans of his hometown club as he picked up the flag –means everyone had to stay a little later than usual.But full marks to Town for maintaining theirconcentration for a second clean sheet in a row.

TOWN 1-0 WalsallPilkington. Attn: 11,038

IN-FORM Anthony Pilkington fired another spectaculargoal as Town overcame the early dismissal of Alan Lee tochalk up the win which put them second in League I.The former Stockport man struck his sixth goal in fivegames and eighth of the season in the 35th minute – 11after Lee was shown a straight red card for putting an armin the face of Walsall centre-back Manny Smith.Pilkington heads to Hillsborough for tomorrow’s big derbyagainst Sheffield Wednesday aiming to equal PawelAbbott’s feat of scoring in six consecutive games at thestart of the 2005-06 campaign.And his prowess both inside and outside the penalty area –for this was another long-range strike – could come inparticularly useful as Lee Clark deals with a strikershortage.Lee’s three-match suspension after his straight red cardcomes with Lee Novak ruled out for six weeks with ahamstring tear.And it seems on-loan Joe Garner won’t be allowed to playin Saturday’s FA Cup first-round tie at Cambridge underthe terms of the deal with Nottingham Forest.Boss Clark has confirmed he could seek another loansigning, but in the aftermath of his side’s seventh leaguewin of the season, he was happy with a job well done.The remaining 10 players, as well as substitutes ScottArfield and Garner, when they came on for Graham Careyand Jordan Rhodes respectively, put in a real shift to limitWalsall to just a handful of chances, and register a fifthclean sheet in all competitions.Town’s resilience was summed up in the 58th minute, whencaptain Peter Clarke threw himself in the way of AaronLescott’s drive.Walsall’s ambition at kick-off seemed to be to containTown and try and nick a goal on the counter, with Lescottthe holding midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 system.Lee’s sending off – while referee Steve Rushton made somebemusing decisions, there was no argument with this one –changed the complexion of the match.But Walsall still seemed to be working out how best to tryand use their numerical superiority when Pilkington firedTown ahead.Taking possession on the right, he cut inside and let flyfrom 30 yards, the left-foot shot beating Walsall’snewly-signed former Tottenham keeper James Walker andnestling in his left-hand corner.Walsall’s only efforts were from distance, with formerTown loanee Steve Jones shooting wide and ex-Barnsleyman John Macken bringing a smart save from IanBennett, who had another fine game.And while Lescott stung Bennett’s fingers five minutes intothe second half, it took the Midlanders until the final 20minutes to put together any kind of concerted pressure.By that stage West Brom loanee Reuben Reid wasproviding more muscle up front, and he looped a headeronto the roof of the net before getting in a prodding shot,from Richard Taundry’s long throw, which the seasonedBennett was equal to.Walsall widemen Jones and Julian Gray were pushing upbehind front two Reid and fellow substitute Alex Nicholls,but Town were in no mood to let their lead slip.Full-backs Lee Peltier and Liam Ridehalgh both turnedaway dangerous-looking crosses while Garner, havingbrought a save from Walker with a header from Johnson’s70th-minute cross, underlined that this was a really solidteam effort by heading clear an awkwardly in-swingingcorner from Jones at the opposite end.

Plymouth Argyle 2-1 TOWNPilkington. Attn: 7,048

TOWN came unstuck as Plymouth took the DevonExpressway to victory.Two well-taken goals by Bradley Wright-Phillips, theformer Manchester City and England junior striker whois trying to get his career back on track in this far-flungFootball League outpost, were enough to condemn Townto a first defeat in four matches.Both came the direct way, with New Zealand’s World Cupstriker Rory Fallon flicking on booming kicks fromon-loan Tottenham goalkeeper David Button forWright-Phillips to shoot past Ian Bennett, who has beenunbeaten in the previous two games.And the second, in the 66th minute, was enough to sendTown and their 597 fans back up the A38 on their310-mile return journey hoping for a bounce-back win athome to struggling Walsall on Saturday.There was one moment for manager Lee Clark and thetravelling faithful to enjoy in the form of AnthonyPilkington’s fifth goal in four games and seventh of theseason.It came in the 19th minute, two after Wright-Phillips hadput Plymouth ahead, and completed a neat move begunby left-back Liam Ridehalgh’s throw-in.Alan Lee flicked it on to fellow frontman Lee Novak,whose pass found Graham Carey in space.The Celtic loanee headed for the byline before pullingback an inviting cross which Pilkington lashed into theroof of the net.It was the perfect response to Wright-Phillips’ opener,angled home after ex-Barnsley man Fallon rose to nod ona free-kick launched forward by Button, and reflected apositive start by Town against a home team showing six

changes to that beaten 2-0 at Notts County .Carey had already tested Button with a free-kick 30 yardsout, while Joey Gudjonsson was only just over with adrive from even longer distance, and other than a run ofthree successive corners, little had been seen of PeterReid’s side before Wright-Phillips struck.Lifted by their equaliser, Town pushed forward, andquick-thinking Peter Clarke freed Pilkington with aswiftly-taken free-kick, only for the goalscorer to rush hisshot, while Novak, set up by Lee Peltier, held off RedaJohnson’s challenge but put his effort over the bar.At the other end, Bennett did well to collect anawkwardly looping header by Craig Noone beforeholding a low shot by Conor Clifford, brought in on loanfrom Chelsea on Friday afternoon.Recalled Scott Arfield’s 42nd-minute shot, which followed

good approach work by Gudjonsson andNovak, didn’t have the power to seriouslytrouble Button.Then the robust Fallon did have the ball in theback of the net, only for his header to bedisallowed for a foul on Bennett.It was the same story in the 54th minute, withthe cheers of the home supporters cut shortafter Fallon was ruled to have fouled AntonyKay before heading home.But Town couldn’t be saved whenWright-Phillips raced onto Fallon’s flick-onfrom Button’s drop kick, got past Kay and slidhome a low shot.As Town pressed forward, it took a brave saveby Bennett to prevent Wright-Phillips chalkingup a hat trick while at the other end, substituteJoe Garner produced a goalbound shot fromClarke’s nod-on, only for Button to get downlow to ensure Plymouth claimed the points.

League I, end of October


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NOVEMBER■ QUALITY:Damien Johnsonin action againstSheffieldWednesday

Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 TOWNCarey, Pilkington. Attn: 20,540

ANTHONY PILKINGTON struck again to leave Townfans singing in the rain.The man with the goal-den touch netted for the sixthsuccessive game as Lee Clark’s side savoured a sweetderby success.A first-half double did the trick in South Yorkshire, whereGraham Carey fired Town ahead direct from a free-kickbefore Pilkington made it seven in six outings and ninefor the season.It was a scoreline which had home fans in a 20,540 crowdstreaming for the exits well before the final whistle.Town, playing only their fifth league game atHillsborough in 50 years, made one change in the wake ofSaturday’s 1-0 home win over Walsall.With Alan Lee starting a three-match ban after his redcard in that game, on-loan Nottingham Forest striker JoeGarner came in.Boss Lee Clark named new loan signing, 17-year-oldArsenal frontman Benik Afobe, on the bench.Wednesday, aiming to bounce back from a 1-0 loss atCharlton, had skipper and central defender Darren Purseback after suspension.The game kicked off in testing conditions, with Townmaking a busy start.Garner’s seventh-minute run down the left was halted byPurse, but the ball broke to Joey Gudjonsson, whose20-yard shot had pace but passed just the wrong side ofthe far post.Wednesday responded by carving out two decent chancesin three minutes.First ex-Bradford winger Jermaine Johnson’s shot took adeflection of Gudjonsson and flew narrowly off target,then Chris Sedgwick headed over from Lewis Buxton’sdeep cross from the right.But just as the home team appeared to be taking a grip,Town struck with 22 minutes gone.Purse brought down Garner 20 yards out, earning ayellow card, and Carey stepped up to curl the free-kickpast keeper Nicky Weaver, bringing Town’s travellingarmy of fans behind the posts to their feet.It was the on-loan Celtic man’s third goal for the club.Johnson was proving to be a tricky opponent down theright, winning a long throw hurled in by Daniel Joneswhich Town keeper Ian Bennett punched clear.Then, on the half hour, the veteran keeper had to besmart to parry Johnson’s low drive.Jones put a long-range free-kick narrowly wide minuteslater, but the Owls were rocked when Pilkington put Towntwo up in the 34th minute.The influential Gudjonsson began the breakaway movewith an interception and a neat pass to Rhodes, whobroke down the left to the edge of the Wednesday area.The move was carried on by Garner and Carey with theball breaking to Pilkington 20 yards out.The former Stockport man is playing with real confidenceafter his recent goal glut.And the ball was destined for the net as soon as it left hisboot, with Weaver well beaten.The home fans were growing distinctly restless and Townwere eager to exploit the situation, with Carey drivingacross the face of goal before Rhodes came close with anangled shot.Wednesday manager Alan Irvine made two changes at thebreak, bringing on Clinton Morrison and JamesO’Connor, and Town were made to work hard in theopening phase of the second half.Johnson lashed a low drive wide while Damien Johnsonmade a timely block to thwart Neil Mellor as Towndefended stoutly.Afobe was handed his first taste of senior football as a64th-minute replacement for Garner, and was quicklyinvolved, making a series of darting runs.Wednesday were still pushing hard for a way back intothe game, and Mellor came close with a well-struck77th-minute effort.At the other end, Afobe latched onto a long ball andcreated space for a shot, only for Purse to get in a crucialblock, while Pilkington tested Weaver with a well-strucklong ranger.

Oldham Athletic 1-0 TOWNAttn: 7,723

TOO MANY uncharacteristic mistakes left Town kickingthemselves.Quite simply, the crispness of thought and deed whichnormally galvanises Lee Clark’s side into a potentattacking force rarely bubbled through.Much of that was down to Oldham’s pressurising of theman in possession and – despite Town’s much-improvedefforts towards the end of the match – Paul Dickov’s sideneeded only one goal to preserve their unbeaten leaguerecord at Boundary Park.It came in the 24th minute from burly Sunderland loanstriker Oumare Tounkara – a wrecking ball of a humanbeing who fed off Town’s insecurities in the first half andprovided a ready outlet for his busy midfield.That 24th minute showed how fine the dividing line canbe between gaining some reward and going home emptyhanded in a division which is ludicrously tight.

Firstly Town should have taken the lead, AnthonyPilkington and Jordan Rhodes creating the space forGraham Carey to take aim from 12 yards, but he draggedhis shot across the face of goal and agonisingly wide ofthe target.Town’s brilliant following of 3,665 – who had earlier seenpenalty appeals waved away when Peter Clarke wasseemingly felled in the box – had barely had time to retaketheir seats when Oldham were carving their way quickly tothe other end.Dean Furman sensed Town were vulnerable as colleaguesgave him options on both sides, but he played Tounkarastraight down the middle with a pass of destructiveaccuracy.Town keeper Ian Bennett – who had earlier made abrilliant double save to deny Furman and Chris Taylor,and who played superbly throughout – was unlucky not toblock the powerful frontman in full flow.But the ricochet from the challenge fell kindly forTounkara, who was able to pass the ball into anunguarded net.It was a simple goal for Town to concede – only 50seconds between Carey’s chance and theirs – and Oldhamwere visibly lifted by going ahead.Suddenly Furman, the excellent Portuguese Felipe Moraisand the pacy Cedric Evina – a colleague of Benik Afobein the Arsenal youth team – were all over JoeyGudjonsson and Damien Johnson in the centre of thepark and Town were shaken.Only a magnificent last-gasp tackle by Johnson in thesix-yard box prevented Kieran Lee extending the lead,before Bennett grabbed a Morais free-kick and thenpounced to make a breathtaking one-handed stop fromTounkara’s angled drive as Oldham broke through again.Dale Stephens and Evina also went close as Town,battling all the way to plug the gaps, created problems forthemselves by giving the ball away far too easily whenthey had possession.Decent supply to the frontmen became just aboutnon-existent as Oldham eagerly maintained theirstranglehold on midfield, and Town’s cause wasn’t helpedwhen Anthony Pilkington made an early exit due to injury– even though replacement Scott Arfield did a sound jobon the right.Something needed to change and Clark sent on big AlanLee to give Town more physical presence up front and,perhaps, to hold the ball and create more time for histeammates to find their attacking rhythm.Clark was furious when Town started sloppily once again,however, having a lucky let-off as Taylor wasted a gloriouschance when unmarked, but the match then started toeven out.Arfield raised hopes with a nice run and cross which Leeheaded just wide and, when Gary Roberts joined the mixfor Carey with 25 minutes left, Oldham found themselvesunder more pressure than at any other time in the game.Town continued to make errors, as emphasised by Clarke’sover-hit free-kick straight to keeper Dean Brill, and theystill had to rely on Bennett for having a sniff of anequaliser – the experienced No1 making a wonderful stopfrom Evina before Johnson cleared off the line from theunmarked Jean-Yves M’Voto from the resulting corner.Town refused to give up the ghost with Roberts, Lee andAfobe all causing problems for the home defence, but the78th-minute effort which Afobe tried to place past Brillfrom the edge of the box was the only shot they managed

