Huddersfield Town vs Reading. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's StadiumAttendance21,585.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield and Reading at the John Smith's Stadium
Monday 8 May 2023 19:03, UK
Neil Warnock celebrated his final game as Huddersfield boss with a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship victory over already-relegated Reading.
Prospective new American owner Kevin M Nagle was in attendance at the John Smith's Stadium as the Terriers claimed a seventh win of 74-year-old Warnock's 15-match 'great escape' reign.
Superb second-half strikes from Josh Koroma and substitute Joseph Hungbo ensured Warnock's latest management swansong ended on a high, boosting the 18th-placed Yorkshire side's final points tally to 53.
After the emotion of last Thursday's second-tier status-saving 1-0 win over Sheffield United, Town's final success of a rollercoaster campaign was less memorable.
'One more year', pleaded Huddersfield fans. But Warnock insisted he would not be changing his decision, writing in his programme notes: "After today's [Monday] game, I'll go back to looking on at Huddersfield from afar with some special, special memories."
Without that victory against the Premier League-bound Blades, this fixture threatened to be a tense affair, with Reading in with a chance of staying up.
Instead, the Berkshire side already knew their fate, a six-point deduction and a 13-match winless run contributing to their drop into League One.
Their team may have been relegated but Royals fans had not lost their sense of humour, with a rendition of 'Que sera sera, we're going to Shrewsbury' - a nod to one of next season's fixtures - drawing applause from their home counterparts.
That joviality nearly turned into genuine celebration, but Cesare Casadei's header - following Sean Long's deflected shot - hit the post, while Junior Hoilett also tried his luck with a curling right-footed effort.
Reading's 20-year-old debutant goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke registered his first useful save from Josh Ruffels' header.
Boyce-Clarke then reacted well to block a Jordan Rhodes shot at the expense of a corner after slack play by former Huddersfield defender Naby Sarr.
The Jamaica U20 international safely gathered Koroma's first attempt of the second half before conceding the opener to the same player in the 49th minute.
Boyce-Clarke's clearance hit Brahima Diarra, who laid the ball back for Koroma to convert his ninth goal of the season.
Koroma's next effort struck Tom Holmes in the face, with the Royals defender able to continue after treatment.
A goal-line Sarr clearance prevented Jack Rudoni doubling Town's advantage, but the visitors hardly carried a threat in retaliation and the hosts made the game safe six minutes from time.
On-loan Watford winger Hungbo, having received the ball on the right edge of the Reading box, curled in a superb left-footed shot for his fourth Terriers goal.
Huddersfield's Neil Warnock:
"I wanted to finish on a win and to get 53 points is unbelievable. These times you have to treasure. I told the players that because they don't come along very often. You would have thought we had got promotion to the Premier League, with the crowd. You can't tell me it would have been any more vociferous. But the fans know what a job it has been to turn it round. To see everyone stay behind at the end, I can't put it into words.
"It is great because me and my daughter go to all the [Plymouth] home matches. If Plymouth play Huddersfield first match, I might be watching Huddersfield again. I can sit down, have a nice meal, a nice glass of wine, no pressure, no worry about substitutions, get driven home... it's perfect... until February.
"You can't do this for 10 months. I hate the motorways, I hate the hotels, I don't need that at my age. But I don't mind for 10-12 weeks!"
Reading's Noel Hunt:
"I have not even thought about it," the Irishman responded when asked if he would like the role permanently. As far as I was told, this was until the end of the season and then who knows? I was pretty sure I was probably going back to the under-23s. But I have not had that conversation. So your guess is as good as mine.
"I have seen teams go down to League One and two years later be in the Premier League. Norwich and Southampton did it. Maybe a reset is going to be good and what the club needs. But we have a lot of good players signed here and a lot of good young boys coming through. So the future is bright, no matter what."
