Record-breaking striker was a big help for Hand
AT a time when goalscoring is a hot topic for Huddersfield Town in the Premier League, 30 years ago a new strike signing was on the mark and heading towards a record.
His name was Craig Maskell, snapped up from Southampton by Eoin Hand, and he made a big impact in blue and white stripes.
At the time, in the 1988/89 season, Town had sold frontman Duncan Shearer to Swindon and midfield general Ian Banks to Bradford City and were looking to recover from a disastrous relegation campaign.
Maskell, then 21, came in to lead the attack, while Hand strengthened in midfield and defence by bringing in Kieran O’Regan and Chris Marsden, along with centre-back Ken O’Doherty and goalkeeper Steve Hardwick.
On December 17 that season, Town played Bury at home and won 3-2 in front of 5,150 at the old Leeds Road ground with Maskell scoring the winner on the day.
Town were on course for a play-off challenge when, in April, they won 6-0 at Bury with the help of a Maskell hat trick.
But Town couldn’t find the ammunition to back him up after that and dropped away with a poor run of results.
Maskell, in fact, scored the final five goals of the campaign, over a seven-match period, to claim a post-war record.
With a goal in the final match, a 1-1 draw against Wigan Athletic, he beat Jimmy Glazzard’s post-war scoring record of 32 goals in a season in all competitions, which had been set back in 1954-55.