TOWN 0-1 Exeter CityAttn: 11,097

FRUSTRATION was the name of the game as Townsuffered a second successive League I loss.Jordan Rhodes headed against the bar before Exeterscored while Scott Arfield hit a post at the end of asecond half which was one-way traffic.But in the cold light of day that will count for nothing,with the record books simply showing an away winsealed by Richard Duffy’s 36th-minute header.The defender lost his marker Anthony Pilkington toconvert Ryan Harley’s corner from just outside thesix-yard box.It looked like Exeter had doubled that lead six minuteslater, when Troy Archibald-Henville, another of the threecentre-backs fielded by Paul Tisdale, nodded home fromanother Harley flag kick.But this time referee Nigel Miller disallowed the goal fora raised arm on Peter Clarke.There were question marks against the quality of some ofTown’s passing, while on the occasions neat build-up playset up opportunities, the finish wasn’t forthcoming.Anthony Pilkington buzzed about and showed some neattouches in a roaming frontline role, but couldn’t make afirm impression, while Graham Carey, playing atleft-back, delivered some inviting crosses.Rhodes got on the end of two of them, putting the ballover the bar in the 16th minute before seeing anotherheader in the 28th beat athletic Polish keeper ArturKrysiak but bounce back off the bar.The former Birmingham stopper was equal to Carey’swell-struck low effort in the 49th minute, with the tonebeing set for the remainder of the game.Rhodes pounced on right-back Steve Tully’s misplacedheader, but from an acute angle, shot wide.Then, in the 55th minute, Pilkington’s hooked volley wasdeflected narrowly wide of Krysiak’s right-hand post.Arfield, set up by Carey, had a long-range effort savedbefore Arfield and Rhodes created a chance whichPilkington put over the top.Pilkington then tried to turn provider, but his69th-minute cross was plucked from the air by thestretching Krysiak with Town men lurking.

TOWN 4-1 MK DonsKay, Roberts, Rhodes (2). Attn: 9,563

TOWN were desperate for victory and duly delivered toget their League I challenge back on track.Jordan Rhodes returned to the top of the club goal chartsby taking his season’s haul to 10 with a second-halfdouble after Antony Kay and Gary Roberts provided atwo-goal half-time tonic.It meant misery for MK Dons, who suffered a secondsuccessive 4-1 defeat after losing to Sheffield Wednesdayon Saturday.But it must have brought a smile to the face of formerfavourite Frank Worthington, who celebrated his 62ndbirthday by watching from the stand.Lee Clark rung the changes, with Alex Smithies, JamieMcCombe and Joe Garner all coming in and Ian Bennett,Lee Peltier and Joey Gudjonsson missing out.Right-back Peltier wasn’t even in the squad, suggesting aninjury.It was keeper Smithies’ first start in 12 matches andMcCombe’s first in the league since he was sent offagainst Bristol Rovers on October 2.For on-loan Garner, who was being watched by hisNottingham Forest manager Billy Davies, it was a firststart in six and a second in 12.MK, aiming to bounce back from successive defeats, hadsix-goal top scorer Sam Baldock absent (knee).Town, with Scott Arfield at right-back and Kay restoredto central midfield after a string of outings at centre-back,made a solid start.It took a good block tackle by centre-back SeanO’Hanlon to thwart Rhodes as he shot in the thirdminute.Then MK keeper David Martin’s hurried clearance let inRoberts in the sixth minute, his rising shot going over.The visitors had made few inroads, but stretched Townfrom a 14th-minute corner delivered by Peter Leven andfired goalwards by Danny Woodards, Smithies andArfield combining to keep the ball out.Town were still the dominant force, however, and Rhodesran onto Garner’s clever flick and outpaced O’Hanlon toput in a fine 17th-minute centre for Anthony Pilkingtonto test Martin with a diving header.Town fans rose in expectation when Pilkington cut infrom the right in the 23rd minute, but his shot was toohigh.They were soon celebrating though, as Pilkington’s crosstook a deflection off Mathias Doumbe into the path ofKay, who took his time and picked his spot to register hissecond goal of the season.Town were good value for a lead which was doubledwithin another 12 minutes.Pilkington was again involved, flighting in a corner fromthe Town left which Garner met at the far post, headingthe ball on for Roberts to nod home his fifth of thecampaign from close range.Town had a scare in the 42nd minute when McCombe’sfoul on Jabo Ibehre earned him a yellow card and set up a20-yard free-kick from which Leven hit the side netting.And the big defender was left walking a tightrope whenanother foul on Ibehre a minute later brought a verbalwarning from referee David Webb.A parade of Town’s stars of the seventies, includingWorthington, at half-time had the fans applauding, andthe old boys were barely back in their seats when thecurrent side went three up.The busy Pilkington made it a hat trick of assists bypulling the ball back from the right for Rhodes to swiveland fire into the roof of the net.Rhodes had the scent of goal firmly in his nostrils, andhaving been denied by keeper Martin’s block in the 54thminute, he then brought a smart save from the keeper witha header from Roberts’ cross.MK manager Karl Robinson responded with a doublesubstitution, and one of them, Aaron Wilbraham,provided his side with a vestige of hope by scoring withhis first touch in the 57th minute, beating Smithies with afirm low shot from Lewis Guy’s cross.Town, in turn, brought on Benik Afobe and LiamRidehalgh for Garner and Roberts, pushing Carey, whohad started at left-back, further upfield.And in the 66th minute Arsenal loanee Afobe broke fromhalfway to shoot against Martin’s right-hand post, withthe rebound falling neatly for the supporting Rhodes toslot his second of the game and 10th of the term..

on target in the entire 90 minutes.That’s not a statistic you very often encounter withTown, whose brightness and verve in attack is one oftheir stand-out qualities, but this was not one of theirbetter days at the office.A first defeat in five in all competitions was hard tostomach, especially as Town knew they had fallen belowthe standards which had taken them to second in theLeague I table, but it came against a very useful Oldhamside who did their job well.They rarely allowed Town’s midfield to click or thefull-backs to support, they pounced on the errors whichtheir pressure helped to force and it wasn’t until the finalquarter that their defence experienced any extendedspells of pressure.So a few bookmarks for Town with a third of the seasongone, the first to get straight back to their besttomorrow night.

On-loan Arsenal man Benik Afobe, brought on forRhodes after 74 minutes (Alan Lee had replaced JoeyGudjonsson for the second half) won a number ofcorners, but Exeter stood firm while in the 85th minute,Pilkington’s well-struck shot was blocked.Jamie McCombe, on for Antony Kay after 83 minutes,was pushed forward as Town continued to attack.And a minute into stoppage time, it looked as though thepressure had paid off as Arfield delivered a swerving shotwhich left Krysiak clawing at thin air – but it thuddedhigh against the keeper’s left-hand upright.Peltier’s shot from the rebound was blocked before thegrateful keeper held Afobe’s header, enabling Exeter tomilk the applause of their travelling fans after threeminutes of time added on.Now Town will try to rekindle the kind of form whichbrought them a scintillating win at Sheffield Wednesdayearlier this month when MK Dons, beaten 4-1 by theOwls on Saturday, come to the Galpharm tomorrow.

League I, end of November


DECEMBER

■ LETHAL: Jordan Rhodes opens the scoring against Brightonat the Galpharm Stadium

TOWN 2-1 BrightonRhodes, McCombe. Attn: 12,573

JAMIE McCOMBE enjoyed another goalden moment toleave Town supporters jumping for joy.Every time the big defender has scored, his side have won,and this hard-fought triumph over the League I leaderswas one of the best victories of the season to date.After all, the Seagulls had lost just twice previously, andmust have fancied their chances after Glenn Murray,having had a first-half penalty saved by the excellent AlexSmithies, put them ahead nine minutes after the restart.Town, however, conjured a quick response, with topscorer Jordan Rhodes heading his 12th goal of thecampaign.Then, in the 84th minute, another Gary Roberts free-kickhad Brighton scrambling and when Joey Gudjonsson’sshot was deflected into the air, McCombe pounced.As Danish keeper Casper Ankergren, who never had thebest of times at the Galpharm when he came with Leeds,fished the ball out of the net for the second time,McCombe savoured his fifth goal in Town colours.It took some stout defending to seal a third successiveTown win, with Smithies punching Elliott Bennett’sdangerous-looking cross clear then saving Gordon Greer’sheader.And Brighton’s frustration spilled over as players squaredup to each other in a series if mini skirmishes after thefinal whistle.But staff from both clubs were quick to step in andshepherd their players off the pitch.This always looked likely to be a tight affair, and afterTown had bossed the opening exchanges, forcing fourcorners in the first four minutes, Gus Poyet’s side wereable to show their attacking prowess, with Murray andBennett linking neatly.On-loan West Brom striker Chris Wood drove a low shotwide under pressure from Peter Clarke, then volleyedLiam Bridcutt’s floated free-kick onto the roof of the net,before McCombe served warning of his aerial power witha 20th-minute header which Ankergren held low.Marcos Painter then had a shot blocked, and whileMurray brought a fine save from Smithies only to bepulled up for being offside, Brighton’s attacking intentionswere clear.There were howls of protest from the home faithful whenreferee Andy Haines waved away penalty claims after JoeGarner went down under Adam El-Abd’s challenge.And to rub salt in the wounds, the Tyne and Wearwhistler then pointed to the spot after Murray tumbled asClarke tackled in the 36th minute.Town’s skipper, handed a fifth yellow card of the seasonwhich means he is suspended at Tranmere in theJohnstone’s Paint Trophy tomorrow, was adamant heplayed the ball.And he’ll feel justice was served by Smithies, who dived tohis right to smother Murray’s spot kick.It was a third successive penalty miss by Brighton, Woodand Bennett having failed from the spot previously, andtheir fifth of the campaign.Kay couldn’t find a finish when Ankergren spilledGarner’s angled effort into his path in first-half stoppagetime.And after Wood’s shot was blocked by Clarke andMurray’s effort saved by Smithies early in the second half,Brighton made the breakthrough.The lively Bennett delivered the ball into the box andMurray beat Lee Peltier’s desperate sliding challenge tosteer the ball home.Full marks to Town for responding so convincingly, withRhodes powering the ball home after Roberts first won afree-kick wide on the left, then sent in a teasing cross.The introduction of Benik Afobe for Garner (Gudjonssonand Liam Ridehalgh had already replaced injured pairDamien Johnson and Graham Carey) provided freshimpetus.And Town’s persistence finally paid off as McCombeproved to be in the right place at the right time.

TOWN 0-1 Hartlepool UnitedAttn: 14,813

IF TOWN’S last home performance of 2010 left animpression on their fans it was that they lack bite.In fact there is an old song that goes ‘All I want forChristmas is my two front teeth’ – Town certainly neededsome teeth up front.For a side who held the whip-hand in terms of possession,they created few chances and it was their patient visitorswho made their attacks tell when they broke out.That does not necessarily translate to saying that Town’sstrikers were poor, in fact manager Lee Clark tried toremedy their ills by throwing on Lee Novak and Alan Leeto end the game with four strikers on the field, but theservice into the danger areas was never crisp or decisiveenough to be turned into clear cut chances.Admittedly the Hartlepool side has to take some credit forthat.For their manager Mick Wadsworth it was a victory for

the way he set his side up to combat the strengths of hisformer club and for central defender Sam Collins, whostarted his career with Town, it was a true captain’sperformance as he marshalled his troops to perfection.The visitors were also aided by the stunning display from19-year-old keeper Jake Kean.On-loan from Premier League Blackburn, Kean showedhis top-flight class with a string of good stops and asTown piled on the pressure in the last quarter hour hedenied Benik Afobe, Scott Arfield and Gary Roberts asthey had the best of Town’s opportunities.But for Town it was another story of frustration seeminglygetting the better of them.They started brightly enough with Jordan Rhodesalmost playing in strike partner Joe Garnerafter three minutes and, within seconds, afoul on Gary Roberts led to Graham Careycurling a free kick over the Hartlepool bar.But perhaps the telling moment came on14 minutes when an excellent move downthe right saw Anthony Pilkingtonexchange passes with the overlappingArfield and he pushed the perfect passthat allowed Pilkington to dance throughon goal, only to see Kean make a greatsave at the near post.That pretty much wipedall the gloss off Town’ssparkling start andsteadily they started

Southampton 4-1 TOWNNovak Attn: 24,483

TOWN could have been two up by the time Lee Novakgave them the lead – but ended up tasting misery at StMary’s for the second season running.TOWN could have been two up by the time Lee Novakgave them the lead – but ended up tasting misery at StMary’s for the second season running.Two goals in five minutes through Rickie Lambert andAlex Chamberlain meant Southampton were in front bythe break.And Radhi Jaidi’s header seven minutes into the secondhalf, after Gary Roberts gave away a needless free-kick,put the side who put five without reply past Town lastseason firmly in the driving seat.Substitute Richard Chaplow’s 72nd-minute effort was theicing on the Christmas cake for home fans.But for Town boss Lee Clark and the club’s supporters –and full marks to the 901 who travelled through the fogto the South coast – it’s been a distinctly lean festiveperiod so far.

