Town's 18-year old goalkeeper Alex Smithies has told htafc.com he was 'elated' with the derby-day victory over Leeds United on Saturday.
The England under-19 international was given the Man of the Match award for a great performance in the Town goal and told the Club's official website that the result helped him avenge the result from his full first-team debut at Elland Road in 2007, when the Terriers lost 4-0.
"I'm obviously delighted about the game and the result, particularly given how my first experience against Leeds went. The result was fantastic, but it was good for me personally as well," he explained.
"We lost heavily at Leeds on my full debut when I was quite young - I was only 17 at that point. Since that point I have had a bit of experience in the team and I felt ready for it. I had been looking forward to the game for a few weeks and I'm delighted with how it went.
"You could see what it meant to me from my reaction after the game - it is hard to put into words really. I have been looking forward to it all season and I am delighted with how it went.
"The rest of the lads felt exactly like I did at the final whistle - elated. That was the one game that we really wanted to win and we have produced again. Mentally, this will do wonders for us as we all feel great about ourselves and we are winning the big games. I still think we can make the Play-Offs."
Smithies has made a real impact since getting his opportunity in the first-team in early December and keeping his place between the sticks is now his focal point.
"My focus at the moment is to stay in the team and keep trying to play well. I have real competition for the place in the team from Matty Glennon and Simon Eastwood who are both fantastic 'keepers and if I can stay in the team, I will be very pleased. Personally, I think I have developed quite a lot through my work with John Vaughan, who is brilliant with me. The experience of playing in the team has been great and I have to be grateful to Gerry Murphy for that for giving me my chance."
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