Huddersfield Town were 2-1 winners against Bristol City last night at the John Smith’s Stadium, with Danny Cowley’s side securing a big three points to ease fears of being sucked further into the Championship’s relegation battle.  

Cowley had watched his side suffer a late defeat to Swansea City over the weekend, which combined with positive results for Wigan Athletic and Barnsley, left Huddersfield looking over their shoulders ahead of this midweek schedule.

Yet, Town got the better of play-off hopefuls Bristol City, with goals from Chris Willock and Karlan Grant either side of half-time doing the damage despite Famara Diedhiou’s late consolation for the away side.

Whilst the finish to the game wasn’t comfortable viewing, it had been an impressive outing from the Terriers, who were deserved winners after producing a slick attacking display.

Willock, Grant, Emile Smith Rowe and Lewis O’Brien were central to that, whilst Christopher Schindler and Richard Stearman left Diedhiou and Nahki Wells to feed on scraps throughout.

Here, we offer a more detailed look at what we learnt about Huddersfield…

Cowley has finally found his best attack

 

Often this season Huddersfield have struggled to pick the right options in the final third and fail to make pressure count with a goal. The 3-0 defeat against Cardiff City earlier in February underlined that reality, with the Bluebirds picking Town off despite Cowley’s side dominating the opening exchanges.

However, last night saw Cowley opt for different personnel within his attack, with Karlan Grant, Emile Smith Rowe and Chris Willock supporting lone striker, Fraizer Campbell.

Whilst it was a tough evening for Campbell (whose position going forwards is probably the only one under threat), the trio in-behind him were involved throughout and were ultimately the difference.

Smith Rowe broke from midfield on 39 minutes and fed Willock on the right, with the Benfica loanee cutting inside onto his left foot and rifling a shot past Dan Bentley in the Bristol City goal.

Again, shortly after the hour, the same pair were exchanging passes and sending Smith Rowe breaking into the penalty area, where the playmaker drew a foul from Nathan Baker. Grant took responsibility from here to dispatch from 12 yards and give his side a two-goal cushion.

It was an attacking display with not just promise, but conviction, with Willock and Grant offering a composure that’s often lacking when Elias Kachunga and Juninho Bacuna are involved.

Moving forwards, this attack could be the difference between survival and relegation.

O’Brien becoming the heartbeat of Cowley’s side

 

For all the praise that will head the way of Huddersfield’s attackers following last night’s win, Lewis O’Brien was exceptional in the heart of midfield, continuing to prove why he’s one of the first names on Cowley’s teamsheet.

After featuring in the No.10 role at Swansea, O’Brien was pushed back into a deeper position last night to accommodate the return of Smith Rowe.

Alongside Jonathan Hogg, he was always likely to be the one bursting forward, but when the experienced midfielder was forced off with a knee injury, an axis of O’Brien and Trevoh Chalobah could have potentially struggled.

However, O’Brien took it upon himself to win the midfield battle and drive Huddersfield forward either side of half-time. There were spades of energy throughout, which was typified on 81 minutes when he broke from midfield to feed Smith Rowe, who forced Bentley to parry into O’Brien’s path. Ultimately, O’Brien’s effort on the rebound was the wrong side of the post, but his hard work had created the opportunity.

Diedhiou’s goal late in the game made it a nervy finish for Town, but O’Brien stepped up once more to break up play and get Huddersfield moving back up the field.

It was the type of energetic performance that drew plenty of praise from the John Smith’s crowd, and one that we are now seeing regularly from O’Brien.

Huddersfield can’t get complacent

 

It was a massive win for Town last night and Cowley will have been encouraged by the performance of his players against a top-six hopeful.

However, it doesn’t mean they are out of danger by any stretch of the imagination, with the bottom of the Championship table proving as unpredictable as the top.

Wigan and Barnsley have beaten Leeds and Fulham in recent weeks, with that pair in action this evening as well as Middlesbrough and Stoke. Huddersfield will have eyes on their respective fixtures knowing they’ve done all they can this week, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a few teams around them pick up some big points tonight.

Cowley’s side could well find themselves in exactly the same position they were heading into last night’s fixture, with it important they maintain these levels when Lee Bowyer’s Charlton Athletic visit West Yorkshire on Saturday afternoon.

Bowyer was in attendance to watch last night’s impressive Huddersfield outing, and on the evidence of that, he will know his Charlton side will have to be at their best to get anything from their trip North.

Huddersfield’s side of the bargain will be finding a repeat of this performance and continuing to retain full focus, as a tense end to the season looms.