After the 1-0 home defeat byHartlepool on Boxing Day, Clark,without flu victim Jamie McCombe,saw out the old year by fielding anew-look central midfield andstrikeforce.Tom Clarke, fit again after kneesurgery, came in for a firstappearance since last season’splay-offs.He figured alongside versatile ScottArfield, alleviated of right-backduties by the return from suspensionof Lee Peltier.And up front, Novak made his first

start since damaging a hamstring atPlymouth in mid-October, partneringAlan Lee.And the big Irishman cameagonisingly close to a first Town goalwhen he shaved the far post with aheader from Anthony Pilkington’sdeep cross from the right 10 minutesin.Three minutes later, even the Saintsfans in a 24,483 crowd couldn’t believeit when Scott Arfield failed to hit an

open target after being teed up by Novak.All seemed well with the world when the Geordie struckin the 16th minute.His second goal of the season arrived courtesy of aclose-range header as Roberts crossed from Clarke’squickly-taken free-kick following a foul by Jaidi on Lee.Town’s fans were in full voice, Saints’ stunned, yet thehome side had shown what kind of threat they couldpose.Adam Lallana’s fifth-minute volley had beaten AlexSmithies’s dive only for Antony Kay to head clear.And Smithies had made two smart saves, first fromLambert’s close-range header, then Lallana’s shot.What a disappointment that Town failed to pick upLambert’s run as he met Dan Harding’s throw-in fromthe left on the corner of the penalty area and fizzed in a28th-minute equaliser with a shot to which Smithies gothis fingertips but couldn’t keep out.It was to get worse as well.Dean Hammond picked up possession in the kind ofmidfield area which Damien Johnson made his own andset up Chamberlain.The highly-rated 17-year-old who is reportedly beingtracked by a string of Premier League clubs showed somenifty footwork to create space for himself and slot a low32nd-minute shot to the left of the despairing Smithies.Town were struggling to regain their shape, and Lallanaalmost made it three in the 39th minute when he curled ashot against the bar from Guly Do Prado’s pass.It was encouraging that Town got to the break withoutfurther concession, but hopes of a fightback wereseverely hampered when Roberts brought downChamberlain, earning a booking and yielding thefree-kick which Lallana delivered for experiencedTunisian international Jaidi to convert from close range.Hammond brought further saves from Smithies eitherside of a fifth booking of the season for Kay whichmeans he is suspended for Saturday’s trip to Carlisle.Then on-loan Preston midfielder Chaplow rubbed saltinto Town’s wounds by combining neatly with Do Pradobefore drilling a low shot into Smithies’ left-hand corner.It meant the final scoreline was tough on Town, whohave to regroup between now and Brunton Park in a bidto get their League I campaign back on track byrediscovering the winning touch – and keeping it.

giving up possession with a string ofmisplaced passes and players being caughton the ball.Town still created openings with Rhodes’glancing shot from a Roberts cross goingclose, but Hartlepool were sensing theycould pose the home side problems purelyby forcing the game and getting intoTown’s faces.They had already started to lookdangerous – Antony Sweeney and LeonMcSweeney both forcing saves from keeperAlex Smithies – before they got their nosesin front.The game’s solitary goal arrived on 42 minutes and was a

classic piece of prospering from forced errors.Town initially lost possession then failed to win itback and when Evan Horwood managed to freehimself from the cover, he traded passes with AndyMonkhouse to get in behind Town’s defence and his

ball across the face of goal was powered home byMcSweeney.So Hartlepool went into the interval buzzing, while

Town were left to look at a shortish list of halfchances that they had failed to convert.

The second half was to see Town’s frustration grow.Their first foray of the second period perhaps summed

things up as Roberts attempted to prise an openingand, having wriggled his way into the box went

down, but referee Michael Naylor waved awaythe pleas which were at best half-hearted.

A failed curling effort from Rhodesheralded a change from boss Clark ashe pushed on Novak for JoeyGudjonsson on 68 minutes and wentto a three-man defence as he loadedthe top end of the team in anattempt to pull at least a goal back –having already switched Afobe forJoe Garner.Still the chances would not comedespite Afobe’s eager running –the best of his openings seeingKean quick off his line to blocka shot at the striker’s feet.In contrast Hartlepool lookedever dangerous on the breakand McSweeney was denied asecond goal as his low shotfrom a breakaway beat Smithiesonly to come out off the foot ofa post.

Then came the biggest let-off forTown as Sweeney led a raid down

the right and his cross seemedcertain to be turned in byunmarked substitute Armann

Bjornsson at the back post, butsomehow he contrived to lift the ballover the bar when faced with anopen net two yards out.

Town had one last attempt to breakthe Hartlepool defence but, with time

rapidly running away from them, Kean againproduced heroics to beat out Arfield’s drive and thensomehow win the race to recover the loose ball.

League I, end of December

In the end it was a victory for Wadsworth’s astute tactics,which earned his side a third consecutive away win inLeague I, but if Town had just had a cutting edge itwould have been a different matter.

■ YES: JamieMcCombecelebratesscoring thewinner againstBrighton


JANUARY

■ SKIPPER: Peter Clarke scores against Plymouth at home

Carlisle United 2-2 TOWNP Clarke, Arfield. Attn: 5,904

CARLISLE’S late onslaught proved just too much forTown to withstand as hopes of starting 2011 with amorale-boosting victory were dashed.Lee Clark’s side looked well set for a three-point haulafter substitute Scott Arfield added to Peter Clarke’sfirst-half strike with a well-taken 63rd-minute goal.But Carlisle boss Greg Abbott made an inspired changewhen replacing Leeds loanee Mike Grella with FrancoisZoko after 57 minutes.The Ivorian pulled a goal back with a 71st-minute header,setting the stage for James Chester, the on loanManchester United defender, to force home an82nd-minute equaliser from ex-Town man James Berrett’scorner.A point each was probably fair but Town will bedisappointed to have let slip a two-goal advantage, andwhat would have been a first win in three league games.Still struggling with the effects of the flu bug which hasswept through the camp, Clark made five changes to theside which lost at Southampton.Out went the suspended Antony Kay, Graham Carey,Arfield, Gary Roberts and Anthony Pilkington, with topscorer Jordan Rhodes remaining on the bench and JamieMcCombe ruled out after a fitness test.In came Nathan Clarke, for a first appearance of theseason, Liam Ridehalgh, Joey Gudjonsson, debutant Hullloanee Kevin Kilbane and Benik Afobe, as well as a 4-3-3system.Kilbane lined up alongside Tom Clarke and Gudjonssonin midfield, with Afobe joining Alan Lee and Lee Novakin attack, and Town began brightly, with Tom Clarke andGudjonsson both forcing smart saves from Adam Collinin the fourth minute.Town were good value for their lead, with Lee hooking ashot off target and Novak having a shot blocked beforePeter Clarke chalked up his first goal of the campaign inthe 24th minute.Berrett’s foul on Afobe yielded a free-kick whichGudjonsson fired in for Novak to head goalwards.His effort was cleared, but the Geordie striker regatheredthe ball and crossed for Clarke to shoot home.Carlisle, who claimed Clarke was offside, hit back, andGrella had a shot blocked by Kilbane before BenMarshall, their on-loan Stoke midfielder, cut in from theright and drilled a shot against an upright.Town were back on the attack at the start of the secondhalf, and Novak’s effort was blocked by Paul Thirlwellbefore Collin reacted smartly to cut out Lee as thefrontman shaped to shoot.Carlisle right-back Frank Simek’s angled 56th-minuteshot was only inches wide, while Town fans were on theirfeet in the 61st minute, when Gudjonsson’s corner fellneatly for Nathan Clarke, who shot against the bar.Two minutes later, they were celebrating after Arfield, onas a 58th-minute replacement for Lee as Town switched toa midfield diamond, notched his fourth Town goal.Ridehalgh linked neatly with Kilbane before sending in across which Afobe dummied for Novak to tee up Arfield,who bent his shot home from 16 yards out.Carlisle certainly weren’t finished, however, and afterZoko’s close-range headed goal from Simek’s cross liftedthe home faithful, Alex Smithies produced top saves fromBerrett and Madine before Chester pounced to powerhome a header.Town might have snatched it in the final minute, whenRhodes and Novak combined to set up Arfield, but theScotsman’s shot was too high.

TOWN 1-0 Sheffield WednesdayPilkington. Attn: 14,900

ANTHONY PILKINGTON settled a hard-fought tussleof the Tykes with a corker of a goal as Town collected asweet derby double.Sheffield Wednesday should have known better than toallow the wideman space to cut in from the flank.For Pilkington plundered a beauty in Town’s 2-0 win atHillsborough in November, and struck again in the 27thminute of the Galpharm return.The 22-year-old took full advantage of right-back LeePeltier’s clever overlapping decoy run to carve out ashooting position 25 yards out.And the ball looked destined for keeper Nicky Weaver’stop right-hand corner as soon as it left Pilkington’s leftboot.That’s 11 for the season, and this was a crucial win as LeeClark’s side built on the point taken up at Carlisle.They had to show both sides of their game, playing someslick football in the first half before toughing it out in thesecond, when Clinton Morrison rightly had a goaldisallowed.The former Crystal Palace man found the net with awell-struck 49th-minute volley, but was flagged for offside.Morrison had earlier escaped a strong-looking Townpenalty appeal, with Gary Roberts’ corner appearing tostrike his hand before he hacked the ball clear.A busy opening period set the tone for a game which ifnot a classic, produced plenty of drama for the Skycameras.Wednesday hit a post through big defender Mark Beeversin the sixth minute, while Pilkington served notice of hisshooting intentions two minutes later.Weaver did well to deflect the effort for a corner, and the

man coached by Jordan Rhodes’ dad Andy also produceda top save in the 23rd minute.Jermaine Johnson’s foul on Roberts provided Pilkingtonwith the opportunity to deliver a free-kick onto the headof Lee Novak, with Weaver deflecting the ballone-handed.His opposite number Alex Smithies had been brave inracing out to block off Neil Mellor as he ran onto TommySpurr’s upfield ball in the 14th minute.And after Pilkington put Town in front, the keeper playeda big role in protecting the lead, tipping over TommyMiller’s fiercely-struck 29th-minute free-kick.Smithies again did well to thwart Mellor as he brokethrough in the 32nd minute, and got down well to blockthe former Liverpool man’s 39th-minute drive.Town were giving as good as they got, though, andWeaver used his legs to divert Peltier’s low effort beforeScott Arfield and Kevin Kilbane both shot narrowly wide.Morrison’s ruled-out effort came as Wednesday started thesecond period well, with Smithies saving from JamesO’Connor before Peter Clarke headed clear Gary Teale’sfree-kick.But the Owls’ attacking efforts petered out, althoughMellor caused panic in the 74th minute, when he tookadvantage of an awkwardly bouncing kick-out fromWeaver, only to shoot over from a promising position justinside the penalty area.Town had their chances to extend the lead, with topscorer Rhodes seeing a shot deflected off target in the60th minute before Kilbane drove wide.Then, in the 75th minute, Novak, Pilkington and Arfieldall had shots blocked in quick succession.Arfield again tried his luck after substitute Alan Lee’s runcreated space in the 82nd minute, but Weaver saved.

Walsall 2-4 TOWNKilbane, MCombe, P Clarke, Rhodes. Attn: 3,827

FANS of the glass half-full persuasion will say it’s goodthat Town are winning games without playing at theirbest.The half-empties will claim that after doing it againstPlymouth and now Walsall, it probably can’t carry on.But one thing is undisputed.Lee Clark’s side have won three on the spin in League I,and four in all competitions, and are back in theautomatic promotion places.Only Brighton, a side they deservedly beat at theGalpharm in mid-December, have more points.Sure, the sides around them have games in hand, but thatdoesn’t always translate into points.And while Town certainly need to tighten up defensively,they have an in-form striker in Jordan Rhodes, who madeit 16 for the season with Saturday’s stoppage-timeclincher.And they are scoring goals from a variety of positions,with centre-backs Jamie McCombe and Peter Clarkeboth weighing in after Kevin Kilbane notched his firstfor Town at the Banks’s Stadium.That came in the 19th minute, five after the home sidehad capped a busy start by going ahead through AlexNicholls, who slotted home Will Grigg’s pass from justinside the penalty box.Kilbane, on loan from Hull, looks a class act, and assoon as he pounced on a slip-up by former Towndefender Andy Butler just inside the home half, Walsalllooked in trouble.The Republic of Ireland ace swept past Manny Smith,drew keeper David Bevan and shot home on the angle toprovide the perfect response to Nicholls’ effort.

