Huddersfield 1 Brighton 1: Butterfield shows true value with Terriers’ equaliser

JUST a few hours after chairman Dean Hoyle had revealed that Huddersfield Town had rejected two bids for Jacob Butterfield, the Bradford-born midfielder underlined his worth to the Championship club with a timely equaliser.
Jacob Butterfield celebrates his equaliser.  Picture: Bruce RollinsonJacob Butterfield celebrates his equaliser.  Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Jacob Butterfield celebrates his equaliser. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

The 25-year-old is wanted by Derby County but the Terriers are in no mood to let him go.

And Butterfield showed exactly why, by capping an impressive individual display with a 54th minute equaliser to ensure a difficult few days at the John Smith’s ended with Chris Powell’s men being applauded from the field.

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The mood contrasted sharply with that of last Saturday when news broke that Town had accepted a bid from Queens Park Rangers for Alex Smithies.

Hoyle’s response was to call a fans’ forum at Huddersfield’s canalside training base to give the club’s version of events. Along with the revelation that Derby had made two unsuccessful offers for Butterfield were the snippets that Smithies’s fee – providing the deal goes through, the 25-year-old was last night understood to still be in negotiations – is close to £2m and that the goalkeeper is one of Town’s highest earners.

Should the Academy product leave for Loftus Road, Hoyle continued as fans listened attentively while enjoying a pre-match pint or two, the money will be reinvested in the squad.

The Town chief also revealed James Vaughan will not be offered a new contract when his existing deal ends next summer and that he had over-ruled Chris Powell when the Town manager had wanted to keep Oscar Gobern at the end of last season.

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Plenty, therefore, for supporters to feast upon ahead of kick-off. What was far less palatable was how the Terriers started the game, Brighton finding it ridiculously easy to open the scoring inside just 17 seconds.

Sam Baldock did much of the initial damage with a purposeful run that a retreating Huddersfield back-line never looked like putting a stop to.

He, then, slipped the ball inside to Beram Kayal and, after a delicate touch to the right, he fired a shot beyond Joe Murphy.

After all the travails of the previous few days, it was the worst possible start for Town. For the rest of the first half, matters rarely improved with perhaps the biggest plus for the hosts at the interval being that the score, somehow, remained 1-0.

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Two saves by Murphy were a major factor in Brighton not being able to add to Kayal’s early opener as Baldock was twice denied following swift moves.

Murphy also averted the danger by racing from his penalty area to head clear as Baldock tried to reach a raking pass. The best Huddersfield could muster in a dis-jointed first half effort was a Butterfield free-kick that flashed just wide of David Stockdale’s left-hand post and a snap-shot from Ishmael Miller that flew way over the top.

Town needed to improve massively after the break and they did just that. Playing with much more aggression and purpose, the hosts finally started to ask questions of the Albion backline.

First, Harry Bunn had a shot that flew over the top before Miller brought the first save of the night from Stockdale with a drilled effort.

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The reward for upping the tempo so markedly came on 54 minutes, when Butterfield latched on to a clearance before firing past Stockdale from a tight angle.

That set the tone for a pulsating final third of the contest as both teams went in search of a winner. For Brighton, Kazenga LuaLua shot over and then Dale Stephens opted to pass when a shot would have been a better option. Town scrambled the ball clear as a result, while late on Stephens wasted another gilt-edged opportunity when he failed to punish Joel Lynch for a poor clearance.

Collecting the ball 10 yards out, the Albion midfielder fired goalwards but too close to both Lynch and Murphy, and the ball was blocked. Jamie Murphy, making his Brighton debut following last week’s switch from Sheffield United, also created a late chance for Chris O’Grady but he headed over.

Town also had their moments in that final half-hour and Nahki Wells should have finished from a Jason Davidson cross before Miller was denied a tap-in by Bruno Saltor. Wells then tried to make amends with a smart shot but Stockdale acrobatically turned the ball round the post to ensure the points were shared.

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For Town, perhaps the most important aspect was that a difficult few days had ended on a positive thanks to Butterfield and a much-improved second-half display against a Brighton side who seem certain to be among the promotion challengers.

Huddersfield Town: Murphy; Smith, Hudson, Lynch, Davidson; Hogg, Whitehead, Butterfield, Bunn; Wells, Miller (Vaughan 79). Unused substitutes: Lolley, Allinson, Cranie, Wallace, Dempsey, Hammill.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Stockdale; Bruno, Greer, Huenemeier, Bong; Stephens, Kayal, LuaLua, March (Murphy 80); Baldock (O’Grady 74), Hemed (Ince 61). Unused substitutes: Maenpaa, Dunk, Rosenior, Forster-Caskey.

Referee: E Ilderton (Tyne & Wear).