For the second consecutive match, play-off contenders and automatic promotion seekers Huddersfield Town suffered a defeat against a side in the lower reaches of the Sky Bet Championship.
Last time out it was a disastrous 4-0 loss against a relegation-threatened Bristol City in a game where the Terriers were terrorised. Today, it was lowly Burton Albion who scored on a late breakaway through Jackson Irvine whose ninth goal of the season in fifth minute of added time was enough to give the Brewers three valuable points and leave Town with a second successive hangover.
It was only Burton’s second away win of the season and a vital one that pulls Albion further away from the relegation mire with only seven games to go until the end of the season. Whilst the Terriers dominated possession, all the ball in the world cannot save you against a late goal – especially when you are down to 10 men as Huddersfield were after Dean Whitehead’s 88th minute dismissal.
The narrow defeat now means that home side Huddersfield are nine points adrift of Brighton who sit in the last automatic promotion place – a fact heightened after Brighton’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over relegation-haunted Blackburn. Burton, meanwhile, have a four point cushion from the relegation zone after their victory over the Terriers allowed them to climb to 19th in the table.
Huddersfield Town 0 – 1 Burton Albion: manager reactions
Burton Albion
Brewers boss Nigel Clough lauded the result as an important one as they took another big step towards securing their Sky Bet Championship status. Speaking on the club website, Clough said: “It was a game that we didn’t envisage getting too much from so it was a big win for us.
Both teams play again on Wednesday night with Huddersfield hosting Norwich City and Burton facing the daunting task of travelling to St James’ Park for a clash against table-topping Newcastle United.