TOWN 0-0 Colchester UnitedAttn: 10,785

TOWN were left to wonder ‘what if ?’ asColchester put up the shutters on an afternoonof frustration at the ’Pharm.What if Jamie McCombe’s header, LeeNovak’s shot or Joey Gudjonsson’s free-kickhad gone in?What if top scorer Jordan Rhodes hadn’t goneoff with an ankle injury which may keep himout for a month?And what if former Manchester Unitedgoalkeeper Ben Williams hadn’t been in such

inspired form?Town needed Ian Bennett to make two late saves fromsubstitute Kayode Odejayi to preserve a point.But a Colchester win would have been harsh in theextreme after a game Town dominated.The stats show 15 Town efforts on target to Colchester’sthree, eight to three off target and 15 corners to two.And that reflects the pattern of play as Town pressedforward but just couldn’t find a way past thewell-organised Essex side.This certainly wasn’t Lee Clark’s side at their fluent best,but it was a big improvement on Carlisle.The manager made three changes from Brunton Park,bringing in Alan Lee, Gary Roberts and Gudjonsson withTom Clarke, Antony Kay and Novak on the bench.Kevin Kilbane was switched to left-back as Town,tentative early on, came close in the 21st minute whenMcCombe met Anthony Pilkington’s free-kick with a firmheader, only for Williams to dive low to his left andcollect.McCombe was busy at the opposite end eight minuteslater, doing well to dispossess David Mooney as theon-loan Reading frontman seized on a slip by Peter Clarke.But Town were by far the more dominant, and Clarkeheaded over from Pilkington’s corner before Rhodes wasdenied by Williams after being set up by Lee Peltier.Rhodes had an even better chance in the 37th minute, butin firing Clarke’s flick from another Peltier cross over thebar, he twisted an ankle and was taken back to thechanging room on a stretcher, with Novak going on.The Geordie looked in the mood to seize his opportunity,and came agonisingly close in the 53rd minute from amove he started with a pass to Lee, who in turn fedRoberts.The winger’s ball in from the left was inviting, andNovak’s low drive left Williams for once floundering – butpassed just the wrong side of the right-hand post.Kilbane headed too high from Pilkington’s 66th-minutecorner, Clarke’s 70th-minute header was blocked then, inthe 76th minute, Gudjonsson whipped in an angledfree-kick from just outside the area which Williams didwell to punch over.By then, Colchester boss John Ward had introducedOdejayi, an FA Cup hero for Barnsley against Chelsea.The powerful Nigerian headed over from Mooney’s73rd-minute cross, and as Town pushed forward for thewinner, exploited space to twice come close to a winner.But Bennett bravely blocked at Odejayi’s feet in the firstminute of time added on then, in the third, stuck out ahand to divert a well-placed header.

TOWN 3-2 Plymouth ArgyleAmason OG, Rhodes, P Clarke. Attn: 8,379

TOWN netted twice in the first eight minutes to clinch aplace in the fourth round of the FA Cup – anddisappoint the rest of the nation.Boss Lee Clark accepted in the build-up that everyoneoutside Huddersfield wanted the Conference South sideto win.But it never looked on the cards after Scott Arfield andGary Roberts struck in the space of 60 seconds.It wasn’t Dover and out for the non-leaguers, becausethey stuck to their game plan and produced a battlingperformance of which they and their vociferous 1,535travelling fans can be proud.And they came close midway through the first half, whenRoberts produced a spectacular goal line clearance todeny defender Olly Schulz, and late on, when AlexSmithies saved from Adam Birchall, who had scored inevery previous cup round for Dover.Lee Novak, making his fourth successive start in a sideunchanged from the one which saw off SheffieldWednesday, had a key role in both goals.He could easily have gone for his third goal of the seasonafter breaking through on goal, but spotting Arfield in agreat position, unselfishly squared the ball for theScotsman to sidefoot his fifth of the campaign from closerange.Less than 60 seconds later, Town were two up after amove which originated in a neat piece of work by

Anthony Pilkington, who won aheader just inside the Dover halfand brought the ball downskilfully to play in Novak whicha slick pass.The Geordie frontman rompedforward to put in a teasing crosswhich just evaded the touch ofJordan Rhodes but fell perfectlyto Roberts, who lashed home anangled shot to make it sevengoals this time around.It was a dire start as far as Doverwere concerned, but they keptcalm and showed they could be athreat during a succession ofthree corners, starting in the 22nd minute.Peter Clarke headed the first away, then made a keychallenge as Schulz met the second. When the busyHarry Baker delivered the third, centre-back Schulz metit with a forceful header, but Roberts, guarding Town’sright-hand post, leapt to kick the ball clear.Kevin Kilbane had a low shot blocked while Arfield wasoff target with a 36th-minute drive as Town pushed for athird.Then, in the 59th minute, Rhodes’ header was deflectedoff target before Roberts watched in frustration as awell-struck shot was saved.There was more to come from Flitney, saving fromKilbane, Lee, Pilkington and a glancing Novak header.

Town’s height advantage in most areas of the pitch wascausing the West Midlanders problems, and McCombehardly had to jump to head home Anthony Pilkington’s24th-minute corner to put his side 2-1 ahead.McCombe, back in the starting XI for the first time in sixgames, had shown some deft footwork to win the flagkick in the first place, and his sixth goal of the seasonlifted Town and shook a Walsall side desperate for a winin Dean Smith’s first home match as caretaker managerfollowing the exit of ex-Town player Chris Hutchings.Jon Macken brought a smart save from Alex Smithieswith a 33rd-minute header from a cross by the trickyJulian Gray, but otherwise, Town were on top, with LeeNovak mis-kicking when in a good position in the 26thminute and Kay shooting narrowly wide after anotherKilbane run in the 36th.It all changed in the second half as Walsall levelled just90 seconds in, Matt Richards firing home direct from a20-yard free-kick.That sparked a spell of home pressure during which Grayshot over, Butler headed too high from a corner andRichards had a shot blocked by Kilbane before beingdenied by Smithies from another free-kick.Town had looked dangerous on the counter, with ScottArfield racing through in the 52nd minute only to drive ashot over and Pilkington testing Bevan in the 55th.Having started with a 4-3-3 set-up, Pilkington, Alan Leeand Novak playing up front, Town switched to 4-4-2 withthe introduction of Rhodes for Lee in the 68th minute.And as the game began to swing back towards thevisitors, Clarke struck with a sweet overhead kick, his76th-minute effort from a Gary Roberts corner whichwas deflected into his path bringing delight to Town’s

highly vociferous 898 fans behind that goal.It was the skipper’s second goal in as manygames and now the whole side were flying, withRhodes shooting over before settling the gamein the third minute of time added on afterkeeper Bevan gifted possession to Roberts.The winger darted past Darryl Westlake withPilkington unselfishly stepping over the crossto allow Rhodes to pick his spot and seal thepoints.

League I, end of January

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FEBRUARY

■ LATE SHOW: Danny Cadamarteri celebrates at Bournemouth

TOWN 2-0 Carlisle UnitedRoberts (2). Attn: 8,452

GARY ROBERTS got back on the goal trail with towgoals as Town collected three very welcome points.While Ian Bennett made three good saves just before hisside went ahead, Town were good value for a fourthvictory in five League I outings .Lee Clark welcomed back Scotland internationalleft-back Gary Naysmith for his first appearance sinceAugust - and only his fifth for the club - after toe surgery.That allowed Kevin Kilbane, on his 34th birthday, toreturn to his more familiar midfield role. There was also afull home debut for right-back Jack Hunt,.It was Town’s fourth meeting of the campaign withCarlisle, but the first at the Galpharm.Town old boy James Berrett flashed a long-range shotwide before on-loan Manchester United left-back JamesDudgeon’s long throw ended up in the Town net, only for‘goal’ to be ruled out because no other player hadtouched the ball.Anthony Pilkington, set up by Joey Gudjonsson, hadTown’s first effort on target in the sixth minute, withkeeper Adam Collin blocking his shot.Former Newcastle man Collin was back in action in the16th minute, parrying Jamie McCombe’s header fromPilkington’s corner.And in the 21st minute, after Liam Cooper fouled Lee,who had just been booked for going in late on theon-loan Hull defender, Collin was equal to Roberts’well-struck 25-yard free-kick, which beat the Carlisle wallbut not their busy stopper.Bennett hadn’t been unduly troubled, but had to come tohis side’s rescue three times in two minutes as the halfwore on.First, in the 36th minute, Town’s keeper parriedMichalik’s fiercely-struck 35-yard free-kick before denyingIvorian striker Francois Zoko, who was following up.Then he got down low to thwart Zoko as he shot fromBen Marshall’s cross.Town’s response was swift and clinical.They grabbed the lead in the 39th minute, with Kilbane’ssweet pass putting Roberts into space.Collin was beaten all ends up by the Town man’s coolfinish, and in the final minute of the half, he was pickingthe ball from the back of the net again as Roberts, againset up by Kilbane, buried another left footer.The 26-year-old had taken his season’s haul to nine, andhe came agonisingly close to a quick-fire hat trick with astoppage-time lob which ended up on the roof of the net.Substitute Matty Robson was soon cautioned for a foulon Kilbane, and from the 62nd-minute free-kickGudjonsson’s shot flew just over.

Exeter City 1-4 TOWNCadamarteri, Roberts, Pilkington, Kilbane. Attn: 4,786

DANNY CADAMARTERI was the star turn on bothFriday night and Saturday afternoon as Town enjoyed ahighly productive trip to Devon.Back at the Galpharm after his stint with Dundee United,the 31-year-old was put through the new boy’s initiationceremony of singing to the rest of the players in the teamhotel on the eve of the match.But he let his feet do the talking at windy St James’ Park.Brought off the bench for his second debut as a53rd-minute replacement for Alan Lee, Cadamarteriscored the opener within two minutes, then had a hand inTown’s other three goals, scored by Gary Roberts,Anthony Pilkington and Kevin Kilbane, before DanielNardiello fired the home consolation two minutes intostoppage time.“The lads have been brilliant since the moment I walkedback through the door,” smiled Cadamarteri.“I quite like a sing-song, so I treated them to a bit ofScottish culture with a song called Ally Bally.“Scott Arfield and Gary Naysmith seemed to like it,although I’m not so sure about the rest of the boys, but atleast it was something different.”That just what Cadamarteri provides on the pitch. He’dhad just one touch of the ball before pouncing as JamieMcCombe headed on keeper Ian Bennett’s free-kick.A neat piece of control and a well-placed low shot later,the ball was nestling in the back of the net and Town’s 294travelling fans in a 4,786 crowd were celebrating.Home boss Paul Tisdale tried to stem the flow with asubstitution and some reorganisation, but Exeter wereprised open once again in the 67th minute.This time Pilkington collected Peter Clarke’s header andskilfully flicked the ball past left-back Scott Golbourne.Cadamarteri picked up his pass and threaded a cross toRoberts, who held off his marker and slotted his thirdgoal in two games and 10th of the season.Polish keeper Artur Krysiak was well beaten in the 81stminute as Cadamarteri collected a pass from fellowsubstitute Antony Kay and teed up Pilkington.The wideman was clearly pulled down by Duffy, but withhis teammates shouting for a penalty, managed to flick theball home from six yards out for his 12th of the campaign.Exeter, whose best second-half chance had come in the71st minute, when Troy Archibald Henville was foiled byClarke’s challenge as he shaped to shoot, were on theropes.And Kilbane took advantage with his second Town goalon 88 minutes.In many ways, it was the best of the match, withPilkington, Jack Hunt and Cadamarteri working wonders

down the right to free the on-loan Hull man, who strokedthe ball home from the edge of the box.Nardiello, who along with midfielder Ryan Harley hadtested Bennett in the first half, did manage to drill home ashot from Golbourne’s pass.

