Toffolo lifts tempo as Terriers secure place in play-offs
DEFENDER Harry Toffolo is on a scoring streak which would be the envy of any striker.
Four goals in six games is quite the return from his bullseye month.
Just for good measure, the opening goal at the Coventry Building Society Arena was of the awe variety.
Huddersfield’s left wing-back was a good 35 yards from goal when he teed up his shot.
And he looked as surprised as the rest of the stadium when the shot flew past Ben Wilson.
In terms of timing, that was pretty spot on too – a minute before half-time.
A useful lead should have become a comfortable one thanks to Faustino Anjorin’s cool penalty after Wilson had brought down Lewis O’Brien.
But this Coventry side do not give up.
And they ensured an exciting end with a 17th goal of the season for Viktor Gyokeres from Callum O’Hare’s pull-back.
That is how it stayed. So three points banked and confirmation that fourth-placed Huddersfield will be in the play-offs after five wins and a draw turned a turned a miserable March into an amazing April.
Terriers manager Carlos Corberan said: “We are not talking about promotion.
“We are taking it game by game.
“In the first part of the first half the team was suffering.
“Then we managed the game better until the last five minutes and we try to suffer
COVENTRY...1 HUDD’FIELD..2
again. We cannot afford to relax.
“We are all professional and it is all about the three points.”
There was a sense of deja vue as far as the Sky Blues were concerned.
Plenty of good possession, not to mention a fair few chances.
But, just like against Bournemouth on Easter Monday, it was the visitors who converted first.
Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls – hailed by Corberan as the best in the division – kept out Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare.
And his Coventry counterpart Wilson did the same for when he stuck out a foot to deny Jordan Rhodes.
It was not Rhodes’s day and he was withdrawn after an hour.
Replacement Danny Ward almost scored but Wilson used that foot trick again to foil the forward.
Sky Blues boss Mark Robins said: “We were really good in possession and poor out of possession and conceded, which is not great. It’s a worrying trend.
“This is a really tough League and we are quite a distance away from the top six.
“We gave away soft goals today.”
Wilson 7; Rose 6, McFadzean 7, Hyam 6; Kane 6 (Eccles (69th) 4), Hamer 8 (Jones 76th), Allen 6, Bidwell 7; O’Hare 7; Waghorn 6 (Tavares (69th) 6, Gyokeres 8
HUDDERSFIELD: Nicholls 7; Lees 8, Hogg 8 (Sarr 76th), Colwill 7; Avila 6, High 7, Russell 6, Toffolo 8; Holmes 6 (Anjorin (64th) 5) Rhodes 6 (Ward (61st) 5), O’Brien 6
STAR MAN: Harry Toffolo
REF: T Harrington