Play-off lessons clearly learned by Clark and his boys

For the second consecutive season, Huddersfield are looking to the play-offs for a route into the Championship. Richard Sutcliffe reports on how they are hoping to enjoy better luck this time.

FOR Huddersfield Town fans strolling through Kings Park on the hunt for a pre-match pint or two, the contrast could not have been more marked.

Where 12 months earlier their every step on the mean streets of Bermondsey had been shadowed by hundreds of the local constabulary, here the vibe was pleasantly relaxed.

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There were police officers to be found on the roads that surround Dean Court, though these seemed more concerned with directing traffic than keeping apart any supporters who feel Saturday lunchtimes are best spent in arm-to-arm combat.

Such a laid-back approach was understandable, not least as the two sets of fans were mingling freely in the Dorset sunshine and even swapping score predictions – unlike last year’s semi-final second leg at Millwall where the locals seemed more intent on swapping punches with any interlopers from Yorkshire.

Back then, few of the Town fans brave enough to make the trip to south London ran the risk of sporting team colours, just in case their path crossed a particularly inhospitable group of natives either before or after a second leg tie that Lee Clark’s side were destined to lose 2-0.

At Bournemouth, no such precautions were required – as was proved by the vast majority of the 1,283 away fans being clad in blue and white.

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The Town loyalists, many of whom had headed south in the early hours to make the lunchtime kick-off, were in confident mood.

Predictions ranged from a 1-0 win to a 4-1 trouncing of the hosts, the confidence of the travelling fans clearly fuelled by not only a couple of pre-match liveners but also their team’s 25-game unbeaten run.

No-one, it seemed, was worried about a repeat of the previous year, when too many players froze on the big stage and Huddersfield’s promotion hopes went up in smoke.

That confidence proved well placed, with the Town players making it plain in the opening exchanges that they were prepared to fight for the cause.

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First, Joey Gudjonsson squared up to Danny Hollands with just 80 seconds on the clock after a heavy challenge. Then, clearly taking his lead from the Icelandic midfielder, Lee Peltier was soon getting in on the action with a couple of crunching tackles.

And just in case the home side were not aware that Town would not be out-muscled or intimidated this time around, the full-back then had a verbal clash with a Cherries supporter who had taken his time to return the ball for a throw-in.

The spat, which also saw Peltier mimick throwing the ball at the fan in question, showed how much the game meant to the locals as well as the visitors from Yorkshire.

As a rule, Bournemouth is not usually renowned as a town that does football fever.

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This charming coastal resort on the south coast is more retirement home than home of football and more stag party than promotion party.

Town’s visit, however, was different with most roads leading to what the locals still call Dean Court despite the best efforts of the sponsors.

The FA Cup final or Manchester United’s impending clinching of the title may have been dominating the national agenda. But in Bournemouth there was only one game that mattered as the Cherries chased a return to the second tier for the first time since 1990.

Relegation that year came courtesy of a final-day home defeat for Harry Redknapp’s side to Leeds United, who in the process sealed their own return to the top-flight.

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That weekend was marred by hooliganism with around £1m worth of damage being done to the Dorset town by thousands of ticketless visiting fans from Yorkshire.

Thankfully, football has moved on since those dark days and Huddersfield’s visit passed off peacefully – hence the relaxed attitude of the police throughout the day.

It meant there were smiles all round, and particularly among the Town fans who felt, come the final whistle, that their side had taken an important step towards the Championship.

Scott Stonebridge, of Huddersfield, said: “We had to catch the train at 6.20am but the day has been worth the early start.

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“A good game, plenty of banter and a decent result even though we played only okay.”

His mate Matt Credland, who funded the trip to the south coast out of his £2,000 jackpot win on Town’s Easter Bumper draw, agreed: “My win in the draw is only the start.

“I know our home record in the play-offs is poor but I really do feel this is our year and this team can make history.”

No doubt the Huddersfield fans who did manage to grab a pint or two ahead of kick-off on Saturday will raise a glass to that sentiment.