Dagenham & Redbridge 1-1 TOWNT Clarke. Attn: 2,336

A DISPUTED second-half penalty and some desperatelate defending by Dagenham meant Town had to make dowith a third successive draw.The returning Tom Clarke sparked hopes of victory onTown’s debut at the East London club with a first-halfopener.But Danny Green levelled from the spot in the 58thminute and Town’s efforts to restore their lead wererepelled.In the tight confines of Victoria Road – a homely groundwhich shows its non-league roots – Town were, asexpected, without Gary Naysmith because of the calfinjury picked up in Saturday’s draw at Bournemouth.But boss Lee Clark was forced to deal with the latewithdrawal of Jamie McCombe through illness, and withnatural replacement Antony Kay starting a two-matchban, chose to play versatile Lee Peltier at centre-back,with Kevin Kilbane on his left.In addition, there was a surprise full debut for 19-year-oldChris Atkinson alongside Tom Clarke and JoeyGudjonsson in midfield, while Danny Cadamarteri made

TOWN 2-2 Leyton OrientRhodes, Novak. Attn: 11,273

TOWN supporters were celebrating within three minutesof kick-off – but ended squandering three points.How did Lee Clark’s side go from being two up in the 49thminute to being held by a side who finished with 10 men?Failure to take the chances is one reason, with both LeeNovak, scorer of the second goal, and Benik Afobe unableto find the necessary finish for a killer third goal.Then came sloppy defending and the needless concessionby Jamie McCombe of a touchline free-kick which led toOrient’s 87th-minute leveller by Jimmy Smith.By that stage, the Londoners were down to 10 men afterHarry Kane, scorer of their first goal in the 73rd minute,had been red carded four later for a second bookableoffence, his foul on Anthony Pilkington following afirst-half caution for a late tackle on Peter Clarke.So an afternoon which started with a sweet 17th goal ofthe season for Jordan Rhodes ended on a sour note.Manager Clark responded to his shortage of options atleft-back by announcing the loan signing of SheffieldUnited’s Stephen Jordan on the morning of the match andhanding him an immediate debut.But he had plenty of frontline options, even allowing forthe late withdrawal of Danny Cadamarteri, who suffered aback spasm during the warm-up.He chose to go with Rhodes, back after an ankle injury,and Afobe as Town reverted to 4-4-2 and the pair soonlinked up to find a way through the Orient defence and gettheir side off to a flying start.Lee Peltier, who was outstanding in midfield, won the balloff Orient’s Jonathan Tehoue before he freed Afobe, whowas making his first start in 14 matches.With Orient upset that the ball had hit referee PeterQuinn, Afobe unselfishly squared his pass to Rhodes, whofired past Jamie Jones.Rhodes had another effort blocked by Tommy Carrollbefore the game lost a little of its rhythm as both sideswere forced into early substitutions.Kane went on for Stephen Dawson after the Orientskipper landed awkwardly following an aerial challengewith Peltier in the 20th minute while Scott Arfield replacedGary Roberts, who had a tight hamstring, in the 29th.While Orient twice put balls across the face of goal withnobody able to get a touch, Town went close throughRhodes, who had another shot blocked, Kevin Kilbane,who drove just over and Afobe, whose strike was blockedby Terrell Forbes.The second goal finally came four minutes after the breakwhen Novak, on for the illness-hit Rhodes, flicked homePilkington’s pass.Novak’s 61st-minute shot from Kilbane’s pass went justwide while 10 minutes later, Afobe was denied by thecombination of keeper Jones and centre-back Forbes as hetried to convert after McCombe headed Clarke’s high ballacross the area.Two minutes later, after Afobe yielded possession, Orientpulled a goal back, with Alex Revell passing to Alex Cox,whose centre was glanced in by Kane.The visitors’ task became harder when Kane saw red, butthe side unbeaten in 12 going into Saturday’s game stillstretched that run after McCombe’s foul on Spurs loaneePaul-Jose M’Poku gave set-piece ace Cox the chance toswing the ball in for Smith to head home.

TOWN 0-0 Oldham AthleticAttn: 14,469

REFEREE Andy Woolmer provided the main talkingpoints of a Pennine derby high on intensity but short ondrama and genuine chances.The Northamptonshire official baffled the players,managers and supporters of both sides with hisdecisions, and was booed off both at half and full-time.There were seven cautions, five of them for fouls, yetworse-looking tackles failed to merit even ‘a talking to’.And credit to Alan Lee, who was on the end of somehefty challenges and needed stitches in a head wound,yet stuck to his task and never appeared to seek anyretribution.Controversial decisions aside, a draw was a fair outcome,because both sides had spells in the ascendancy and theoccasional opportunities to make a breakthrough.Town had to take the sting out of Oldham’s earlypressure, with defender Reuben Hazell heading widefrom Aidan White’s cross and on-loan Sunderlandstriker Oumare Tounkara having a low angled shot heldby Ian Bennett, who marked his 500th career appearancewith an eighth clean sheet in 18 outings for Lee Clark’sside.But the home side gradually got a grip on the game, anda piercing 14th-minute run by Scott Arfield – in for theillness-hit Joey Gudjonsson – set up Gary Roberts, onlyfor the wideman to stub his shot.Town skipper Peter Clarke made one of a string of keyblocks to thwart Tounkara in the 19th minute, but Townresponded strongly.Lee Peltier, back in midfield, linked neatly with AnthonyPilkington, whose probing cross was hacked to safety.Then, in the 34th minute, Pilkington’s fierce set-piecestrike after a foul by Tounkara on Peltier 20 yards outwas well saved by on-loan Manchester United keeperBen Amos.Lee headed wide from a Roberts corner before leavingthe field to have staples inserted into his cut head, beforeMcCombe headed over as Roberts sent another free-kickinto the danger zone.Hazell’s mistimed header back to Amos almost let in Leea minute after the restart, but the centre-back did well torecover with a key tackle.Bennett was equal to Portuguese frontman FilipeMorais’s effort from distance in the 51st minute whileArfield blasted over the bar when McCombe chesteddown the busy Clarke’s through ball in the 55th.Boss Clark injected pace into his attack with theintroduction of Danny Cadamarteri for thehard-working Lee, but it was Pilkington who cameclosest to beating the Latics defence.Receiving the ball from Roberts, Pilkington worked theball onto his right foot and swung in a cross which hitthe near post.It summed up the afternoon but it couldhave been worse, for Clarke made another crucialintervention in the 80th minute, this time to denyMorais.

the starting side for the first time since his return to Town,with Alan Lee dropping to the bench.Dagenham received a pre-match boost as they moved offthe bottom of League I after crisis club Plymouth’s10-point deduction was confirmed.It was a battle between two veteran keepers, with39-year-old Ian Bennett, a former Dagenham loan player,trying to outdo ex-Wales international Tony Roberts, 41.Roberts was the first in action, saving Tom Clarke’s earlylong-range drive, but Dagenham responded strongly, andwere denied a strong-looking penalty shout for handballby Gudjonsson in the third minute.But Town came close twice in as many minutes asAtkinson’s header was parried by keeper Roberts, with hisTown namesake Gary firing over from the rebound, beforeAnthony Pilkington cut in from the right on a mazy run,only to see his low shot saved.It was end-to-end action, and after the ball became wedged

under Peter Clarke’s legs, Town had to deal with a19th-minute drop ball on the edge of their own six-yardbox, Gudjonsson managing to flick the ball to safety.Atkinson was looking more than at home, and it washis diagonal pass to Pilkington which helped bring thecorner which led to Town’s breakthrough goal in the28th minute.Roberts played the flag kick short to Gudjonsson,whose low ball into the box was flicked into the net byTom Clarke.Pilkington was also impressing, and such was hisdomination down the right, Dagenham replacedleft-back Oluwafemi Ilesanmi with substitute DamienMcCrory on the half hour.Town came close nine minutes into the second halfwhen Jack Hunt’s cross found Roberts, his volleyhitting the base of the left-hand post.And they were made the rue the miss when Dagenhamequalised with a controversial 58th-minute penaltygiven against Peltier, Green making no mistake.Clark’s men had a spot-kick claim of their own turneddown when substitute Benik Afobe went down.

League I, end of February

AFC Bournemouth 1-1 TOWNCadamarteri. Attn: 7,923

DANNY CADAMARTERI came to the rescue as Townsnatched a potentially priceless point.But keeper Ian Bennett was the real star on the Southcoast as Lee Clark’s promotion chasers preserved theirunbeaten League I record in 2011 and stayed withintouching distance of their second-placed hosts.The 39-year-old marked his 501st career match with astring of top saves.Marc Pugh – three times – and Rhoys Wiggins weredenied before Michael Symes, who was allowed far toomuch space in meeting Liam Feeney’s cross from theright, finally broke the deadlock in the 74th minute.Then, after substitute Cadamarteri slotted home hissecond goal since returning to Town with just a minute ofnormal time to go, Bennett foiled Anton Robinson andFeeney to keep Town’s 758 travelling fans chanting.They are now 16 games unbeaten against the Cherries,whose last victory in this fixture was in January 1993.Boss Lee Bradbury must have thought the points werecoming his way after former Bradford striker Symes, whohas the touch and physique to cause problems for mostsides, headed his third goal in as many games and seventhof the season from close range.But Cadamarteri popped up in the nick of time, takingfull advantage of fellow substitute Benik Afobe’s cleverdecoy run to meet Gary Roberts’ pass and ease pastcentre-back Shaun Cooper before sliding a low angledshot past keeper Shwan Jalal, who got a hand to the ballbut couldn’t prevent it nestling in his right-hand corner.It was a massive lift for Town but a bitter blow toBournemouth, whose hopes of going level on points withleaders Brighton were ended when Bennett savedRobinson’s header then blocked Feeney’s shot with hisfeet.


MARCH

■ LAST GASP: Peter Clarke scores at Brentford

Yeovil Town 1-1 TOWNKay. Attn: 3,620

CAPTAIN Fantastic Peter Clarke produced one of thebest defensive performances you could wish to see.Not only did he inspire 10-man Town to fight back for anagainst-the-odds point at Huish Park, the 29-year-oldcentre-back oozed all the qualities of persistence, passionand precision which Town will need to turn their13-match unbeaten league run since the turn of the yearinto a successful promotion push.Clarke set the benchmark which enabled Lee Clark’s sideto recover from Lee Peltier’s crazy 13th-minute red cardand the 38th-minute strike by Andrew Williams whichgave lively Yeovil plenty of hope.The home side, with Dean Bowditch and Oli Johnsontaking advantage of the extra space, looked capable ofadding to their tally in the first half, even though Clarkkept his most experienced players in midfield andmaintained a regular back four (after right-back Peltier’ssending-off) by replacing the unlucky midfield starterChris Atkinson with natural full-back Jack Hunt.It was a different story in the second half, however, asTown – with pacy striker Benik Afobe on for hamstringinjury victim Lee Novak – played with such fluency on adifficult cut-up surface .That was particularly so after impressive centre-backAntony Kay had powered in his fourth goal of the seasonfrom an Anthony Pilkington corner after 58 minutes.While he collected a 12th booking of the season forcelebrating among the jubilant travelling contingent ofaround 250 Town fans – and later suffered a bloody headwound in a clash with sub Sam Williams which neededstitches – Kay instilled a massive amount of belief in aTown line-up which was already going the extra yard inadversity.With the way Town responded to the manager’s half-timeencouragement, it was a pity Peltier left his teammates insuch a hole against his old club and on his 150th leagueappearance – smacking Bowditch full in the face with aflailing arm in full view of fourth official John Busby who,after consultation, confirmed referee Crossley’s initialsuspicions.

TOWN 2-1 RochdaleAfobe, Roberts. Attn: 9,612

FIRST-HALF goals by Benik Afobe and Gary Robertsbrought Town a valuable three-point derby haul.Lee Clark’s men held off Rochdale’s late push after GaryJones netted in time added on, and are now just a pointbehind second-placed Bournemouth, who were beaten 2-0at Exeter.But the victory came at a high price, with flair playerAnthony Pilkington sustaining a suspected broken leftankle 13 minutes into the second period.Town players looked distressed as their teammate waslifted onto a stretcher and treated on the pitch for fiveminutes, and it was a further three before he wasmanoeuvred to an ambulance.Galpharm boss Clark had made four changes, with AlexSmithies back in place of injured keeper Ian Bennett for afirst outing since mid-January. Right-back Jack Hunt andstrikers Jordan Rhodes, once a Rochdale loan player, andAfobe were the others to come in.They replaced Lee Peltier, starting a four-matchsuspension after his red card at Yeovil, Chris Atkinsonand Lee Novak.This was only the 16th ever league meeting between theteams and play-off chasing Rochdale came eager tobounce back from their 4-1 home loss to MK Dons, afirst defeat in 12.Boss Keith Hill gave a start to striker Liam Dickinson, onloan from Barnsley, while fellow former Town player,left-back Robbie Williams, was on the bench.Town were knocking the ball around neatly and forcedtwo corners in succession before Afobe struck for thebreakthrough goal in the 25th minute.Roberts did the groundwork with a good run and crossfrom the right and when Holness blocked Rhodes’ shot,Afobe followed up to shoot home his fourth Town goaland first in the league from just inside the area.Rhodes was showing his value in defence as well as attack,twice clearing from corners, before Roberts, havingprovided the assist for the first goal, took centre stage asTown went two up eight minutes later.The game understandable lost its pattern after Pilkingtonwas injured.Town, with Danny Cadamarteri on for Rhodes and AlanLee replacing Pilkington, were trying to push forward, butRochdale created the next clear-cut chance, when Jones’78th-minute shot was deflected for a corner.Lee’s 83rd-minute run towards goal was stopped byWiddowson while a minute later, Afobe broke down theright and held off two challengers to unleash a shot whichwas well saved by Fon Williams.Rochdale skipper Jones finally claimed a goal six minutesinto the eight added on when Peter Clarke’s blockrebounded into his path and he netted with a low drivewhich deflected in off the diving Smithies.But the highly-rated keeper pulled off a fine save fromsubstitute Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro’s header to denyRochdale a share of the spoils and keep Town’s promotionpush on course.

