‘It should have been all three points,’ says Trevor Chalobah as Huddersfield Town make light of injuries

It shows how far Huddersfield Town have come under Danny Cowley that there was a sense of disappointment around the John Smith’s Stadium at full time on Saturday.
On target: Fraizer Campbell fires home his goal.  Picture: Tony JohnsonOn target: Fraizer Campbell fires home his goal.  Picture: Tony Johnson
On target: Fraizer Campbell fires home his goal. Picture: Tony Johnson

The Terriers, forced into naming a makeshift back four with Danny Simpson, Tommy Elphick and Jaden Brown ruled out, took a share of the spoils after Fraizer Campbell’s opener was cancelled out by City’s Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Trevoh Chalobah was deployed alongside Jonathan Hogg in a holding midfield role, allowing Lewis O’Brien and Juninho Bacuna, who played at left and right-back, respectively, licence to get forward.

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The on-loan Chelsea midfielder Chalobah provided the assist for the opener, playing an inch-perfect ball through for Campbell to finish.

Huddersfield had accumulated just one point from their opening six games before Cowley’s arrival but have now earned 16 points from their last 11 fixtures.

Although the point will come as a welcome one for Huddersfield, given their injury problems, Chalobah felt the hosts deserved all three.

“For me, it is my pass of the season. I saw Frazier’s run and I looked up and played it into the space,” he said of his assist.

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“We didn’t lose the game but we felt that we deserved to win it.

“In games like that, when you play that well, then a point is not enough.

“But it is a point to take forward into Tuesday’s game.”

Of the changes in team selection for Town, Chalobah added: “We know that Lewis and Bacca love to go forward.

“So it gave them licence to do that while me and Hoggy kept it secure at the back. I thought those two did really well. It shows the versatility we have in our team, it’s good.”

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The fixtures come thick and fast for Huddersfield over the coming weeks as they host Swansea City tomorrow night.

They then travel to Bristol City before games against Leeds United and Charlton Athletic.

Town conceded from Birmingham’s first shot on target as Marc Roberts’s header deflected in off Jutkiewicz, who had a loan spell at Huddersfield a decade ago.

“A set piece is what cost us today,” Chalobah admitted.

“We need to learn from that to secure three points.

“That is what will separate us from other teams, the less goals we concede from set pieces, the more chances we will have. It’s a point to take forward, going into Tuesday’s game, and we are ready to go again.”

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Hogg returned to the Terriers line-up after missing the 3-1 defeat at Preston through suspension.

Chalobah feels that the 30-year-old’s contributions are vital and is learning all he can from the midfielder who has made over 300 career appearances.

He said: “We know what Hoggy is like, we call him the commander in training.

“He does the dirty side of the game and it was really good to have him back.

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“I felt that is what we missed against Preston. It was a great addition for him to be back today.

“As young players it is always good to play with someone who has got a lot of experience.

“It can help your game and I am learning a lot from him, especially the sides of my game I need to improve, like tackling and heading.

“Training and playing alongside him will help me a lot.”

Swansea City suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat against Millwall on Saturday afternoon with Jed Wallace’s 65th-minute strike inflicting a fourth loss of the season on the Welsh outfit.

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The Swans are just five points behind second-placed Leeds United, however, and Chalobah expects another tough encounter for Town tomorrow evening.

He added: “We know what Swansea are like, they are a very technical team who like to play quickly from the back.

“They play a lot of good football. It will be the same again from us, just getting into their faces and seeing what happens.

“At home, that is where we feel our strongest. Having the fans alongside us will help.”

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Huddersfield Town: Grabara; Bacuna, Stankovic, Schindler, O’Brien; Hogg, Chalobah; Kachunga, Pritchard (Kongolo 77), Grant; Campbell (Diakhaby 67). Unused substitutes: Coleman, Koroma, Mounie, Hadergjonaj, Daly.  

Birmingham City: Trueman; Pedersen, Clarke-Salter, Roberts, Colin; Maghoma (Montero 63), Bellingham (Mcachran 78), Sunjic, Crowley; Jutkiewicz, Bela (Gimenez 64). Unused substitutes: Camp, Harding, Villalba, Davis. 

Referee: K Stroud (Hampshire).

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