BRIGHTON 0 TOWN 0
Town earn first point at the Amex
A determined performance from the Terriers earned their first ever point at the Amex.
The returning James Vaughan had Town’s best chance when he headed wide in the first half, while at the other end Ashley Barnes missed two good chances and had a header cleared off the line.
Town’s clean sheet is the first one an opposing team has kept in Brighton this season.
Vaughan returned to captain the Terriers, while Murray Wallace replaced the suspended Joel Lynch as Town aimed to earn their first ever points at the Amex.
In a half which the home side dominated possession for large parts, the Terriers were the first to hit the target when Oscar Gobern’s header was easily gathered by Peter Brezovan.
On his 350th career start, Anthony Gerrard marshalled a young back line and showed his counterparts how it was done with a superb slide tackle to stop the inform Ashley Barnes in his tracks.
Brighton had a enjoyed a 3-1 success over Leicester the last time they were at home and had it not been for the well placed Martin Paterson, they would have taken the lead. The Northern Irish international was handily placed on the post to divert Barnes’ header wide in the 17th minute.
Vaughan had an equally good chance in the Brighton penalty box, but he failed to test Brezovan with his header from six yards.
The home side at times had Town scrambling in defence, but they failed to force into Alex Smithies in to action.
That changed within four minutes of the second half though, when Smithies pushed clear Kemy Agustien’s far post header. The rebound fell sharply to Barnes, who couldn’t adjust his body in time and could only knee the ball over the bar from six yards.
It was a massive let off for Town – and an even bigger one was to follow on the hour mark.
Barnes was again the culprit, failing to find the target from David Lopez’s cross when he was unmarked at the far post.
The home team kept on knocking, but Town – who had reverted to four at the back – were holding firm, with Wallace looking particularly impressive.
Duane Holmes and Danny Ward were on for the final half an hour and the former showed some neat touches in difficult conditions. It was tough for Town though, who struggled throughout the game to maintain possession in the final third.
Matthew Upson headed over a late corner, but the home side were made to rue missed chances at the final whistle as Town earned their first ever point at the Amex.
Town’s team (3-5-2):
Alex Smithies; Murray Wallace, Anthony Gerrard, Tommy Smith; Paul Dixon, Oliver Norwood, Oscar Gobern, Adam Clayton (Duane Holmes, 59), Adam Hammill (Calum Woods, 81); James Vaughan (c), Martin Paterson (Danny Ward, 59)
Unused substitutes:
Ian Bennett, Sean Scannell, Jonathan Stead, Keith Southern
Bookings Brighton: Kazenga Lua Lua 85
Bookings Town: Paul Dixon 29, Calum Woods 87, Tommy Smith 90+2
Attendance: 27,115
Away: 425
