Huddersfield Town had the best result out of the three West Yorkshire sides this weekend, as Leeds United and Bradford City both succumbed to defeat.
The Terriers beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at home, in a convincing win against an out-of-form Forest side. Joel Lynch got the hosts off to the perfect start after just 44 seconds, heading Jack Robinson’s long throw past Karl Darlow, to give them the lead. Nahki Wells, who has been in a good vein of form, doubled Town’s lead on 20 minutes with a header, supplied by Grant Holt, who was outstanding all game. Holt got the goal he deserved on 54 minutes with a powerful finish, following Sean Scannell’s assist.
Leeds United lost 3-1 at Cardiff City, in Neil Redfearn’s first game as permanent manager. Redfearn had a good record when he took charge as interim manager earlier in the season, and has been given the role on a permanent basis by Massimo Cellino. However, this game was not to be a dream start for Redfearn. A very scrappy first half saw neither side break the deadlock, but Bruno Ecuele Manga gave Cardiff the lead on 61 minutes with a sharp header. Federico Macheda’s deflected shot doubled their lead soon after, but midfielder Alex Mowatt grabbed one back on 77 minutes to give United some hope. However, Kenwyne Jones’ goal seven minutes from time put the game out of sight, and Leeds are now winless in seven games.
Bradford City squandered a lead at home to Doncaster, in a 2-1 defeat. Bradford City just edged the first half, and Jon Stead’s sharp turn and shot gave the Bantams the lead in first half injury time. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone made a string of outstanding saves for Doncaster, keeping them in the game, and providing the platform for what Bradford boss Phil Parkinson described as two “smash and grab” goals. Reece Wabara and Curtis Main scored twice in ten minutes to turn the game on it’s head, and despite lots of pressure from Bradford, they couldn’t find a way through a resilient Doncaster defence.
