Huddersfield Town 1 Cambridge United 2: Insipid Terriers pass up their opportunity

"You're not fit to wear the shirt!" sang angry home fans. They did an encore when substitute Sulley Kaikai hit the winner minutes after it looked like Josh Koroma had spared some blushes with an 89th-minute equaliser.

The Terriers had been bumbling along, seeing plenty of the ball against a Cambridge United side needing more than just a fourth away win of the season to have any chance pf staying in League One but – Josh Ruffels' swerving shot apart – doing very little with it.

Then the persistence of Josh Stokes and a dreadful clearance by Rufles allowed James Brophy to find the net with a wonderful effort, Cambridge's first on target. Kaikai's was their second – and last.

Until Brophy struck, the most animated the home fans had been was in applauding off Cambridge's Elias Kachunga, a relic of happier times, although the groans at misplaced passes were becoming more frequent.

Just to rub salt into the wounds, Reading and Bolton Wanderers both lost, offering up an opportunity the Terriers did not seem to have the desire to grab.

When he finally emerged to speak to the media afterwards, Jon Worthington could not offer much either.

He is the interim head coach, but the least of the many problems buzzing around, so there was very little he could say in defence of his team.

"Frustrating, disappointed, absolutely,” he said. “I felt going into the game it was an opportunity with who the other teams were playing against and it was an opportunity. It's an opportunity missed.

"Both games – Burton last week and this one – I just think were unbelievable opportunities that you have to take and we've not. I think that's why the levels of frustration are so high.”

If you just looked at the bald statistics, even just at the time of Koroma's equaliser, you might think the game was exciting and the hosts hard done-by but you had to be there. Actually, no, that would be unnecessarily cruel – you really did not.

"A little bit cagey to say the least," was Andy Booth's first-half verdict, more than living up to his tile of club ambassador when he came onto the pitch at the interval.

It started promisingly enough, Jack Stevens having to come of his line to block at the feert of Callum Marshall, and Ruben Roosken coming inside to shoot straight at the goalkeeper. A Ben Wiles shot ricocheted off a defender for a wasted corner and Anthon Evans came in on his right and shot just over.

But the game soon got very bitty, with four lengthy spells of treatment in the first half and the departure of Radinio Balker when one of them failed to sort out his right ankle. Marshall would go off injured in the second half.

Wiles, Evan and Roosken were all limping around late on looking sorry for themselves. Huddersfield had not used all five substitutes, just their three “windows” to make them.

Jonathan Hogg's shot hit a defender after Anthony Evans' dinked free-kick found Wiles to nod the ball down.

As the game went on, Cambridge began to realise they could afford to attack a bit.

David Kasumu, in at right-back, produced a vital block to deny Kachunga in the 27th minute when James Gibbons broke down the left, leaving the prone Balker in his wake.

Brophy's volley from a Paul Digby cross, and Matty Pearson cleared Kachunga's goalbound header.

The second half continued in the same vein – Roosken, now on the right, having a left-footed shot smothered and putting another wide after Marshall and Wiles combined to find him.

Hogg was very close to an incisive pass in the 58th minute but Jack Stevens beat Wiles to the ball and Evans hit the rebound at a defender.

Ruffles' 30-yarder actually made Stevens flap but soon he had a goal to celebrate, Ruffels unwittingly picking out Stokes, who found Brophy.

Roosken found the side netting, Joe Taylor had a shot blocked on the turn, Charles put a Lasse Sorensen pass over, Koroma also cleared the crossbar and Taylor blazed high and wide.

"Hit the target!" shrieked an exasperated fan.

So when Cambridge made a hash of dealing with Huddersfield's 89th-minute corner and Koroma popped up in a pocket of space, it looked like cracks had been papered over. No such luck.

Brophy played the ball across for Kaikai, tightly marked at the far post, but only by one of his team-mates.

Pearson showed a nifty turn of pace at the final whistle to disappear down the tunnel, while Kachunga left the field last, appreciated once more by the home crowd.

Right now this demoralised Town rabble cannot hold a candle to the team Kachunga fought for.

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls; Kasumu (Sorensen 56), Balker (Miller 33), Pearson, Ruffels; Hogg (Taylor 76), Evans; Marshall (Koroma 56), Wiles, Roosken; Charles.

Unused substitutes: Chapman, Turton, Hodge.

Cambridge United: Stevens; Bennet (Andrew 62)t, Morrison, Watts, Gibbons; Digby, Stevenson; Kachunga (Kaikai 62), Stokes, Brophy; Ballard (Loft 83). Unused substitutes: Barton, Hoddle, Briggs, Longelo.

Referee: S Allison (Chippenham).