Brentford 0-1 TOWNP Clarke. Attn: 4,402

PETER CLARKE crashed home a sizzling late winnerto keep Town in League I’s automatic promotion zone.Three minutes of stoppage time had just been signalledwhen the skipper, having headed on a Gary Robertscorner, made sure with a forceful shot after Brentfordscrambled Danny Cadamarteri’s effort off the line.It was a dramatic end to a tight game as Lee Clark’s sidestayed above Peterborough, who won at SheffieldWednesday, with a fourth win in five games.Town, now unbeaten in 16 league matches, made onechange to the side which started Saturday’s 1-0 win atBristol Rovers.Roberts, who missed the West Country clash throughillness, returned at the expense of Cadamarteri, who wason the bench alongside Danny Ward, freshly signed onloan from Bolton, and left-back Gary Naysmith, fitagain after a calf injury.Brentford had also made changes, and Smithies did wellto deny one of their substitutes, debutant Leicester loanstriker Jeffrey Schlupp, from close range in the 81stminute.But it was Town who were to make the breakthrough,which Clarke’s strike making the journey to the capitalwell worthwhile.

TOWN 0-0 Swindon TownAttn: 11,764

TOWN couldn’t deliver a fourth consecutive win – but itwasn’t for the want of trying.Lee Clark’s name goes alongside that of legendarymanager Herbert Chapman in the record books after hisside equalled the club’s best unbeaten league run in asingle season of 17 games in 1924-25.But the satisfaction would have been greater had any of asuccession of close chances ended up in the net.Town twice hit the woodwork, through Jordan Rhodesand Alan Lee, and had a Peter Clarke header cleared offthe line.And there was stoppage-time drama as both Clarke andJamie McCombe claimed their efforts had crossed theline, only for referee Chris Sarginson to wave play on.It all added up to an afternoon of frustration, and therewill be some close checking of Ceefax tonight asPeterborough seek the win at MK Dons which would putthem above Town and into second spot.The positive is that Clark’s side looked pretty soliddefensively, with the only real scare coming in the 49thminute, when Matt Ritchie shot against the right-handpost, with Gary Naysmith, back in the starting side,mopping up.Alex Smithies also made a smart save from AlanSheehan’s well-struck 57th-minute free-kick from theedge of the penalty area, awarded after Calvin Andrewwent down under Naysmith’s challenge.But Swindon, whose other efforts were mainly off target,certainly looked the more pleased with their point, whichrewarded a stubborn show.They were busy defensively from the third minuteonwards, as Andy Frampton stretched frantically to cleara Jack Hunt cross before Peter Clarke’s header wentnarrowly wide.Town had a top chance in the ninth minute, when KevinKilbane seized on Scott Cuthbert’s misplaced pass andfreed Danny Ward.The Bolton winger, making his full debut against the sidehe served with distinction in a loan spell last season,picked out Rhodes, whose diving header hit the bar andcame back into play, with Scott Arfield putting therebound over.With five minutes extra, there was still time for Lucas topaw Clarke’s header from under his bar before DavidPrutton cleared from McCombe with Town’s appeals thatboth efforts were over turned down.

TOWN 3-0 Notts CountyRhodes (2), Roberts. Attn: 11,162

JORDAN RHODES became Notts County’s tartantormentor as Town turned on the style to give theirLeague I promotion rivals, and the rest of the country, asignal of their top-two intentions.Fresh from making his Scotland Under 21 debut, Rhodesstruck either side of a Gary Roberts goal as the men fromthe East Midlands were taken apart in front of the Skycameras.It meant Lee Clark’s side set a new club record of 18league games unbeaten in the same season.It was a fourth win in five games, and fifth in seven forTown, who with Lee Peltier back after a four-match banand Liam Ridehalgh making a first appearance in 17games in place of the injured Gary Naysmith in the otherfull-back berth, started at an encouragingly high tempo.The goal Town had been threatening all game finallyarrived in the 36th minute and Benik Afobe was thearchitect, playing a slick one-two with Roberts beforeharing down the right.It looked like the teenager would shoot himself, but withEdwards forcing him away from goal, he instead crossedto set up Rhodes for a headed finish.Bennett saved when Westcarr fired in a 39th-minutefree-kick after Jamie McCombe was judged to have fouledthe County frontman.But the first half finished with Town back on the attack,with Nelson parrying Rhodes’ long-distance drive, thensaving from Joey Gudjonsson’s powerful free-kickfollowing Chilvers’ bodycheck on Afobe.Arsenal loan man Afobe was again foiled by Nelson’s legsas he latched onto Clarke’s pass to go in one-on-one withthe keeper a minute after the restart.Ward brought as good save from Nelson before shootingnarrowly wide, but Town couldn’t be kept at bay for muchlonger.Two goals in five minutes meant the scoreline was farmore reflective of the pattern of play, with Robertsmaking it two in the 58th minute when he lifted Rhodes’ball from the left over Nelson.Rhodes volleyed his second and Town’s third from Afobe’sflicked pass, and when the same player again set him up inthe 66th minute, he might have had a hat trick, butcouldn’t get a clean connection.While Afobe and Rhodes were given rousing ovationswhen substituted, this was a top all-round team effort.

Bristol Rovers 0-1 TOWNRhodes. Attn: 7,380

JORDAN RHODES made the most of an unexpectedstarting opportunity as Town dug deep to clinch a highlyencouraging three-point haul.Down on the teamsheet as a substitute, he was promotedto the starting XI after Gary Roberts withdrew afterfeeling ill during the warm-up.And the 21-year-old top scorer, who signed a new contractthrough to 2015 on the eve of the match at the MemorialGround, needed just five minutes to make it 18 goals forthe season.Rhodes might have had a hat trick, because he fired overan open goal from the rebound after Joey Gudjonsson hita post seven minutes later, then had a 54th-minute penaltysaved.But there was no doubting the quality of his successfulstrike, slotted past keeper Conrad Logan with hisless-favoured left foot after a neat nod-on by Benik Afobe.And it proved enough to beat a Bristol Rovers sidedesperate to deliver on Stuart Campbell’s first homematch as caretaker manager.The West Country team will feel aggrieved after havingtwo goals disallowed by stand-in referee Chris Powellduring a frantic finale.The Dorset-based assistant put down his flag and took upthe whistle after Wiltshire official Brendan Malone cameoff injured in the 77th minute.Malone’s willingness to let the game flow in the face ofsome crunching challenges hadn’t gone down well withthe home fans in a 7,380 crowd, Rovers’ second-highest ofthe season.But Powell was even less popular after chalking off JamesTunnicliffe’s deflected long throw, for a foul on keeperAlex Smithies, and skipper Will Hoskins’ close-range shot,for offside.

Hartlepool United 0-1 TOWNPilkington. Attn: 2,857

TOWN put their push for automatic promotion firmlyback on track.Not only did they gain revenge for the Boxing Day defeatat the Galpharm, but they closed the gap onsecond-placed Bournemouth with a performance thatsuggested they can make a strong challenge in the last 13games of the season.Anthony Pilkington sealed victory with his 14th goal ofthe season after just 12 minutes in what was a necessaryshow of strength after recent draws.Boss Lee Clark opted for a 4-5-1 formation, but Townwere looking fluent going forward and Gary Roberts andPilkington, in particular, were very quick to support LeeNovak up front.The team option looked a good one for the whole of thefirst period as Antony Kay and skipper Peter Clarkeensured the Hartlepool threat was closed out and keeperIan Bennett had a surprisingly uneventful 45 minutes.Town weren’t slow to create chances in attack and wentahead after 12 minutes when former Town defender SamCollins failed to deal with a through ball and Pilkingtonpounced to fire in from 10 yards to close within two ofleading scorer Jordan Rhodes.It wasn’t long before Town were causing problems againwith a Roberts raid on the left leading to a near-postdelivery to Pilkington, who turned smartly but found hisshot well smothered by Scott Flinders in the United goal..Town had to be patient as they looked to open the homedefence again and it wasn’t until the 33rd minute thatthey created another clear-cut chance, but Pilkingtonstruggled to control a ball that bounced to himawkwardly and his shot was directly at Flinders.On the stroke of half time, a clumsy challenge by PeterHartley on Novak led to a free-kick in perfect range forJoey Gudjonsson, but the contrived free-kick routineended with the Icelander firing wide.Town started where they left off in the second half, withNovak the first to test the United defence with a headerglanced just wide of the far post from a Roberts cross.Skipper Clarke was next to go close as he saw a headerturned away by Flinders and, from the resulting corner,another headed effort from the skipper was blocked byUnited’s massed defensive ranks.Novak again looked to hit the target when he turnedsmartly on a ball forward from Scott Arfield, but thestriker’s first-time effort faded just wide.The home side worked their first clear-cut chance on 57minutes when Adam Horwood fired in a free-kick whichwas deflected just wide of the target.This effort was rapidly followed by an Andy Monkhouseattempt on goal and then Antony Sweeney was played in,but Clarke managed to block his first effort and Kaydenied the second. Town got back into gear after 72minutes, roared on by their following contingent of 564,when Arfield again led a breakout and Novak’s intelligentfirst-time ball gave Pilkington the opportunity to cut infrom the right, but his angled shot was well dealt with.The home side looked more dangerous in the closingminutes, but their best chance went begging when LeonMcSweeney managed to turn quickly but pulled his shotwide from the edge of the box.

It will take Peltier out of the equation for an extendedspell – it’s his second red of the season after the CarlingCup dismissal against Everton – and the manager willhope he gets the same doggedness from the rest in thesegames to come as he did on Saturday.

League I, end of March


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■ CLINCHER: Danny Ward scores the winner against champions Brighton

Tranmere Rovers 0-2 TOWNAfobe, Novak. Attn: 6,438

BENIK AFOBE and Lee Novak notched thecrucial goals as Town maintained themomentum of their exciting promotion push.Lee Clark’s men had to overcome stubbornopposition, a tricky Prenton Park pitch andthe early loss of Liam Ridehalgh as they madeit 19 League I games unbeaten and five wins insix.This was also a fifth consecutive clean sheet,and bearing in mind the early reshuffle inwhich Jack Hunt replaced Ridehalgh and LeePeltier switched from right to left-back, it washighly encouraging ahead of Saturday’s bighome showdown with freescoringPeterborough.Town had to deal with some Tranmerepressure before Afobe forced his fifth goal ofthe season in the 38th minute.But there was only one nervy moment afterthat – when substitute Adam McGurk wasunable to convert Enoch Showunmi’s inviting72nd-minute cross – and the visitors were goodvalue for their third 2-0 win in as many visitsto this venue, sealed by Novak’s slide-rule87th-minute finish.The competition created by Clark means theGeordie striker hasn’t had that many minutes of action thisseason.But the 22-year-old, who had replaced Afobe just fiveminutes earlier, showed the scoring instinct which broughthim 12 goals last season is still there with his fourth of thisterm.Peltier played Novak in and the frontman nudged the ballpast diving keeper Tony Warner on the edge of the areathen rolled home a low shot which had Town’s travellingarmy behind that goal dancing with delight.Those same fans had seen Town work hard to keepTranmere out in the closing stages, when both highly-ratedDale Jennings and Ivorian Zoumana Bakayogo, pushed upfrom left-back to midfield, were prominent.

