Carlos back to haunt hapless Huddersfield
AS THE final whistle sounded, boos rang out from the few remaining Huddersfield fans while Carlos Corberan was serenaded by the jubilant away end.
The West Brom manager’s name was sung to the tune of Glad All Over and the rain- soaked Spaniard took the acclaim before jogging down the tunnel.
From 1-0 down at the break to a fairly simple victory, this was a thoroughly good afternoon’s work from Corberan on his first return to the club where he made his managerial name.
There will be greater challenges for Albion in the coming weeks. There have to be. It cannot be this easy. But after this emotional victory, Corberan said: ‘I’ve never had this feeling before because I came here with a full determination to win.
‘But I have a lot of memories of Huddersfield and I always want the best for them.
‘It’s mixed emotions because I’m happy and proud with what we have done today but also send my best wishes to this club in the future.’
A disciple of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds, Corberan left Elland Road to take up his first head coaching position at Huddersfield in the summer of 2020.
Two years later he guided the Terriers to within a whisker of the Premier League as they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final.
Not much has gone right in this corner of West Yorkshire since. After their Wembley heartache in May 2022, Corberan soon jumped ship as key players were sold, sparking a turbulent period on and off the field which could now culminate in relegation to League One.
Huddersfield, , who sacked Neil Warnock in September and then Darren Moore in January, are now under the stewardship - of Andre e Breitenreiter, their fifth manager ager since Corberann quit.
Breitenreiter’s men deservedly led at half-time courtesy of a delightful goal from Delano Burgzorg, who showed lovely footwork to beat Darnell Furlong and fire a leftfoot shot under Alex Palmer.
The Albion goalkeeper should have done better but he atoned for his error with a number of saves as the Baggies took their hosts to the cleaners after the break. Albion levelled in the 51st minute when Andreas Weimann crossed low for on-loan Celtic winger Mikey Johnston to tap home from close range.
Defender Kyle Bartley then bundled home from a corner on the hour before Turkey midfielder Okay Yokuslu hit a stunning right-foot shot into the top corner from 25 yards. That came after good work from Johnston, who then showed more impressive footwork to slip the ball underneath Lee Nicholls to score his sixth goal in his last seven appearances. Fifth- placed Albion are now unbeaten in five and are an increasingly decent bet to make the play-offs. After taking four points from his opening two league games, Breitenreiter has suffered successive defeats. More significantly, Huddersfield remain rooted in the relegation zone with just nine games left.
The German said: ‘ West Brom’s first goal was offside but we have to defend better.
‘ I also congratulate them because in the second half they were much quicker.
‘But I told my boys to keep their heads up — we have nine games left and it’s all about positive thinking.’