Burnley 2 Huddersfield 1: Striker Wells staking his case to get Town back on the front foot

Sean Dyche reigns magisterially over the kingdom he surveys in Burnley and despite a late charge from their visitors from across the Pennines, not too many could begrudge the Clarets their reward, which coincided with the third anniversary of their smart manager’s time in charge at Turf Moor.

For Huddersfield chief Chris Powell, you suspect, it was a familiar refrain. His Town side can look supporters in the eye and their work ethic and attitude is never in doubt, but the quality at the business end of the pitch most definitely is.

Town can give the most well-heeled Championship sides a run for their money, but getting over the line is a taxing exercise and another matter entirely. Money ultimately talks.

Burnley’s match-winner was a striker in the shape of Andre Gray, who cost a club record £9m in August. Money well spent on this evidence.

His pace and power drew an injudicious challenge from the harassed Joel Lynch, which resulted in the award of a 12th-minute penalty that the Clarets’ frontman coolly converted, and another choice contribution yielded the hosts’ second – his rasping low shot beating Jed Steer at his near post.

Town, to their credit, upped their ideas when Nakhi Wells and Kyle Dempsey entered the fray in the second half, with the former firing over a very presentable chance and forcing Tom Heaton into some overdue work when he turned away his precision low shot in a purposeful late cameo from himself and his team-mates.

As Powell ventured, the performance of Wells and Dempsey offered him food for thought ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Reading, with Wells, for one, ready to step up to the plate and endeavour to become Town’s own attacking talisman in the mould of Gray after being energised by his Turf Moor cameo.

Wells said: “It was a game of two halves. They started better and took their chances quite well and we had to fight back and try to earn what was probably a fair point if we’d nicked it.

“But when you give yourself such a mountain to climb, as high as it goes, against Burnley, it is very difficult to come back. We showed as much character as we could.

“They are a very well-drilled team as you can see. Everyone is on the same page and knows their jobs and they do it week in, week out and Andre Gray took his chances very well.”

Offering his take on the season so far personally, the Bermuda international added: “It has been a difficult start. There have been times when I have been in there on my own and sometimes when I have played with Ishmael (Miller).

“It is difficult to find a rhythm. One week it is one way, another week, it is another. I will keep trying to take my chances and I actually enjoyed the little bit of time I was up there by myself at Burnley.

“If we play in the manner we did, I can still get chances. We just have to play front-foot football to get me in behind the final line.

“Me and Kyle both want to be out there playing and Kyle deserved his opportunity to come on and did very well and created our goal and if the defender had not put it in the net, I would have done. We were unlucky we couldn’t get a point in the end.

“The difference between the sides in the end is that they have someone who is scoring loads of goals at the minute. That’s what we haven’t got, although I feel we have the personnel to go and score week in, week out.

“I’d like that to be me. But I need a run of games and to be playing and take the opportunities I do get.”

Burnley will be involved at the sharp end of the table when the clocks go forward in the Spring with Dyche’s side well stocked in the requisite departments.

It was Gray, in a man-of-the-match showing, who took the bouquets this time but if there was any bubbly floating about, you sense he would have shared it with his colleagues. Burnley are that sort of side.

The damage was done in the first period, by and large.

Gray was the proverbial pest to the Town backline and in particular Lynch, whose rash challenge on the striker as he marauded with intent down the right was the prelude to a spot-kick.

Gray coolly sent Steer the wrong way and then caught him out shortly before the break with a powerfully-struck shot.

Town had plenty to do on the restart and only really got into gear in the final 15 minutes with Burnley’s hopes of seeing out the game in comfort given a jolt.

Wells fired over before Heaton was called upon to turn away his fierce low shot and palm away a stinging strike from Emyr Huws.

Michael Keane’s header struck the woodwork for Burnley before Town reduced the deficit when Michael Duff turned in Dempsey’s cross on the right.

Despite huffing and puffing, Town could not salvage a point, but at least finished in a right and fitting manner.