Town are out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after tonight's Second Round defeat at Darlington's Balfour Webnet Arena. A much-changed Terriers eleven were dealt a blow late in the first-half with the somewhat harsh dismissal of Gary Roberts before conceding in added time and despite an improvement in the second-half, they could not grab the vital equaliser.
Half-time substitute Andy Butler was the pick of the Town players and came closest with a second-half header that hit the bar, but the Terriers could not break down the defence of the League Two side.
Town's new look side featured ten changes to the starting eleven and lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with young goalkeeper Alex Smithies making his seasonal debut behind a back four of Robbie Williams, Dave Unsworth, skipper Chris Lucketti and Tom Clarke. Gary Roberts and Andy Holdsworth took up the left and right wing positions, with Michael Collins partnering Republic of Ireland under-21 international James Berrett in the midfield engine room. Up front, Danny Cadamarteri partnered Keigan Parker.
The Terriers started the game on the front foot, with a lot of the early play coming down the right flank courtesy of Clarke, Holdsworth and Parker. However, it was Darlington winger Poole who had the first shot at goal in the 14th minute; his long range volley from the right of the penalty area never troubled Smithies' goal.
Town almost scored on the break in the 18th minute when striker Parker outpaced defender Foster to latch onto a raking Andy Holdsworth pass, but the Scottish striker only had a narrow angle to work with and could only slam his shot into the chest of Polish goalkeeper Kazimierczak.
James Berrett had started well and was next to try his luck in the 22nd minute, but his shot from the edge of the box came from a Roberts cross and proved difficult to control, spooning over the Darlington crossbar.
It was clear to see that Darlington midfielder Franz Burgmeier was blessed with real technical ability early on and it looked like he had opened the scoring in the 25th minute. Right winger Poole skinned Michael Collins by the right corner flag and his cross fell to the Liechtensteiner inside the box via the head of Unsworth; he hit his volley sweetly, but Town Captain Lucketti threw himself full length and diverted the ball behind for a corner.
Darlington were having a good spell, with winger Poole pulling a shot from the edge of the box well wide with his weaker left foot two minutes later after Town had failed to properly clear a Burgmeier set-piece.
Darlington skipper Steve Foster hit a volley straight into the hands of the grateful Smithies in the 31st minute after an Austin set-piece was floated into the box. The Terriers had conceded another free-kick midway inside their own half, this time for an Unsworth push on striker Adam Proudlock.
BOOKING - Darlington midfielder Ricky Ravenhill was booked in the 34th minute for a lunge on defender Unsworth that did appear to take the ball, but was slightly too high for referee Wright's liking.
SENDING-OFF - Gary Roberts then controversially received his marching orders in the 37th minute for a similar tackle on Ravenhill. There was no doubt that the Darlington man was hurt and he immediately signalled for help - eventually being stretchered off - but the Town winger had seemed to win the ball and mistakenly catch Ravenhill on the knee with an outstretched boot. 'Robbo' was astounded when the official produced a straight red card for the offence. Manager Stan Ternent was equally as puzzled by the decision and made his feelings clear to the fourth official.
The reaction of the players normally tells a story as to how bad a challenge is, and on this occasion none of the Darlington players reacted angrily to Robbo's challenge. Nevertheless, the midfielder had to march down the tunnel.
SUB - The injured Ravenhill was replaced by Jason Kennedy.
When play recommenced, the home side went on the attack. Town failed to clear the resulting free-kick with winger Poole eventually hitting the bar with a looping volley before substitute Kennedy headed another cross wide a minute later.
Ternent reshuffled his pack, moving Cadamarteri to the vacant wide left position and leaving Keigan Parker as a lone front man.
GOAL - Just after the 45th minute, Darlington took the lead through defender Alan White. The big centre-half nodded another excellent Burgmeier free-kick past a helpless Alex Smithies; the ball being viciously whipped in from the Town right after Dave Unsworth had come through the back of striker Proudlock. The header merely needed direction from White, with all the power being generated through the excellent delivery.
