Schindler hoping Terriers can rekindle Wembley memories
Huddersfield Town return to Wembley this weekend hoping for further success at the national stadium. Richard Sutcliffe reports.
WHEN A Yorkshire club last headed up Wembley Way to tackle Tottenham Hotspur, all the talk was of the Londoners’ apparent curse under the Arch.
Borussia Dortmund had been beaten in the Champions League a week before Barnsley’s visit in the Carabao Cup but, otherwise, Spurs had toiled in their temporary home.
Three Premier League games had yielded two draws against teams expected to struggle and a defeat to Chelsea.
Following on from the club’s previous 11 outings at the rebuilt national stadium having brought eight defeats and just one victory, there was a genuine belief that decamping across north London as White Hart Lane was rebuilt could seriously backfire.
The unconvincing nature of Spurs’ 1-0 win over Barnsley further fuelled such concerns but, a little over five months on, the story is now a very different one.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have taken 29 points from 11 ‘home’ league games since that September visit from Paul Heckingbottom’s Reds and scored 27 goals.
Real Madrid, the European champions, have also been humbled in the Champions League at Wembley.
Much, therefore, for Huddersfield Town to ponder ahead of attempting on Saturday to put a dent in that impressive record.
What the Terriers won’t be, however, is cowed by a visit to the national stadium. This, of course, is where Town clinched promotion last May in the most nerve-shredding fashion of all – a penalty shoot-out.
Christopher Schindler wrote himself into Huddersfield folklore that afternoon by successfully converting the tenth and final spot-kick against Reading. Unsurprisingly, the one-time club record signing is relishing the prospect of tomorrow’s return.
“We have a chance in every game,” said the German when asked by The Yorkshire Post about tackling a Spurs side who triumphed 4-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium in September.
“Who knows what can happen?
“Always in football, anything can happen. We now also have experience against the topsix teams, but it is the wrong thing to say we will go there and dominate them.
“We saw in the first game when we played Spurs at home that they have a really, really good team.
“From my personal point of view, they are there with Manchester City as the best team in the league. That is why it is going to be a really tough challenge. But we have good memories from this stadium – me as well – and that is why we are looking forward to this game.”
Even allowing for Spurs’ dominance at Wembley in recent months, Huddersfield will head to the capital in buoyant mood.
Back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and West Bromwich Albion have transformed a season that looked to be slipping away from Town’s grasp. Three points and four places now separate the Terriers from the relegation zone.
“It is always tight,” added Schindler. “One situation can change everything and we should not worry about dropping a couple of games. If we are in a really bad situation, we must rely on our ability to perform again.
“For me, I also say if we win the next three games, we should not rely on our ability in difficult situations to perform. But it is good to know that however bad a situation may seem, we can also make a good performance.”