Terriers defeated despite going ahead at the JSS.
- Huddersfield Town 1-4 West Bromwich Albion
- Delano Burgzorg gave us a lead at the half time break
- Baggies hit back strongly to take all three points
Town were defeated by Play-Off chasing West Bromwich Albion on a disappointing afternoon at the John Smith’s Stadium, with a promising opening half coming to nothing.
The Terriers came out of the blocks in impressive fashion and deserved the half time lead that Delano Burgzorg’s seventh of the season gave them. They pressed the Baggies high, forced them into errors and could have scored more had they got the final pass wrong.
However, the tables soon turned as the away side scored two goals to turn the game on the head, adding two more as the half progressed in clinical fashion.
Town lined up 3-5-2 for the game, with Burgzorg joining Sorba Thomas in a front two full of pace and athleticism. Sorba in particular was tireless in his pressing and a constant force going forward, whilst the opening 45 saw us win our battles all over the pitch.
We had threatened before the goal through a mix of probing passes and quality set piece deliveries that just didn’t quite off, but then Burgzorg opened the scoring on the half hour.
Credit went to Tom Lees, who stepped into the centre circle inside the West Brom half to win a 50-50 with captain Jed Wallace. He quickly moved the ball forward to Burgzorg, who jinked past the outside of full back Darnell Furlong to enter the penalty area before squeezing a low shot beneath goalkeeper Alex Palmer in front of the Cowshed Loyal.
Unfortunately, momentum swung the other way in the second half as Town couldn’t match the intensity of their first half press, combined with a change in shape from Baggies boss Carlos Corberán.
The equaliser came in the 52nd minute and could have been called offside when the ball was played forward. The flag never came, and Andreas Weimann managed to squeeze a cross past Lees for Mikey Johnston to get to, despite four Town defenders being around him.
Town then had a huge chance to restore the lead, only to spurn it. Burgzorg hassled Okay into a bad back pass and raced clear, but his shot from in front of goal was too close to goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who turned it around the post.
The West Brom second then came, albeit it was slightly unlucky from a Town perspective. Jonathan Hogg headed an initial corner clear and when the ball was returned into the box, it bobbled among a large group of players before hitting the onrushing Kyle Bartley and rolling into the bottom corner.
West Brom’s third was a stunning long range strike from midfielder Okay – a rising drive from 30 yards that gave the diving Nicholls no chance.
The fourth in the 73rd minute killed the game, with Johnston grabbing a second in slightly similar fashion to Burgzorg’s opener for Town.
Despite the scoreline, Town did create some big chances to make the scoreline closer.
First Ward couldn’t get on the end of Burgzorg’s cross-come-shot after good work from Thomas and then had a goal disallowed for a tight offside call on the Dutchman in the build-up.
We should have scored in the 81st minute when Thomas found Jack Rudoni in the box, but Palmer saved his shot from point-blank range and then Ward’s follow-up.
Town’s team (3-5-2)
Lee Nicholls; Matty Pearson, Michał Helik (Radinio Balker, 75’), Tom Lees; Brodie Spencer, David Kasumu (Danny Ward, 65’), Jonathan Hogg (c) (Alex Matos, 75’), Jack Rudoni, Jaheim Headley (Josh Koroma, 65’); Sorba Thomas, Delano Burgzorg
Unused substitutes
Chris Maxwell; Brahima Diarra, Ben Wiles, Ben Jackson, Tom Iorpenda
Town booking
Delano Burgzorg (30’)
