Victory over Swansea City proves every Huddersfield Town player is key to survival, says Carlos Corberan

Tomorrow, the Terriers travel to Derby County, who sit one place below them in the table, before a trip to Preston North End on Saturday, and they are just three points ahead of Town.

Games against Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday follow with the Bluebirds the only side outside the bottom half.

Huddersfield have 15 games remaining as they look to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

Saturday’s stunning win over Swansea City gave them a much-needed confidence boost after nine games without a win in all competitions.

However, the previous week’s defeat to bottom-of-the-table Wycombe Wanderers highlights that no fixture can be taken for granted and Corberan feels performance levels are even more intense in the second half of the campaign.

“I think every game from now until the end of the season is going to be key,” insisted Corberan.

“Every opponent is going to be very difficult.

“The second half of the season is always more tough because everyone is competing for something.

“In the first half of the season, the players are not competing at the same level.

“Every team is going to be a high challenge until the end of the year.”

Aaron Rowe was called upon on Saturday as Huddersfield looked for a way to halt their winless run.

He was a star performer in a right wing-back role and claimed a fine assist when he slid the ball through for Duane Holmes to finish from six yards out.

That was the Terriers’ third goal of a relieving afternoon. Holmes added his second and Town’s fourth soon after with a scintillating strike from the edge of the area that beautifully looped into the top corner.

Those were the USA international’s first goals since re-signing for the club and Corberan is delighted with how quickly he has settled into the side.

“For Holmes, it was important for him to have this performance today,” he said.

“Because he shows he is adapting to the team. It takes a bit of time sometimes, especially for him to play so many games in a row because before he arrived here he didn’t have enough minutes. Sometimes the player needs a little bit of time to adapt and perform like he did today.”

Fraizer Campbell had given Huddersfield the lead in the first half but a brilliant free-kick from Conor Hourihane hauled Swansea level on the stroke of half-time.

Lewis O’Brien regained the lead for Town three minutes into the second half before the hosts capitalised on their dominant spell with Holmes’s double.

Corberan was not singling out any individual player and insists that he will need to call upon every member of his squad from now until the end of the season.

He added: “Every player is going to be a key player, we are going to need everyone. Players that didn’t play for me today are still going to be key players.

“I need to be thinking that every player is going to be important because we have a squad that has a mix of some experienced first-team players and younger players.

“We are going to need everyone to be involved and working hard for the team, whether they are playing more or less often.

“Every minute they play in the team is going to be key. We need everyone focused and involved.”

No team has a better defensive record than Swansea in the Championship this season. Prior to their trip to the John Smith’s Stadium, the Welsh outfit had conceded just 15 times in 28 league games.

No side had managed to beat them by more than a two-goal margin while only Man City had scored more than two goals against them in all competitions this campaign. They have conceded just 19 times in 29 games following Saturday’s defeat with six of those goals scored by the Terriers.

Another big test awaits tomorrow night at Derby, who lost 2-1 to Watford on Friday night. Wayne Rooney’s side have won five of their last seven games in the Championship and Corberan is braced for a tough test at Pride Park.

“It is going to be highly challenging. A very difficult game,” he said.

“They lost their game on Friday but I don’t feel they deserved to lose it. It is going to be another challenge between two teams who will fight for the points.”

Huddersfield Town: Schofield; Pipa, Sarr, Vallejo, Keogh, Rowe (Stearman 84); O’Brien, Hogg (Brown 84), Bacuna (High 79); Campbell (Phillips 72), Holmes (Pritchard 84). Unused substitutes: Pereira, Duhaney, Thomas, Crichlow.

Swansea City: Woodman; Bennett (Manning 58), Guehi, Naughton (Cabango 45), Roberts; Grimes, Hourihane, Bidwell (Whittaker 58), Fulton (Dhanda 58); Lowe (Morris 45), Ayew. Unused substitutes: Hamer, Latibeaudiere, Smith, Arriola.

Referee: J Brooks.

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