Huddersfield Town's draw with Luton: Two points dropped or another point in the right direction
Huddersfield Town's self-styled Mr Miserable had something to smile about - internally at least - in the disappointment of a Tuesday-night draw with Luton Town.
The Terriers' intense head coach Martin Drury believes his players look on him at times as "a bit of an idiot and a bit of a lunatic", never happier than when he has something to grumble about. It seems unlikely, but the point is he quite likes being a killjoy and it is working for his squad.
Talking about their mentality before the game he said: "I'm probably having to do less and less from that point of view," then added: "but sometimes it's nice when they give you a reason to,"
His players spoilt his fun when they dropped two points against the Hatters on Tuesday but they did give him something to work with.
Now Jack Wilshere's Luton have got their head around being in League One - something which took Huddersfield and takes most big clubs time (take note any Sheffield Wednesday fans still expecting to cruise promotion) - outplaying them is pretty difficult. Huddersfield managed it.
Drury tried to go all Michael Vaughan 2005 with his "look at them celebrating a draw," schtick, not knowing Wilshere had told the room minutes earlier post-match on-pitch huddles were becoming a thing for them.
But it was true Luton ought to have been more grateful for the point, and accurate or not, the narrative can help Town, which is all Drury is interested in.
Yet one piece of awful defending and an inability to turn threatening attacking play into cast-iron chances meant they had to settle for a 1-1 draw. Drury was obviously not jumping through hoops about that.
But seeing his players so down in the dumps about it perked him up, even if nobody thought to tell his facial expression.
"I just said to the players in the dressing room, every game will pose a new challenge and it gives us something else to learn from," said the first-time head coach, whose contradictions include being a compelling interviewee who does not enjoy speaking to the media.
"I'm disappointed we've not won but I liked that we had to come from behind. I liked that we were disappointed with the goal we conceded.
"Overall, I thought it was a good performance but there's key moments for us to learn from and that's what Luton gave us - some things to learn from. That's what we need because we want to keep growing and getting better.
"We need use that now as fuel to motivate us to get better."
Whilst Huddersfield played well between the boxes, it was bad football, not bad luck, which stopped them winning. The goal they conceded to Jordan Clark in the first half was awful, Sean Roughan coming out to win a long ball and not doing so, Town cutting out Jamie Donely's cross but Iban Bowat's header not getting it clear, and no on closing the former Barnsley player down before he hit the net.
At the other end, although Derensili Sanches Fernandes hit a post with a deflected from-kick and Joe Taylor almost pulled the net out of the ground with a volleyed equaliser which took him to 10 goals for the season, and 23 for the year, there was not enough goal threat.
Bali Mumba regularly wriggling down the line, Fernandes forcing Luton to swap Isiah Jones to the opposite side to try to deal with him, Cameron Humphreys twice going close to scoring direct from corners and Taylor even attempting the volley showed a team as confident as one top of the table and now unbeaten in eight games should be.
Maybe even too confident.
"I thought we were absolutely dominant in the first half, got to their box numerous times, hit the post," said Drury, taking care not to back up his words with anything as indulgent as a smile.
"We probably just lacked that little bit of decision-making in key moments. I felt we were trying to almost find the perfect angle to shoot and not use their defenders to help us, whether it be through the legs or shape one in. The goal is a very poor goal to concede. We have to do better in that moment because no disrespect, but that is not a well-worked goal. That is a goal that we've not defended well enough or we would normally concede.
"What I did like is the reaction.
"Both as individual players and the group as a whole, I thought there was a real strong mentality to kick on from there.
"I don't look at any of my players and think they didn't have a good game.
"I can't pick out players who didn't perform.
"But I think it probably tells you where we are as a group (that) everyone's got their head down in the changing room and it's flat because we've taken a point and we want three."
You can never be 100 per cent sure but it felt like Mr Miserable probably went to bed on Tuesday pretty happy.