Huddersfield Town 2 Oldham Athletic 0: Robinson brace puts Town in play-off reckoning

Going into the holiday period, the Terriers were three points adrift of the play-offs and facing the prospect of another year in League One.

Two back-to-back wins later, however, and the promotion picture is looking altogether rosier.

Last night's victory over

10-man Oldham Athletic was certainly not pretty. On the balance of play and chances created, it may even have been undeserved.

But a first home win in almost three months means it is Huddersfield who have seized the initiative from Colchester United in the battle for the final play-off place at just the right time.

Theo Robinson's double strike ensured Lee Clark's men took advantage of the U's losing at home to Millwall the previous day.

And with Colchester due to host in-form Swindon Town this weekend, Town – who travel to Brentford – have every chance of strengthening their grip on sixth place.

To do so, the Yorkshire side will, admittedly, have to improve on last night's disjointed efforts against relegation-threatened Oldham.

Chasing a first home win since Southend United had been beaten at the Galpharm on January 16, Clark's side looked unusually nervous.

Displaying none of the panache that characterised their early-season efforts on home soil, the Terriers were often outplayed by the Latics.

But, perhaps most encouragingly of all at a time of year when grinding out results is key, they dug deep to claim what could prove to be three vital points.

In keeping with the tone of the night, Huddersfield's opening goal owed more to slack defending than any great creativity on their own part.

Up until the 38th minute opener, Reuben Hazell and the barrel-chested Sean Gregan had proved a formidable partnership.

However, when Antony Pilkington's low cross was fired in from the left, the pair's previous good work was undone in spectacular fashion by a poor attempted clearance that looped off Hazell.

Robinson, who had been well marshalled up to that point, immediately scented blood and reacted quickly to hook the ball over the stranded Daryl Flahavan and into the net.

It was an impressively opportunistic finish that left Oldham ruing the two excellent chances spurned by Pawel Abbott earlier in the game.

First, the former Huddersfield striker had opted to try an audacious chip after being played through by Danny Whitaker on 19 minutes only for the ball to land tamely in the hands of Huddersfield goalkeeper Alex Smithies.

Then, after being picked out two minutes later by a clever header back across the six-yard box by Hazell, Abbott thundered a header against the crossbar despite being unmarked.

Both were major let-offs for a Town side whose laboured and hurried efforts in the opening 45 minutes had contrasted sharply with the crisp passing game of the visitors.

Only the laughably biased PA announcer at the Galpharm Stadium could have claimed at half-time – as he did to ironic cheers from the 598 Oldham fans and a healthy contingent of fair-minded locals – that the Terriers deserved to be ahead.

Matters hardly improved after the break for Huddersfield, though at least they were more effective in keeping the Latics in check. Dale Stephens had a shot from 25 yards charged down but that was as good as it got for the visitors, who were then reduced to 10 men on 76 minutes.

Kieran Lee, already booked after an earlier indiscretion, left referee Anthony Taylor with no alternative but to brandish a red card after scything down Dean Heffernan as he raced down the left flank.

Dave Penney's response was to bring former Bradford City winger Joe Colbeck, Tom Eaves and Alex Marrow off the bench. Such a bold move almost paid dividends with Eaves being presented with a golden chance in the final minute only to volley horribly wide despite being unmarked 10 yards out.

Robinson then made Eaves pay for such profligacy by tucking away his second of the night four minutes into stoppage time to ease the frayed nerves of the 14,561 crowd.

Huddersfield Town: Smithies; Peltier, P Clarke, Trotman, Heffernan; Pilkington (Eccleston 76), Collins (Berrett 68), Drinkwater, Roberts; Rhodes (T Clarke 62), Robinson. Unused substitutes: Eastwood, N Clarke, Williams, Pearce.

Oldham Athletic: Flahavan; Lee, Hazell, Gregan, Black; Whitaker, Furman (Marrow 89), Stephens, Taylor (Eaves 80); Guy, Abbott (Colbeck 82). Unused substitutes: Brill, Aljofree, Worthington, Lomas.

Referee: A Taylor (Cheshire).