HALF-TIME: DARLINGTON 1 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0
SUB - Town boss Ternent made one change in personnel during the interval, replacing Unsworth with Andy Butler at centre-back.
The Terriers started the second period in slightly better fashion, with Cadamarteri and Holdsworth pushing on to join Parker as a front three when attacking.
Substitute Butler went close to opening his Town goalscoring account in the 52nd minute with a header from a Robbie Williams set-piece after Keigan Parker had been fouled by centre-back Foster on the right flank. The big defender rose unchallenged on the penalty spot and sent a looping header towards the goal that evaded the goalkeeper but struck the crossbar.
The ball was cleared behind and from the resulting corner, Keigan Parker was the unlikely source of a header at the back post; the ball rolled across goal and Danny Cadamarteri's strong shot had to be blocked by defender Austin.
Town almost shot themselves in the foot two minutes later when Robbie Williams sold 'keeper Smithies short with a back-pass, allowing striker Blundell to charge the ball down. Luckily for the Terriers, the ball ricocheted harmlessly behind for a goal kick.
With manager Ternent urging his full-backs to provide some width and push forward, Town were enjoying their best spell of the game. The front pairing of Parker and Cadamarteri were battling very hard for every loose ball and were giving the Darlington defence some real problems, allowing Town to push on.
SUB - Joe Skarz was introduced to the game in the 62nd minute, replacing Tom Clarke. The substitute moved into an advanced left wing position, with Holdsworth occupying the right-back slot.
The young substitute immediately got involved, picking up a loose ball in the 67th minute after a poor touch from centre-back White and passing quickly to Parker. The striker advanced to the edge of the box before attempting a curler around the goalkeeper, which drifted inches wide of goal.
Right-back Austin screwed a long range shot badly wide of goal in the 69th minute for the home side, but it was ten-man Town who were looking the more dangerous of the two sides in the second-half. Butler was having an exceptional game at the heart of the Town defence and with the forwards applying a lot of pressure when the Darlington defenders were on the ball, the chances were slowly coming.
Joe Skarz headed the ball straight at the goalkeeper in the 71st minute from a Cadamarteri right wing cross after good initial work from the busy Parker.
SUB - Darlington made their first changes in the 74th minute, replacing Proudlock with Liam Hatch and David Poole with danger man Billy Clarke.
Alex Smithies pulled off an outstanding reaction save on the stroke of 77 minutes; the referee awarded a mystery free-kick against Joe Skarz on the left side and from the resultant Burgmeier delivery, Clarke ghosted in at the far post and looked certain to volley home before the young 'keeper stuck a hand out.
Town had Butler to thank a minute later; Darlington attacked on the break and found themselves with a 2 on 1 situation at the back, but as Blundell tried to square the ball the big centre-back intercepted and cleared.
SUB - Town made their final change of the game in the 80th minute, with Jon Worthington replacing James Berrett.
BOOKING - Chris Lucketti was booked in the 83rd minute for a late lunge on a Darlington player after he had misplaced a pass.
Town pressed hard for an opening late in the game, with a couple of Parker shots blocked around the edge of the box and a good Williams free-kick cleared well by the head of defender Foster. Town threw defenders Butler and Lucketti forward for a few late free-kicks in hope of nicking a goal, but it wasn't to be.
FINAL SCORE: DARLINGTON 1 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0
Huddersfield Town:
Alex Smithies, Andy Holdsworth, Michael Collins, Keigan Parker, Danny Cadamarteri, Tom Clarke (Joe Skarz 62), Robbie Williams, Gary Roberts, Chris Lucketti (c), David Unsworth (Andy Butler 46), James Berrett (Jon Worthington 80)
Unused Subs: Matt Glennon, Luke Beckett
Town Booking: Chris Lucketti (83)
Town Sending-Off: Gary Roberts (37)
Darlington Booking: Ricky Ravenhill (34)
Attendance: 1,791
Visitors: 387
