REPLAY AT THE ETIHAD AFTER THRILLING CLASH WITH CITY GIANTS
Struggled to get forward as much as he may have hoped due to the threat of Nolito, but handled the Spaniard well. Marshalled the defence well and showed all his experience. Made a great block on the line early on to deny Jesus Navas. Had the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be ruled out for offside – worked hard but was sometimes too casual. Deputised well for Izzy Brown in the 10 role and caused City’s back line problems, but his final delivery was slightly off. HUDDERSFIELD TOWN went toe-to-toe with Premier League giants Manchester City to claim an heroic FA Cup fifth-round draw in front of a record all-time attendance at the John Smith’s Stadium.
The SkyBet Championship high-fliers were more than a match for Pep Guardiola’s team throughout the entire 90 minutes and well worth a replay to be scheduled the week commencing February 27.
It’s a headache neither side will have wanted coming into the encounter with the fixtures piling up for both, but no-one can deny Huddersfield Town’s evening at the Etihad after this performance.
With regulars Danny Ward, Tommy Smith, Elias Kachunga, Chris Lowe, Nahki Wells and Izzy Brown on the bench, the German head coach had more than an eye on tomorrow night’s league encounter with fellow promotion hopefuls Reading.
But despite the changes, Town started with confidence, taking the game to their more illustrious rivals as Rajiv van La Parra tested City keeper Claudio Bravo in the opening minutes after good work from Collin Quaner.
City rallied, starting to play the ball around at the back and through midfield before unleashing Nolito, whose shot was expertly saved by Joel Coleman, with Mark Hudson blocking Jesus Navas’ rebound on the line.
If that 10th-minute effort had gone in the game may have had a different complexion, but fortunately for Town it didn’t and David Wagner’s side continued to be unfazed by the opposition in front of them.
And as the game opened up mid-way through the first half, Town arguably had the best chances as well – Philip Billing even putting the ball into the back of the City net, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.
Nolito, a constant thorn in Town’s side, then saw his volley deflected wide for a corner after good work from Argentinean duo Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta, before Aguero himself was denied by Coleman.
After an end-to-end first-half, the second half failed to deliver the same high-octane entertainment as both sides effectively cancelled each other out.
With the clock ticking both City