Clayton reflects on Town’s ‘worst 45 minutes of season’

A former Elland Road player, the 25-year-old admits the drama that saw the shock sacking of Brian McDermott being followed by captain Ross McCormack wading into the row live on television made for compulsive, if a little uncomfortable, viewing.

From a Huddersfield perspective, however, Clayton also knew that the chaos engulfing Elland Road provided Mark Robins’s side with an ideal opportunity to complete a league double over their neighbours.

For 45 minutes and 180 seconds of stoppage time at the end of the first half on Saturday, the midfielder’s belief that the three points were there for the taking was born out as the Terriers dominated proceedings to such an extent that, as referee Graham Salisbury prepared to blow for the interval, they really should have been two or even three goals to the good.

Instead, Town had just Danny Ward’s 25th-minute opener to show for their efforts, so when McCormack prodded home for Leeds in the second minute of stoppage time it meant the two West Yorkshire rivals went in level.

And, as none of the 2,620 Huddersfield fans who made the short trip to Leeds will need reminding, the second half belonged to the hosts as Robins’s men capitulated en route to their heaviest defeat in almost 12 months.

“We fancied our chances before the game,” Clayton told the Yorkshire Post. “I feel, as a team, that we can go anywhere in this league and win comfortably.

“And with what has been going on at Leeds, I thought it would be playing on their players’ minds. I watched what was happening (on Friday) from the couch. All the way through, I was wondering, ‘What’s going on?’ After the phone call that Ross made, it became a bit surreal. No one seemed to know what was going on.

“I didn’t know who was going to be in charge (of Leeds against Town) (or) whether Ross would be here. Everything seemed to be up in the air.

“Then, on the day of the game, there was a sniff that Brian McDermott hadn’t even been sacked and that he was going to take the game. It was a weird one.”

With Ward having broken the deadlock and Town opening up the home defence with ease, Clayton’s pre-match confidence seemed well-placed.

He added: “We got the goal and could have had maybe two or three more. If we had, then even with their goal we are 3-1 or 4-1 up. Instead it was level and then the second half was probably our worst 45 minutes of the season.

“When you come to Elland Road, the important thing is to keep it tight in the first five minutes of a half and then again in the second five minutes. That keeps the fans, who can play a massive part, quiet.

“We didn’t do that and, instead, made some silly mistakes. We were a bit naive, at times. When we score, it is usually a lovely, flowing move or a 20-yard piledriver. But when the opposition score, it is usually something we have gifted to them. We wrap it up for the opposition. That has to stop.

“With a young team in an arena like Elland Road, it can get to people. We conceded a minute before the break and it was totally avoidable. It bounced in our area twice and we need to get something on it.

“Never mind wanting to get a good purchase on it and wanting to clear properly. Just get rid of the danger.”

As disappointing as McCormack’s equaliser at the end of the first half had been from a Town perspective, the visitors still had plenty of chances to make amends early in the second half when the game was still in the balance.

But Wells miscued with the goal at his mercy, and Ward prodded a shot wide after cleverly creating space for himself.

Both were bad misses and McCormack’s second goal just after the hour meant the rest of the game was all about damage limitation for the visitors.

Clayton added: “Unfortunately for me, our worst 45 minutes of the season had to come at Elland Road against my old club. We made some silly mistakes. But we move on and have to bounce back.

“We have been here before, having got beat (6-1) by Leicester (on New Year’s Day) last season. We then went to their place a couple of weeks later (in the FA Cup) and won 2-1.

“We have a few home games coming up. This was one half, a costly one admittedly, but still one half.

“We have some strong character and we will bounce back.

“Skip (Peter Clarke) is back and that is big for us. He is a major influence on the likes of Murray Wallace and Tommy Smith.”