Huddersfield Town 1 Walsall 0: Pilkington nets winner for 10-man Terriers

Striker Alan Lee's 23rd-minute dismissal for violent conduct has left the Town manager shorn of five regular first-teamers.

Lee, whose goal for Crystal Palace at Hillsborough virtually condemned Sheffield Wednesday to the drop on the last day of last season, is now banned for three games.

He joins on the sidelines fellow striker Lee Novak (hamstring), left-sided duo Gary Roberts (broken arm) and Gary Naysmith (broken toe) and goalkeeper Alex Smithies (dead leg).

With Clark having gone for quality ahead of quantity with his squad, the Town manager says: "I have to sit down with the board and owner. It is something we did not envisage to have five players who would be in the starting XI on a regular basis ruled out.

"It's something that we need to address because we are down to the bare bones. I have a lean squad this year and I'm happy with that but these injuries and the suspension will hit us hard so I will have to be on the phone I think."

Departing from his usual mantra that no game is more important than any other, Clark issued a clarion call ahead of tomorrow.

"Without doubt, whoever I put out on Tuesday will be up for it. I have told the players this is more than just about three points, this is more than just about two teams in the top six or competing to be in the top six. This is about local pride and this is about wearing the shirt with honour and fighting for everything.

"It will be a big game, a tough one and a fantastic one. It's a terrific old stadium and the place will be rocking with around 25,000 there."

Although he is down to just two recognised front men in Jordan Rhodes and Joe Garner, Clark has the option of partnering one of them alongside Anthony Pilkington, whose stunning form continued when he cracked in the winner from outside the area with his weaker left foot 12 minutes after Lee's red card, which Clark had no qualms over.

It was Pilkington's sixth goal in five games and Clark enthused: "It was a sensational goal, he's in fabulous form and we have to keep him like that, he's an extremely talented footballer."

After a frustrated Lee had caught Manny Smith – a challenge by the centre-back on the striker had gone unpunished a few seconds earlier – with a flailing arm to merit a straight red, Clark employed Pilkington alongside Rhodes and switched to 3-4-2 until the later stages when Lee Peltier went back into defence as bottom-of-the-league Walsall eventually threw men forward.

"When you go down a man and go just one up top, you just invite pressure," explained Clark. "They are just going to keep battering at your door and eventually they might just get lucky so you might as well try to give them a problem going the other way and play in their half. That's the way I see it and it proved right. Wins are so important and I felt we needed two players up the top end."

Regarding Town's fifth red card of the season, Clark said: "Alan let his frustrations boil over. He has apologised to myself and the players and will be dealt with under the club's disciplinary code.

"Throughout the season, he'll help somebody else in the team when they've had a bit of a tough time. They have done that for him today, each of them putting in a hell of a shift. It was a performance where they were just going to have to run themselves into the ground, do a little bit more than their own jobs and stand up and be counted and they did that."

Clark had no hesitation in restoring Damien Johnson to the starting line-up after he had been ineligible to face his parent club in the 2-1 defeat at Plymouth the previous week and the Northern Ireland international brought a calm authority to midfield alongside the outstanding Joey Gudjonsson.

So much so that: "Huddersfield are really making their one-man disadvantage count," was a wry observation from a Midlands reporter as Walsall made little impact, much to the frustration of manager Chris Hutchings, who made over 100 appearances for Town and whose current side have yet to win in 16 league visits to Huddersfield.

It was not until the closing 20 minutes that they pumped up the pressure only to find Town captain Peter Clarke, Antony Kay and Liam Ridehalgh unbeatable in the air.

Clarke also produced the block of the match from Darryl Westlake and Kay encapsuled the determination coursing through the side with a lung-bursting 70-yard run from the edge of his area in the dying moments.

Whether their exertions have taken a toll will be revealed tomorrow night.

Huddersfield Town: Bennett, Peltier, Kay, P Clarke, Ridehalgh; Pilkington, Johnson, Gudjonsson, Carey (Arfield 76); Rhodes (Garner 68), Lee. Unused substitutes: Colgan, N Clarke, McCombe, Atki nson, Croft.

Walsall: Walker, Westlake, Smith, McDonald, McGivern; Lescott (Nicholls 65); Jones, Taundry, Richards, Gray; Macken (Reid 59). Unused substitutes: Brain, Lancashire, Marshall, Grigg, Geddes.

Referee: S Rushton (Staffs).

MATCH FOCUS

Hero: Anthony Pilkington

The bookmakers said that 'Pilkington to score' was one of the best bets of the weekend and they were spot on after Joey Gudjonsson's astute pass conjured the No 11 the space to crack home the winning strike to score for a fifth successive match.

Villain: Manny Smith

Not the centre-back's fault to be caught by Alan Lee's flailing arm but it was his 'high-five' salute with his physio on the touchline which infuriated the home support after the Town striker had been sent off.

Key moment

35th minute: Pilkington, having moved inside to partner Rhodes, lets fly from around 25 yards to score the winner.

Ref watch

Stephen Rushton: No option but to send off Lee but must be dreading the assessor's report landing on his doormat.

Verdict

Town showed tremendous resilience and made light of being down to 10 men for 70 minutes and their 4,000 following will be expecting more of the same in S6.

Next game

Sheffield Wednesday v Huddersfield Town, League One, tomorrow, 7.45pm.

Quote of the day

This is about local pride and this is about wearing the shirt with honour and fighting for everything.

– Lee Clark relishing tomorrow's derby at Hillsborough.

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