TOWN 1-1 Peterborough UnitedHunt. Attn: 14,855

JACK HUNT was Town’s have-a-go hero as sheerpersistence finally produced a point against promotionrivals Peterborough.Substitute Hunt was only on the pitch through ahamstring injury to Joey Gudjonsson, himself a half-timereplacement for Danny Ward.First the 20-year-old won an 85th-minute penalty, only forGary Roberts’ spot kick to be saved by Joe Lewis.Then, with the fourth official signalling an extra fourminutes, Hunt drove his way into the box again, this timedrilling in a low shot – and the first goal of his career.If Town’s overall performance was disappointing – LeeClark’s side slipped out of the automatic promotion placesas Southampton won 2-0 at Leyton Orient – theydeserved the draw.Attack-minded Posh, who had gone ahead through GrantMcCann’s 41st-minute penalty, were put under realpressure in the closing stages, and had an equaliser comeearlier, the home team might well have gone on to win.One point was certainly better than none and Town, whostretched their unbeaten League I run to 20 matches,should be given credit for keeping going after a penaltymiss which might have led to heads dropping.The home fans in a 14,855 crowd also played their part,sticking with their side throughout and finally getting thechance to cheer.Town weren’t without opportunities in the first half.Benik Afobe couldn’t get a clean enough connection toScott Arfield’s 13th-minute cross, and neither couldJordan Rhodes when Jamie McCombe headed on LeePeltier’s long throw in the 21st.Then, after 28 minutes, Arfield was unable to takeadvantage when Roberts hooked back a neat delivery byWard while Afobe shot wide from Kevin Kilbane’s44th-minute flick.But Posh, with Northern Ireland star McCann pulling thestrings , looked every bit a side who had scored 93 leaguegoals going into this crucial clash.It took a fine save against his former club by Ian Bennettto deny George Boyd a third-minute goal, and the keeperalso held Charlie Lee’s dipping 12th-minute strike beforeCraig Mackail-Smith was wide in the 17th.James Wesolowski hit the side-netting and it took thecombined efforts of Peter Clarke and Gary Naysmith tothwart Mackail-Smith as he pounced after Bennettparried Tommy Rowe’s 27th-minute shot.Then Boyd put an effort just over after a neat one-twowith Wesolowski before Peltier tangled withMackail-Smith, referee Mike Russell pointed to the spotand McCann beat Bennett, who dived the right way butcouldn’t quite reach the ball into his left-hand corner.Reshuffled Town made a better fist of the second half,with Gudjonsson shooting wide before the fresh legs ofLee Novak, on for Rhodes in the 62nd minute, started tostretch the Posh defence even more.Mackail-Smith put a header over before his shot wasblocked by Naysmith, but it was Town doing the bulk ofthe attacking.Arfield and Clarke both had shots blocked and it lookedlike Town were going down – until Hunt intervened.

Charlton Athletic 0-1 TOWNGudjonsson. Attn: 15,879

THE play-offs are the worst-case scenario for Town afterJoey Gudjonsson fired an arrow straight throughCharlton’s defences.On a day when promotion rivals Southampton,Peterborough and MK Dons all won – and Brightonclinched the League I title – it was crucial Town followedsuit at The Valley.Icelandic midfielder Gudjonsson duly delivered with ascorching 83rd-minute shot from a free-kick on the edgeof the ‘D’.It was a second bite of the cherry for the former Burnleyman.Brought down by Jose Semedo 30 yards out, his firsteffort was handled by Kyel Reid, who was on the end of afive-man wall.That brought another attempt – and this time neither thered-shirted barrier nor keeper John Sullivan could preventthe ball flying into the right-hand corner right in front ofTown’s 1,338-strong travelling contingent.Cue wild celebrations and a guaranteed play-off placeafter Rochdale lost 1-0 at home to Brentford, for whomTown loan man Robbie Simpson got the goal.Of course the second automatic spot alongside Brighton isstill up for grabs, and Town continue to push their rivalsall the way after a seventh win in 10 games.But a determined defensive display brought a seventhclean sheet in eight matches, with one save from IanBennett really standing out.It came in the 68th minute, when Portuguese midfielderSemedo met right-back Chris Solly’s cross with a loopingheader which had goal written all over it – until Town’s39-year-old stopper defied his years by arching his back,stretching and tipping the ball over the bar.It was a top stop by a more than useful signing, and therewere also strong displays by what manager Lee Clarkwould deem his first-choice back four of Lee Peltier, JamieMcCombe, Peter Clarke and Gary Naysmith.It meant an afternoon of frustration for BradleyWright-Phillips, who put two past Town for Plymouthearlier this season, and Paul Benson, the formerDagenham and Redbridge striker who shot over from agood position late in the first half.At the other end, former Republic of Ireland andNorwich centre-back Gary Doherty was an impressiveperformer for Charlton, his battle with on-loan Arsenalteenager Benik Afobe forming an intriguing sub-plot.Afobe was again handed the central role in a three-manfrontline, this time with Jack Hunt to his right, and theyoung guns responded superbly.Both mixed energy with adventure, constantly pluggingaway at the home rearguard, and Town had a decent30th-minute penalty shout when Hunt’s heels appeared tobe clipped by on-loan Leeds left-back Federico Bessone.Hunt was also involved in the move which brought Townclosest to a first-half breakthrough, feeding Peltier, whosecross teed up Gudjonsson for two shots, both of whichwere blocked.Charlton’s best effort before the break came fromDoherty, whose 27th-minute header was saved, whileMcCombe, Gary Roberts and Peltier all came close forTown early in the second half.

MK Dons 1-3 TOWNArfield, Peltier, Cadamarteri. Attn: 11,857

LEE CLARK watched Town boost their League Ipromotion chances with a fifth consecutive away win –then switched his attention to Monday’s home meetingwith Dagenham.Goals from Scott Arfield, Lee Peltier and DannyCadamarteri clinched a fine 3-1 win over MK Dons infront of 2,819 travelling fans in an 11,857 crowd and putTown back into second spot in place of Southampton.That means Town are three points ahead of Saints, andsix in front of fourth-placed Peterborough, who lost 2-1at Leyton Orient, and piled the pressure on NigelAdkins’ side ahead of today’s big South coast derby atchampions Brighton.But Clark, who will be checking on potential transfertargets elsewhere this afternoon, is focused on the clashwith Dagenham, for which Peltier is a doubt after a kneeproblem forced him off at half-time at stadium:mk.After a game in which both sides missed penalties (PeterLeven for MK and Arfield for Town) the boss said:“We’re delighted with the win but now it’s all aboutgetting the players fed, watered and recovered, becauseDagenham will make it difficult for us.“They are fighting to stay in this division, and we sawwhen we went there that they have players with goodphysical attributes and work extremely hard and we haveto be ready for that.”Town, now unbeaten in 22 league games, will be chasinga ninth win in 12 after seeing off MK, whose consolationfrom Mathias Kouo-Doumbe didn’t come until the 89thminute.“I thought they were the better side for the first 25minutes, causing us problems with their movement, butthen we scored with a great strike from Scott Arfield andwent from there,” added Clark.“Gary Roberts’ deliveries from set plays give us greatopportunities and led to our other two goals, and I justwish I had someone who could take penalties!“Gary passed the job over after his miss againstPeterborough and Scott was up for it, and to be fair, hewants to take the next one.”At the other end, Ian Bennett’s save denied MK anequaliser and Clark added: “It’s taken a while, but he’sfinally become a cult hero at the age of 39!”

TOWN 2-1 Dagenham & RedbridgeRhodes (2). Attn: 12,043

PRETTY it wasn’t, but this three-point haul maintainedTown’s magnificent run of results and their hopes ofautomatic promotion.Jordan Rhodes, restored to the starting side after beingon the bench for the wins at Charlton and MK Dons,grabbed the goals which dumped hard-workingDagenham and Redbridge in the drop zone.The first was a simple ninth-minute finish from BenikAfobe’s pass and the second, his 22nd of the campaign, aneat 31st-minute header from Gary Roberts’ cross whichcame three minutes after Frenchman Romain Vincelotequalised with a rising shot.Ian Bennett got a hand to that one, and Town had their

Brighton 2-3 TOWNAfobe (2), Ward. Attn: 8,416

LET’S hope this fixture is repeated next season, becausewhile Brighton are heading up to the Championship,Town surely deserve to join them.In seven of the last 10 seasons, their current points tally of86, a club record under three for a win, would have beenenough to seal automatic promotion.But the form of Southampton, who have won 12 of theirlast 15 matches, has put them in the driving seat for asecond-placed finish.And their superior goal difference, extended to 44 (toTown’s 29) by Saturday’s 3-0 win at Brentford, meansvictory at Plymouth this afternoon would all but condemnLee Clark’s side to the League I play-offs.Everyone remembers last season’s misery at Millwall, butSaturday’s South-coast victory over the champions, whichwas sealed by Danny Ward’s last-minute sizzler andextended an amazing unbeaten run to 24 league games,underlines what we already knew – that Town have what ittakes to come through the post-season competitionsuccessfully.Two other club records tumbled as Clark’s men put thespoilers on a big day for Brighton, who were playing theirlast match at the Withdean Stadium before their switch tothe new £93m AMEX stadium and received the titletrophy after the game.It was a 13th away win of the season, bettering theprevious best of 1919-20, and a sixth in succession,improving the achievement of 1924-25.Some will say Brighton have gone off the boil sinceclinching the title, but make no mistake – they weredesperate to win on their special afternoon, and showedplenty of the power which has taken them to 94 points.No other side has done the double over them this season,but Town managed it thanks to Ward’s hammer blowafter twice having Benik Afobe goal cancelled out, firstthrough Ashley Barnes, then Matt Sparrow.On-loan Bolton winger Ward’s first Town goal rewardedClark’s bold policy from the bench, because the visitorsended the game with three up front – Afobe, JordanRhodes and Alan Lee – and just three at the back, GaryNaysmith having been sacrificed to the push for victory.They had started with their ‘away’ set-up, Afobe flankedby Jack Hunt and Gary Roberts in a front three, and ittook only eight minutes to find a way past Peter Brezovan.Liam Bridcutt’s foul on Joey Gudjonsson brought ahalfway free-kick from which Naysmith picked out Afobe,who spun away from home skipper Gordon Greer andslotted home.Brighton equalised two minutes into the second half,when Peltier was ruled to have fouled Elliott Bennettinside the box as he ran onto Barnes’ pass.Ian Bennett was equal to Barnes’ spot kick, diving to hisright to parry, but was powerless to prevent the penaltytaker heading home the rebound.Brighton powered forward, with Wood (twice), Barnesand the lively Craig Noone thwarted before Afobe firedhis seventh Town goal in the 61st minute.It came from Calderon’s slip (his chest back to Brezovanfell well short) and the on-loan Arsenal ace tookadvantage with a neat finish.Gary Roberts could have made it 3-1 in the 68th-minuteand it was even stevens a minute later when Sparrow,freshly off the home bench, slotted home an angled shotfrom Gary Dicker’s pass.Town’s Bennett made a fine save from Gary Hart, butopposite number Brezovan had no chance when Wardthumped home the fifth-goal of a ding-dong duel from thebusy Afobe’s tee-up.

veteran keeper to thank for keeping the Londoners at bayin the 71st minute, when he dived to block from JohnAkinde after the on-loan Bristol City man had rolled ashot against the left-hand post.With Town unable to get the third goal, it all got a bitnervy in the second half.But that’s 23 League I games unbeaten, three wins insuccession, nine from the last 12 matches and 83 points,just two less than QPR, who are closing in on theChampionship title.Town got off to a great start, with the opener down tothe power and persistence of Afobe.The on-loan Arsenal ace, whose family home is justdown the road from Dagenham’s ground, latched ontoPeter Clarke’s pass and held off centre-back Will Antwibefore crossing for Rhodes to prod the ball home.Tony Roberts, the former Welsh international keeper,whose physique brought good-natured taunts fromTown’s fans, made a smart stop in the 21st minute,blocking one-handed to deny Jack Hunt, who was on theright side of midfield.Dagenham’s leveller came in controversial circumstances,with Vincelot driving home Akinde’s pass with Towntemporarily down to 10 men as Lee Peltier waited tocome back on after catching a stray boot on the head.But the natural order of the first half was restored whenRoberts picked up Kevin Kilbane’s pass and crossed fromthe left for Rhodes to show his predatory instincts with anear-post header.It’s a pity their recent results have been matched byautomatic promotion rivals Southampton, who were 2-0winners against Hartlepool.At this stage, all Town can do is win their last two – andsee what happens.

