Huddersfield Town 1 Blackpool 1: Town boss admits win would have papered over cracks

Anthony Gerrard’s first goal for the club looked to have ended Huddersfield’s barren run but the Seasiders were excellent value for at least a point.

The visitors bombarded their opponent’s goal for an hour, but a combination of bad luck and poor finishing looked like giving the Terriers a first clean sheet since their last victory against Barnsley back on November 10.

Blackpool should have been out of sight by half-time, with the home side unable to find a method of breaking up their stylish attacking play.

Manager Simon Grayson was relieved to escape with a draw despite leading going into stoppage time.

“I certainly would have taken a point after the first 45 minutes,” he said. “We never got out of the traps and Blackpool could have been out of sight by half-time.

“When you get 1-0 up into injury time you think ‘we’ll take the result, not the performance’, and if we’d got three points it would have only papered over the cracks of how poor we were in the first half. To get a point out of that first-half performance is the only positive really.”

Gary Taylor-Fletcher wasted two glorious openings in the first 90 seconds against his former club.

Liverpool target Thomas Ince played in Tiago Gomes after six minutes, but the Portuguese midfielder had his effort blocked by home captain Peter Clarke.

Thomas drilled wide as Blackpool’s relentless pressure continued, while Huddersfield’s best moment of the first half came when Sean Scannell’s low cross deflected to the feet of James Vaughan, only for the Norwich loanee to fail to get the ball under control.

Blackpool midfielder Isaiah Osbourne powerfully bundled past two Huddersfield defenders only to skew his shot wide from six yards. Ince finally managed to beat Alex Smithies five minutes before half-time, but Calum Woods cleared off the line.

Gerrard made Blackpool pay for their profligacy on 66 minutes when he rose highest to head home Adam Clayton’s corner.

Blackpool’s previous attacking threat wilted and Jermaine Beckford almost found the net with an audacious effort from 30 yards. But late on Ince cut back for Delfouneso, who made no mistake from six yards.

Huddersfield: Smithies, Hunt, Peter Clarke, Gerrard, Woods (Wallace 52), Scannell (Hammill 81), Southern, Norwood (Atkinson 52), Clayton, Vaughan, Beckford. Unused subtitutes: Bennett, Novak, Church, Arfield.

Blackpool: Gilks, Baptiste, Broadfoot, Cathcart, Crainey, Basham, Gomes (K Phillips 86), Osbourne, Ince, Taylor-Fletcher (Dicko 81), Thomas (Delfouneso 70). Unused subtitutes: Halstead, Eardley, Martinez, Harris.

Referee: N Miller (Durham).