Huddersfield Town v Blackburn Rovers – Anguish of late defeat to Barnsley can prove positive for Terriers

THE pain was etched all over the face of Huddersfield Town head coach Carlos Corberan after his side’s cruel late defeat at Oakwell.
LATE BLOW: Barnsley's Malik Helik scores his side's winning goal against Huddersfield Town at Oakwell. Picture: Darren Staples/SportimageLATE BLOW: Barnsley's Malik Helik scores his side's winning goal against Huddersfield Town at Oakwell. Picture: Darren Staples/Sportimage
LATE BLOW: Barnsley's Malik Helik scores his side's winning goal against Huddersfield Town at Oakwell. Picture: Darren Staples/Sportimage

He and his Terriers players may have been hurting for the remainder of the weekend, but attention has now quickly switched to home affairs as Corberan’s side seek to register their fifth successive victory at the John Smith’s Stadium this evening.

You have to go back to the early part of the club’s epic promotion campaign of 2016-17 for the last time that was achieved.

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For Corberan, angered by his side’s last-gasp concession in the loss at Barnsley, it is now not about getting mad, but even.

Specifically, that involves avoiding a replication of goals which they conceded from set-plays at Oakwell, with the second costing them dearly on an occasion where Town’s penchant for letting in goals in the latter stages of games also resurfaced.

He said: “We have just two days between the games, (so) first of all we are going to be clean of the feelings from the last game.

“The dressing room was feeling the pain, it is necessary. But after we clean that, we have to analyse how we can avoid those situations and then analyse a team in Blackburn when I expect a game in a different way.”

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Alongside Bournemouth, Blackburn – who lost 2-1 in West Yorkshire exactly a year ago today – have scored the most goals in the second half of games across the Championship, while their total of 35 goals this season is the best in the division along with the similarly free-scoring Cherries.

Corberan added: “I know that the level of Blackburn is high.

“They have been working with the same coach for nearly four years now and have experienced players, players with a high level, as well as a clear identity to play the ball from the back. They (also) have dangerous strikers and dangerous players that are going to make this a very challenging game.

“What we need to do is to try to develop our best ideas, play one game with personality and try to use the feeling we have from the last game to help us to compete in the next game.”

Last six games: Huddersfield WWLDWL; Blackburn DLLWLD.

Referee: M Donohue (Gtr Manchester).

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Last time: Huddersfield 2 Blackburn 1, December 29, 2019; Championship.

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