Rotherham United 1 Huddersfield Town 3: Trio's quality shines through as miserable Millers make it easy

The Terriers signed Lynden Gooch as a player who has been around the block at this level and the one above and knows exactly what it demands.

The same could not be said of Leo Castledine, a youngster of great quality loaned from Chelsea who has taken time to bed in at this level, but is now starting to show it.

Bojan Radulovic was a striker Lee Grant did not seem to want, bought to keep Huddersfield in the 2023-24 Championship but massively unimpressive in blue-and-white stripes. He was so far down the pecking order at the beginning of the season that he did not make his first league start of it until November. But he stuck at it and Saturday's win showed why the Terriers should be grateful he did.

It has taken until the winter, but Grant now seems to have found a way to get the best out of their key players. His 3-5-2 formation allowed Gooch, who started his career as a forward and has moved progressively deeper since, to make full use of his crossing ability. After opening the scoring, he made the second and third goals.

Two central midfielders alongside him allows Castledine the freedom to attack, and after playing an important part in the first goal, he arrived in the penalty area to head the third.

Giving Radulovic a strike partner makes him more able to use his qualities as a targetman with a decent touch, and his sheer size means Huddersfield can be more predictable in the way they play.

Both his goal and the one he made for Gooch came from simple, straight balls Rotherham were completely unable to deal with.

Even the 1, 866 away fans were won over.

"Lee Grant, your football's still s****," they sang at 2-0, but by stoppage time they had changed their tune.

"Lee Grant, give us a wave," they sang, cheering the thumbs-up he pointed their way.

But there was no encouragement for the Millers, beyond the scantest of consolation goals for substitute Sam Nombe.

Few of them stayed to boo the team off at full-time as they had at the break. For referee Matthew Russell to add six minutes on was cruel, but then you could say even coming out for the second half was.

Weak for all three goals they conceded, and carrying no goal threat against the second-worst defensive team in the division until Nombe thumped home, the players could hardly argue with the anger.

Two moments of class from Radulovic put the visitors 2-0 up inside half an hour, and a quality cross from Gooch put the game beyond the Millers' reach before the half-time oranges were served.

It was actually Rotherham who had started the better in a fairly low-quality game, and Denzel Hall had a ninth-minute goal chalked off. Lee Nicholls will certainly have been relieved having come for and failed to get Joe Powel''s corner that Russell spotted Marvin Kaleta grabbing Ryan Ledson.

Huddersfield slowly came into the game, finally forcing a save when Radulovic flicked a Gooch cross straight at Cameron Dawson. The pair were just getting their eyes in.

The beauty of the 6ft 3in Radulovic is that he gives his team the option to go a bit longer and straighter, and they took it well.

Castledine's chipped pass from the halfway line was more the latter, and Radulovic took it brilliantly, driving into the Rotherham area then rolling a ball across for Gooch to run onto and score his second goal for the club.

Gooch returned the compliment in the 30th minute.

The Millers were sliced open all too easily by a long ball from Gooch but even so it was a difficult finish the centre-forward made look very easily, lobbing the ball over the advancing Dawson.

In the 44th minute when Castledine arrived from midfield to glace a Gooch cross into the net.

Rotherham made four substitutions before the hour – three at half-time – but it made little difference.

Dan Gore curled an effort comfortably into the arms of Nicholls, Ar'Jany Martha – off balance as he came in off his new wing-back position to shoot about 18 yards off target and Joe Powell failed to hit the target when Gooch's foul presented him with a free-kick in a dangerous position.

So it was a welcome surprise for them when Nombe, introduced on the hour after a squad injury, found the net.

Huddersfield were in power save mode in the second half but still sliced the Millers wide open with another straight ball. Dawson came off his line to deny Radulovic and Dion Charles.

There are big problems ahead for Rotherham, hints at a few solutions for Huddersfield.

Rotherham United: Dawson; Rafferty (Jules HT), Holmes (Douglas HT), Baptiste; Hall, Kelly (Yearwood HT), Gore, Kaleta (Nombe 60); Martha, Powell; Hugill (Etete 73).

Unused substitutes: Cann, Raggett.

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls; Balker, Low, Wallace; Gooch (Sorensen 73), Harness (Kasamu 60), Ledson, Castledine (Wiles 60), Roughan; Radulovic, May (Charles 73).

Unused substitutes: Goodman, Roosken, Ashia.

Referee: M Russell (Hampshire).