Huddersfield Town 0 - 2 Brentford (Match Report)
By Peter Lodge
August 10 2002
Click to see the full match report for out 2-0 loss against Brentford on the opening day of the season.

HUDDERSFIELD 0 - 2 BRENTFORD

The Teams:

Huddersfield Town-

Scott BEVAN
Steve JENKINS (c)
Kevin SHARP
John THORRINGTON
Kenny IRONS
Chris HOLLAND 
Scott MCDONALD
Andy BOOTH
Martin SMITH
Eddie YOUDS
Adie MOSES

SUBS: Phil SENIOR, Nat BROWN, Thomas HEARY, Dwayne MATTIS, Jon STEAD

Brentford FC-

Smith (P)
Dobson (c)
Somner
Roget
Sonko
Fullarton
Hutchinson
McCammon
Vine
O'Connor
Hunt

SUBS: Williams, Smith (J), Gottskalksson, Marshall, Constantine

As the players' names were read out the loudest cheer came on Martin Smith who returns to league football for the first time in 17 months.  Chants of "Micky Wadsworth's Barmy Army" came from a confident set of Town fans.

Town opened with good play from McDonald at the by-line and a cross from Smith was collected by Brentford keeper Paul Smith.

The opening ten minutes went well and there was some promising play from Steve Jenkins when he overlapped McDonald but the pressure got to him and his cross was a poor one.  Martin Smith also showed signs of returning to the quality player he was before his injury but his ball to Andy Booth was smothered by the Brentford keeper.

And Smith almost scored an opener for Town shortly after the ten-minute mark when Sharp's cross found the head of Booth who nodded it on but yet again Brentford keeper Paul Smith was there to cover the danger.

Town's first shot-on-goal came on 14 when John Thorrington earned a free kick on the wing.  Steve Jenkins took it and he found the head of Booth who unfortunately headed into the arms of Smith.

Brentford new boy Leo Roget took the ball off McDonald's head on 19 after a cross by hard-working Smith found the on-loan striker in the box.

In the 21st minute came the first booking of the match when striker McCammon was yellow-carded for a pointless foul on Eddie Youds.

Town's weakness on set pieces from last season came back to haunt them when O'Connor's free-kick on 25 was half-cleared by Moses but fell to new Brentford signing Fullarton whose low shot from the edge of the area went to Bevan's left and in the back of the net.

Town had a chance to equalize on 33 when a Kenny Irons corner caused a scramble in the box and the ball eventually fell to Thorrington.  However, his tame shot caused no trouble for the Brentford keeper.

Moses brought down Eddie Hutchinson on 34 and was booked, fortunately, the following free-kick was wasted by Brentford.

Brentford's second goal came on 39 when David Vine's shot, the result of a Dobson free-kick, gave Bevan no chance.  To conclude the end of the rather disappointing first half Chris Holland's shot went wide in the second minute of injury time.

HALF TIME SCORE: 0-2

As the players came out for the second half no changes were made by Town but one by Brentford - goalscorer Fullarton was taken off and Jay Smith came on to take his place.

Wadsworth's half-time talk must have had some effect on Town as they immediately looked better, especially Thorrington, whose antics on the right wing caused the Brentford defence no-end of trouble.  But Brentford attacked a minute after the restart when on 46 a near-post shot from number 27 tested Scott Bevan who turned it round the post.  Bevan also claimed the resulting corner with ease and his height seems to be making him a lot more comfortable than Margetson ever was on set-pieces.

Smith had a chance to score on 48 when Scott McDonald crossed and Boothy's flick on just failed to find Smith's foot.

Kenny Irons saved Town from conceding a third goal which really would have been the end when he cleared off the line a close header from McCammon which came as a result of a corner from number 2.

Town switched to a 4-4-2 formation when youngster Dwayne Mattis replaced Kenny Irons on 54 and from then on the crowd got more and more behind the side in an attempt to rouse a comeback.

Holland had a couple of shots on target around 60 minutes but they were weak and failed to trouble keeper Paul Smith who looked solid throughout the whole game.

Promising youngster Jon Stead came on to replace Smithy on 69 and made an immediate impact.  His cross found Booth in the box but unfortunately it was slightly behind him and by the time Booth had recovered Paul Smith was off his line yet again to smother the danger.

On 78 Town's appeals for a penalty were turned down by the referee after Jenkins' ball found Thorrington and his cross seemed to strike a Brentford hand, and if you ask any Town fan at the game they will say it was a pen.  However, it was not to be and the ref awarded a simple corner.

Town's last real chance of the game came about ten minutes before the final whistle when a cross from new left-back Kevin Sharp found Stead and Stead's shot brought an excellent save from the Brentford keeper.

In a disappointing start to the new season fans took a liking to young lad Jon Stead after his good performance.  But Wadsworth will have some explaining to do.

FULL TIME SCORE: 0-2

Attendance: 9,635

What do you think of the result and performance shown in the Brentford game?  And is this Wadsworth not looking so good after all?  Post your views on the message board.

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