Huddersfield Town were 2-1 winners against Bristol City on Tuesday evening, with Danny Cowley’s side putting a vital three points on the board as the Championship relegation scrap develops into an intense battle.  

Goals from Chris Willock and Karlan Grant set Town up for victory, with Famara Diedhiou’s late strike nothing more than a consolation for Bristol City, who were below-par at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Victory for Town gave them breathing space to the Championship’s bottom-three, but wins for Barnsley and Wigan Athletic last night have ensured the division has cramped up again and Cowley’s side are still hovering just two points ahead of the relegation zone.

Building on Tuesday night’s impressive performance is going to be vital for Huddersfield from here, with a strong defensive display complemented with a quick and clinical attacking outing.

Willock and Grant were on the scoresheet, whilst Emile Smith Rowe pulled the strings from the No.10 role; laying on Willock’s opener before winning the penalty which Grant converted.

Whilst it was the Arsenal loanee who was keeping Town ticking over in the final third, Willock underlined why he must now be a regular for Cowley on the right, with the Benfica loanee impressing on his first Championship start for the Terriers.

Here, we breakdown the 22-year-old’s numbers from Tuesday evening as he helped Huddersfield to an important win…

Willock completed 70 minutes on his full Championship debut for Town, before Cowley opted to replace him with Juninho Bacuna as he looked to close out the game and prevent Bristol City from finding a route back into it.

Of course, the winger had opened the scoring for Town on the 39^th minute with a clinical finish on his left foot; Smith Rowe had broken from midfield and had more obvious options flooding forward on the left, yet, the midfielder lifted his head up to feed Willock into space on the right.

The Benfica loanee took a heavy touch inside onto his left foot before curling past Daniel Bentley to set Huddersfield on their way to victory. That was one of two shots on target from Willock, as well as one of the four touches in the opposition penalty area he had.

Three progressive runs and five successful dribbles underline the positive nature of Willock’s performance, as do his passing stats, with 89% successful, including seven accurate passes forward.

Smith Rowe and Willock were once again linking up in the 63^rd minute when the pair exchanged passes, with the latter’s flicked through ball sending Smith Rowe into the area, where Nathan Baker brought him down; Grant stepped up to tuck the penalty beyond the diving Bentley.

A standing ovation greeted Willock as Cowley hooked him on 70 minutes, with the winger forced to witness a nervy end to the game as Diedhiou poked home and Bristol City threw the kitchen sink at Huddersfield looking for an undeserved equaliser.

Nevertheless, Town held on for a vital three points, which looked that little bit more valuable 24 hours later after Wigan dispatched Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

Middlesbrough and Stoke City are the clubs immediately above the Latics in the table, but Huddersfield are not out of striking range just yet, and as Barnsley begin to consistently pick up points and Luton Town stun sides like Brentford, the relegation battle is shaping up into something of an eight-way battle from Hull City downwards.

Cowley is the type of boss that won’t allow Huddersfield to rest on Tuesday night’s win; to him that is now the standard and it is there to be matched in the next 11 fixtures as Town embark on this particular battle.

Individuals will need to step up regularly, like they did on Tuesday, and on this week’s showing, Willock maintaining these levels could be vital to Huddersfield retaining their Championship status.