Huddersfield Town 2 Watford 3: Town can profit as Beckford takes drop in wages

The 28-year-old striker almost joined the Terriers in August only for the move to collapse after the Foxes pulled the plug with just five minutes of the summer transfer window remaining.

Huddersfield, though, were determined to get their man and talks resumed last Thursday in an attempt to revive the deal.

The upshot was Beckford joining Town on a 93-day emergency loan in time to make his debut in a shock defeat to Watford.

Losing came as a bitter blow to Huddersfield, who would be sitting top of the Championship this morning had they beaten Gianfranco Zola’s side.

Beckford, making only his third league start of the season and his first since August 21, looked sluggish with the trademark sharpness that typified his previous stint under Grayson at Leeds being largely absent.

Despite that, the Town chief expects the one-time Chelsea junior to make a big impact during his three-month loan stay.

Grayson told the Yorkshire Post: “Jermaine is still a handful. He has good movement and electric pace. People maybe didn’t see that against Watford because we didn’t play as well as we can.

“If Jermaine had been in the team at Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday (when Town won both games 3-1), he could have got a couple.

“But I was still pleased by how he was making runs against Watford and trying to get on the end of things.

“He maybe lacked sharpness but I feel he has learned a lot since I last worked with him at Leeds (in 2010). He has worked with better players at Everton and got a move to Leicester.

“It didn’t work out there but that means he has a few things to prove to people.

“People should also know just how much Jermaine really pushed for this move at the Leicester end. He did everything he could to make it happen.

“He has taken a salary sacrifice at his end to make it happen. The way he pushed for the move shows how hungry he is. Jermaine could have sat it out at Leicester and waited for an opportunity.

“I know many players who wouldn’t have sacrificed the money Jermaine has to come to the club.”

Beckford is on a reputed £35,000 per week at Leicester and it is believed that Huddersfield, who sold Jordan Rhodes to Blackburn Rovers for £8m in August, are paying a significant percentage of his wages.

The terms of the deal, though, are much more weighted in Huddersfield’s favour than they would have been had Beckford’s move gone through as planned in 
August.

Grayson added: “It isn’t as expensive a deal as it would have been (under the original terms agreed in August before Leicester pulled the plug) but the key is we got it done.

“Hopefully, we will see the rewards when Jermaine starts to score a few goals.”

Against Watford, Beckford had few chances to shine as Town laboured for long periods. His only opportunity of note came midway through the second half when the striker was played in behind the Hornets’ defence by Lee Novak.

After showing a quick turn of pace to reach the edge of the area ahead of the chasing defenders, Beckford then unleashed a shot that Manuel Almunia blocked before gratefully dropping on the ball.

It proved to be a major turning point with Watford cancelling out Oliver Norwood’s first-half strike within 60 seconds of Almunia denying Beckford.

Fernando Forestieri, the game’s outstanding performer, did the damage with a typically direct run at the Town defence that was followed by a fierce shot that took a wicked deflection off Peter Clarke to fly into the corner of the net.

The slice of luck that saw Forestieri’s shot evade Alex Smithies was one that the Hornets had just about earned with Zola’s side having shown a refreshing intent to attack all afternoon.

In the first half, Town’s 25th-minute opener – which saw Norwood beat Almunia with a 30-yard free-kick – had come against the run of play. By then, both Marcos Cassetti and Forestieri had shot just inches wide for the visitors, whose 3-5-2 formation allowed them to dominate midfield.

In response, Grayson tried all manner of formation changes to try to counter the Hornets, but to little avail as Zola’s men continued to press in the second half before Forestieri finally found the equaliser.

It set up a frantic finale as, first, the Hornets went ahead seven minutes from time when Fitz Hall tapped in at the far post after Mark Yeates had drilled a superb cross from the right flank.

Within 60 seconds, Huddersfield were back on level terms when Alan Lee, on for Beckford, headed powerfully past Almunia after being found by Novak.

A stirring Town finish then seemed in store only for Watford to send their 668 fans into raptures by snatching an 87th-minute winner when Danny Ward was adjudged to have fouled Forestieri and Troy Deeney converted the resulting penalty.

The home crowd felt the Argentinian-born forward had conned the officials with a theatrical fall but Grayson was in no mood to make excuses after seeing the Terriers lose at home for the first time this season.

He said: “I have seen a replay and Danny made a tackle but didn’t get the ball. The lad then fell over his leg. If it had been at the other end, I would have been screaming for a penalty.

“Danny went in with the intention of trying to get it but, to me, it was a penalty.”