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Huddersfield Town 1 Stockport County 1

Simon Smedley
13/ 8/2008

COUNTY returned to League One in encouraging style as they fully deserved a share of the spoils at one of the pre-season’s most highly-fancied sides.

Huddersfield have spent big during the close season, but by the end of this game it was the Hatters who had created the majority of the chances.

The 2,000-strong travelling army were certainly enthused. They went home in good voice after an impressive performance from their team.

There were no real surprises in Jim Gannon’s starting line-up on Saturday. Four of the summer signings - Owain fon Williams, Jonny Mullins, Peter Thompson and Stephen Gleeson - were in, while Carl Baker was on the bench.

Ex-Hatter Jim Goodwin started for Stan Ternent’s side, with former Edgeley Park favourite Luke Beckett taking a place among the Terriers’ substitutes.

Almost 16,000 were packed into the stadium at three o’clock, the atmosphere was truly electric, and the playing surface was slick after plenty of driving rain.

Michael Rose curled an early free-kick narrowly past the angle of post and crossbar, then on 14 minutes Huddersfield ‘keeper Matty Glennon could only beat away Anthony Pilkington’s low drive, with Thompson diverting the rebound wide.

It was an encouraging start from the Hatters, but fon Williams then had to stretch to save Michael Collins’ deflected shot. Danny Cadamarteri also forced fon Williams into action.

County replied with Michael Raynes seeing a deflected shot zip inches past the far post, but it was to be the hosts who took the lead with a setpiece strike on 29 minutes.

Gary Roberts curled in a corner-kick from the right, and the dangerous Andy Booth rose well to glance a header home into the corner.

The atmosphere cranked up a notch, and seven minutes before the break fon Williams had to dive full length to tip away Roberts’ goal-bound free-kick.

However, the Hatters deserved to be level and they struck seconds before the half-time whistle. Mullins crossed in low from the right, and there was the unmarked Tommy Rowe who tucked home a shot with his right foot from just six yards.

It had been a great time to score, but Gannon still went for a double change at the break as Baker and Matty McNeil - who joined Thompson up top - came on for Rose and Pilkington.

Gleeson drove a shot wide on 52 minutes, then Baker showed some real trickery just outside the Huddersfield box before his well-flighted chip dropped inches over the crossbar.

County were looking confident as the latter stages approached. There was surprisingly little threat from Huddersfield and on 75 minutes, Gleeson again found space before shooting just over from 20 yards.

Roberts got away down the left but shot straight at fon Williams late on, only for County to again respond when another Baker curler was superbly beaten away by Glennon in the 89th minute.

COUNTY: Fon Williams, Mullins, Rose (McNeil, 46), Owen, McNulty, Pilkington (Baker, 46), Dicker, Thompson, Rowe, Raynes, Gleeson. Subs not used: Turnbull, McSweeney, Rigby.

STAR MAN: Michael Raynes.

Huddersfield: Glennon, Holdsworth, Collins, Cadamarteri, Flynn (Worthington, 59), Goodwin, Roberts, Butler, Lucketti, Unsworth, Booth (Beckett, 74).

Attendane: 15,578.

Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne and Wear).