Terriers are back in the dogfight... but Big Sam’s the one being barked at
TOWN FAIL TO TICK THE RIGHT BOXES
NO SURVEY required. On a scale of one to five, Huddersfield will be completely dissatisfied with a result which sees them sucked back into relegation bogland.
On an afternoon when the Everton fans jeered and taunted manager Sam Allardyce for, well, being Sam Allardyce, it all went pear-shaped for the home side instead.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City lurk in waiting for David Wagner’s team after a missed opportunity to virtually confirm Premier League safety.
Wagner said: “Of course we are disappointed but we were beaten by a quality team. Today we can be disappointed, maybe tomorrow. But I will lift everybody and make sure that we are ready for the last week of the season.
“For two-and-a-half years we worked on the impossible. We know that this is a difficult task but we know it is possible.
“We were not able to get it over the line today but teams have shown it is possible to steal points against the top six.”
The basic premise of a match is to score goals, something the Terriers have really struggled with this season – this was their seventh home blank in the League. So when first Cenk Tosun and then Idrissa Gueye found the net on the break, the mission became an impossible one.
With the Everton team ticking all the right boxes, this should have put the travelling fans into a moral quandary but it seems mob opinion rules. Big Sam, a nuisance who delivers points, seemingly has to take the big walk out of Goodison whatever happens on the pitch.
That’s 14 points in seven games and eighth in the Premier League. Allardyce out, obviously.
He insisted: “I can’t produce any more than I’m doing. The fans don’t like it but I’m trying as hard as we possibly can.
“What can I say when we’ve got 14 points from seven games when the club was in a very difficult position when I arrived? I can only say it’s one of those things. If we keep winning we might change it to love.
“It was an excellent performance over the 90 minutes. The players’ qualities in the end shone through.
“What Huddersfield could throw at us was nullified by the quality of our defending. We’re riding as high as we could possibly ride.
“The effort from the players has been fantastic. When you go past that 40-point mark it’s very easy for players to start thinking about their holidays but we’re pushing ourselves as high up as we possibly can.”
Huddersfield’s crammed-full stadium has been a constant source of noise and positivity this season, even when results have not come.
Any survey conducted in this part of the world would still say ‘pretty satisfied’ with an upgrade to ‘completely’ if and when survival is confirmed.
There was plenty of endeavour and honesty but Jordan Pickford was not seriously tested once in the Everton goal.
The early driving force was Alex Pritchard, closely followed by midfield partner Aaron Mooy. Decent build-up did not evolve and when Everton broke away to take the lead, it was all about a moment of quality from a top player.
Theo Walcott, who looks slimmer and trimmer since his Arsenal days, went on a run and timed the pass to perfection for Tosun to finish with a low drive.
Seamus Coleman had a couple of opportunities to extend the lead in the second half, aiming one effort straight at Jonas Lossl after a backheel from Nikola Vlasic.
Home hopes were extinguished as Oumar Niasse and Leighton Baines combined to set up Gueye.