Huddersfield Town vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's StadiumAttendance18,618.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Huddersfield and Stoke City at the John Smith's Stadium as the Terriers claimed their first points and win of the season on Saturday.
Saturday 13 August 2022 18:29, UK
Danny Schofield secured a first win as Huddersfield boss with a 3-1 victory over Stoke.
The visiting Potters endured a frustrating opening period with Lewis Baker denied from the penalty spot and Jacob Brown striking the post in quick succession.
The hosts gradually grew into the fixture and took the lead when Yuta Nakayama marked his home league debut with a goal.
Baker made amends for his miss with a pinpoint strike early in the second half to get the visitor's level.
His team-mate Dwight Gayle had an effort ruled out and allowed Huddersfield to take advantage.
Substitute Duane Holmes provided two late assists, teeing up Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes to secure a much-needed victory for the West Yorkshire side.
After suffering three successive defeats to open his Huddersfield reign, Schofield rang the changes and switched to a back-five system.
The Terriers' tactical tweak paid dividends as they frustrated a Stoke attack fronted by Brown and Gayle.
But their persistence looked set to be rewarded inside 20 minutes when referee Matthew Donohue pointed to the spot, penalising a Josh Ruffels high boot on a stooping Josh Laurent.
However, the normally reliable Baker - a Stoke figurehead since his January arrival - had his low strike from 12 yards saved well by Lee Nicholls to his left.
In the same passage of play, Brown escaped free of his marker in the penalty area only to have his effort strike the foot of the post.
The Potters' top scorer from last season had another chance to grab the opener after the half hour mark, but he neglected to tee up a teammate and instead blazed a shot wide.
Stoke's profligacy in front of goal was punished by the hosts prior to the interval when Connor Taylor misjudged his header from a Sorba Thomas corner.
Japanese international Nakayama - signed from PEC Zwolle this summer - arrived late at the far post and capitalised on Taylor's error to power his header home in the 40th minute.
After the restart, a more vibrant Potters side re-emerged as they quickly set out to rectify their first half shortcomings and they were soon rewarded just over 10 minutes in.
As the ball propped up invitingly outside the area, former Chelsea midfielder Baker caressed an accurate strike from 20 yards beyond a helpless Nicholls.
Gayle thought he had completed the comeback for the visitors, but he was adjudged to have strayed offside before converting.
With 13 minutes remaining, Ward handed Huddersfield the advantage with a calm finish.
As Stoke pursued a late leveller, Holmes sprung the offside trap on the counterattack and selflessly teed up Rhodes to secure Schofield's first win as boss.
Huddersfield's Danny Schofield: "It's massive for us. I said to the lads in the changing room, I've got two kids and I nearly said the feeling now is better than when they were born but I held myself back and said it was equal because I don't want to upset the missus.
"The longer you're without a win, you do feel it becomes more difficult and there's more focus on the losses, but we never stopped believing. As soon as you stop believing, it becomes very difficult but I could sense the belief and the energy in the lads pre-match."
Stoke's Michael O'Neill: "I thought the scoreline was extremely harsh on us; we had a lot of positives in our play and a lot of control on the game despite being the away side. In the second half we controlled the game and we were dominant and it's a mistake that leads to the second goal and then we're having to chase the game.
"The goal from Dwight Gayle is onside and that would put us 2-1 ahead so we're disappointed with that as well. That's out of our control, we've just got to accept it but when we watch the game back, we'll find a lot of positives. We're just unfortunate that the result goes against us. We've got to keep believing in what we're doing and how you play. You have to trust that you'll improve."