Final League I table

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■ PENALTY PRIZE: play-off semi-final celebrations

TOWN 4-4 BrentfordWard (2), Novak, Afobe. Attn: 12,055

DANNY WARD, Lee Novak and Benik Afobe providedthe positives as Town received a warning blast across thebows ahead of their League I play-off semi-finalshowdown with AFC Bournemouth.All three showed their sharpness in front of goal during amadcap match of shots, shots and more shots.But boss Lee Clark will spend some of this weekaddressing the issues which led to his side throwing awaythe lead three times, a habit which must be nipped in thebud.To be fair, it was out of character, and at least Townstretched their amazing unbeaten League I run to 25games ahead of their two crunch clashes with theCherries, who won’t be happy at having gone down 2-1 athome to Rochdale.Two hundred and fifty miles to the North, Ward’simpressive early double provided a solidfoundation for the Galpharm side.But Brentford kept chipping away and wererewarded with two goals apiece for JefferySchlupp and Lewis Grabban.Town could still have won it, because KevinKilbane, who Clark wanted to rest but wasbrought off the bench to help provide somesolidity, had an 89th-minute header clearedoff the line by fellow substitute NathanByrne before Ward whacked in a shot whichwas pushed for a corner by Simon Moore.Bolton loanee Ward showed the power andaccuracy of his shooting as he claimed thewinner at Brighton seven days previously,and this clash was peppered with his sizzlingshots, two of which had the better of theBrentford keeper.He had already put one narrowly wide andstung Moore’s fingers after being set up byAfobe by the time the opener arrived in the13th minute, when he drilled the ball homeafter seizing on Marcus Bean’s misplacedpass.His second, also fired in from the edge of the penaltyarea, came two minutes later as he advanced past twodefenders before unleashing an effort which Moore gothis hands to but couldn’t prevent from crossing the line.Joey Gudjonsson blocked from Bean, and the visitingmidfielder then brought a great save from Ian Bennett,who pushed away his sweetly-struck long-ranger for acorner.Then the busy Sam Saunders threaded through a pass toGrabban, who put his shot only just wide.Brentford had the ball in the net in the 38th minute –Grabban was yellow carded after kicking it away infrustration when ruled offside as he followed up afterBennett parried another shot by Bean – and while bothScott Arfield and Ward came close for Town, the goal theLondoners had threatened finally arrived a minute intofirst-half stoppage time.Schlupp beat Peter Clarke to fellow Leicester loaneeRobbie Neilson’s header and slotted home an angled shotwhich went in off Bennett’s left-hand post.Just six minutes of the second half had elapsed whenGerman youth international Schlupp claimed his second,this time picking up Myles Weston’s pass and beatingBennett without breaking stride.Brentford’s 135 travelling fans (in a 12,055 crowd) werestill celebrating when Novak restored Town’s lead just aminute later.The Geordie striker had only been on the field for threeminutes, but he was in the right spot to smash home hisfourth goal of the season after Moore could only parryyet another Ward effort.Brentford weren’t for rolling over, however, and afterSaunders floated a cross-cum-shot onto the top of thebar, Grabban made the most of Bennett’s sliced clearanceto net in the 59th minute.Town were back in front in the 63rd, when Afobe turnedto fire in Ward’s cross.But Brentford bounced back again in the 68th minute,when Grabban struck from close range after neat build-upplay by Schlupp and on-loan Tottenham teenager Byrne.

AFC Bournemouth 1-1 TOWNKilbane. Attn: 9,043

GET set for a season-defining night of football drama atthe Galpharm on Wednesday!After three meetings and three draws, it’s a fight to thefinish as these two go toe-to-toe for a trip to Old Trafford.With no away goals rule in the play-offs, it’s effectively acup final for a place in a cup final.Some of the gloss was taken off another gritty Townperformance by Donal McDermott’s equaliser down atDean Court.But while Bournemouth have proved themselves e a goodfootballing side, Lee Clark’s team are in the driving seat.They’ve held their semi-final foes on their own patch,making it 26 league games unbeaten, and haven’t lost athome in 14 matches.They’ll have the backing of plentiful home support – andfull marks to the 1,283 travelling fans in a 9,043 crowdwho made themselves heard from start to finish.If it goes to extra time, they have the benefit of provenfitness levels and a strong bench, whoever is sitting on it.

And should penalties be needed, IanBennett has the psychological boostof having denied Danny Ings from thespot on Saturday.His save came in the 36th minute, 14

after another thirtysomething, Kevin Kilbane, put Townahead.Town had done little in terms of attacking up to thatpoint, but made the most of a corner bizarrely given awayby Anton Robinson from just inside his own half.Gary Roberts swung in the flag kick from the Town rightwith precision and Kilbane met it with a header beyondkeeper Shwan Jalal and into the far corner.The home side gradually rediscovered their rhythm andgot a potential route back into the tie when DannyHolland picked out Rhoys Wiggins .The left-back powered into the penalty area and took atumble as Bennett came sliding out.Home fans called for a red card, but with Kay covering onthe line, referee Mick Russell plumped for yellow, and saltwas rubbed into the wounds when the 19-year-old stopperdived to his right to push away Ings’ spot kick.The Town supporters were cock-a-hoop, and they couldhave been celebrating further in the 39th minute, whenWard teed up Roberts for a shot which had Jalalstretching acrobatically to tip over.A goal at the stage might well have been a killer blow, andanother great chance of making it a two-goal lead cameand went six minutes into the second half.Roberts and Lee Peltier, who was soon to be forced off byinjury, combined down the right and the latter centred toBenik Afobe.The on-loan Arsenal youngster had stayed onside, butstumbled slightly as he shaped to shoot, and Jalal was ableto make vital save.It was looking good for Town, but when Jack Hunt, onfor Peltier, made a tackle and the ball broke nicely forMcDermott 25 yards out, the Irish youngster lashed inleft-footed on the hour.Now the swing was with Bournemouth, but Town stoodfirm, with the home side’s best chance coming whenWiggins drove in a low 85th-minute shot through a crowdof players – only for Bennett to save.

TOWN 0-3 PeterboroughAttn: 48,410

TOWN suffered a nightmare end to the season in theTheatre of Dreams as hopes of promotion crumbled inthe wake of Peterborough’s late goal blitz.It was a cruel end to a campaign which promised so muchas three strikes in a devastating eight-minute spellcondemned Lee Clark’s men to a first defeat sinceJanuary.It was end-to-end for the bulk of the Old Trafford play-offfinal, and while the final scoreline, sealed by TommyRowe, Craig Mackail-Smith and Grant McCann, flatteredPosh, it will be of little consolation as Town contemplateanother season in League I.Boss Clark ended days of pre-match debate among fansby choosing to go with his ‘away’ line-up, playing strikerBenik Afobe between wide men Gary Roberts and DannyWard and restoring Scott Arfield to midfield, 22-goal topscorer Jordan Rhodes being left on the bench.Peterborough kept the side which clinched a place in thefinal by beating MK Dons in the semi second leg.Town’s vast travelling army of fans outnumbered theiropponents two to one, with chairman Dean Hoyle’s gift ofa free T-shirt to every supporter creating a huge wall ofblue and white stripes stretching from the famousStretford End into each adjacent stand.But it was the Posh contingent who could be heard in theopening stages as their side came quickly out of theblocks on a hard pitch made greasy by pre-match rain.Craig Mackail-Smith, on 34 goals for the season andneeding two more to bring up a century for the club, cameclose to a fifth-minute breakthrough when he burst ontoLee Tomlin’s pass.But the challenging Antony Kay got a vital touch as theScotland international’s shot was deflected against theoutside of Ian Bennett’s left-hand post and away for acorner.McCann’s inswinging flag kick was safely punched clearby former Posh player Bennett, who then collected GeorgeBoyd’s swerving eighth-minute long-range effort with littlefuss.Town’s first chances fell to Lee Peltier, who twice got inheaders from corners by Gary Roberts, before skipperPeter Clarke brought a first save of the match from Poshkeeper Paul Jones with a 19th-minute header after DannyWard nodded back a Roberts cross.It took a timely tackle from centre-back Gaby Zakuani tothwart Afobe as he shaped to shoot a minute later, butPosh poured forward on the counter-attack, and Kay didwell to hold off Mackail-Smith.The game was becoming more open, and when Robertsproduced a neat 28th-minute cross, Afobe hooked a shotoff target as Ward lurked menacingly.Town survived a 32nd-minute penalty appeal when JamesWesolowski went down under Gary Naysmith’s challenge,while Kay again came to the rescue as he robbedMackail-Smith near goal.Boyd’s 44th-minte foul on Peltier set up a free-kickopportunity for Roberts, whose curling shot was pawedaway by Jones for the first of successive Town corners, thesecond of which was flicked on by Kay to Afobe, who wasunable to get his shot on target.Town had come right into the game as the halfprogressed, but Posh had the final chance before thebreak, when Mackail-Smith met Boyd’s pass only to pokethe ball wide as Bennett came out.Both sides were playing towards their own fans in thesecond half.And after Roberts fouled Boyd 25 yards out, the Poshsupporters were out of their seats as McCann curled thefree-kick just over.Ward drove a 55th-minute shot from Afobe’s lay-off wellwide before Roberts’ hooked effort from Peltier’s pass washeaded away by defender Ryan Bennett.Then Ward came close with a fine solo effort in the 59thminute when he worked his way from the right flank tothe byline and stepped back inside before unleashing aleft-foot shot which grazed the top of the bar.Posh made the first change in the 64th minute, andsubstitute Charlie Lee, on for left-back Grant Basey, wasyellow carded within minutes after catching Peltier with ahigh foot.He joined Peltier and Tomlin inreferee Steve Tanner’s book, both having committedfirst-half fouls, and Kay was cautioned on 75 minutesafter bringing down Mackail-Smith when he was in fullflight.Tomlin fired that free-kick straight into the wall, but whenNaysmith was ruled to have fouled Boyd three minuteslater, Posh made the breakthrough, Rowe glancing home aheader from McCann’s curling delivery.It was to prove the start of an avalanche which ended anyhopes of a fightback and left Town beaten for the firsttime in 28 league games.Mackail-Smith made it two in the 80th minute, picking upBoyd’s pass and leaving Bennett in no-man’s land with ashot which took a deflection off Kay.Then when Clarke fouled Mackail-Smith just outside thepenalty area five minutes later, McCann squeezed thefree-kick between Bennett and his left-hand post.

TOWN 3-3 AFC Bournemouth(after extra time W 4-2 pens)Peltier, Ward, Kay. Attn: 16,444

TOWN’S promotion dream stayed very much alive asthey won a penalty shoot-out on a nerve-shredding nightof pure football drama.Lee Clark’s side had missed their last three efforts fromthe spot in open play but made no mistake as a thrillingLeague I play-off semi-final second leg went all the wayto a shoot-out.Lee Novak, Danny Ward, Kevin Kilbane and AntonyKay all hit the target while star stopper Ian Bennett savedfrom Graham Feeney and Anton Robinson hit the bar asTown won with a penalty to spare.A pulsating clash finished 3-3 and produced the fourthdraw in four meetings between the two sides this season.Town twice took the lead through Lee Peltier and DannyWard, but both times Bournemouth levelled throughSteve Lovell, his first a penalty.Danny Ings headed the visitors in front for the first timein the two play-off ties 13 minutes into the first period ofextra time, but Town’s response was swift, Antony Kaypowering home another header during an additional

minute at the end of the first period.Peltier passed a fitness test on the hamstring injury whichforced him off early in the second half of Saturday’s firstleg – and lined up alongside Kilbane in central midfield,with Jack Hunt retaining the right-back berth.Kay kept the centre-half slot alongside skipper PeterClarke while top scorer Jordan Rhodes returned to thefrontline alongside Benik Afobe as boss Lee Clark went4-4-2.Bournemouth, aiming for a first win over Town in 18attempts, kept the same starting line-up as the first leg.Clark had called for a high-tempo start to the tie, and histeam took him at his word, with Gary Roberts having ashot saved after just 12 seconds.Bournemouth’s first chance came in the eighth minute,when Ings dribbled along the edge of the area beforeshooting wide.Kay’s precise upfield pass helped bring Town the game’sfirst corner, won by Rhodes, in the 22nd minute, butkeeper Shwan Jalal collected Roberts’ delivery at thesecond attempt.The next flag kick, in the 26th minute, was to provideTown with the breakthrough they craved.Jalal pushed Afobe’s header from Hunt’s cross past thepost, but was powerless to prevent Peltier heading homefrom Roberts’ centre, the ball hitting the inside of thepost and beating the desperate leap of a defender.The stadium was bouncing, with home fans lapping upthe deft footwork of the orange-booted Roberts.The drama in the Town penalty box was far from over,because the visitors, having missed a spot kick onSaturday, drew level with one in the 43rd minute.Smith was fouled by Clarke after playing a neat one-twowith Lovell and after Ings’ effort was saved by Bennettfour days earlier, Lovell took the responsibility from 12yards, drilling his shot into the roof of the net.It was a big setback for Town, but they responded withvigour, and after Rhodes headed over with the goal at hismercy, the lead was regained two minutes into time addedon at the end of a frenetic first half.Afobe played a pass from the left and Ward, receiving theball with his back to goal, spun his marker and benthome a low left footer from 20 yards.McDermott hammered a free-kick straight into the Townwall early in the second half, but Clark’s men werequickly back on the attack, with Clarke’s shot deflectedfor a corner before Rhodes scooped a close-range shotover the bar.Bournemouth were not going to give in easily, however,and got back into the game for a second time in the 63rdminute, with Lovell picking up McDermott’s pass andriding two tackles before lashing home.Afobe’s persistence almost paid off in the 75th minute,but after shrugging off three tackles, he was unable to gethis shot on target, while at the other end, Bennett savedDanny Hollands’ header.Town had the better of the early stages of extra time, withWard bringing a smart save from Jalal before substituteNovak’s free-kick was blocked by the Bournemouth wall.But they were rocked when Ings squeezed home a headerfrom substitute Marc Pugh’s cross.But the lead lasted less than two minutes as Kay emergedfrom a ruck of players to power in a header from Robertscorner in time added on in the first period extra time.In a frantic finale there was yet another twist whenBournemouth skipper Pearce was shown a 112th-minutestraight red card after a two-footed lunge at Kilbane.

Final League I table


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Huddersfield Town End Of Season Review