Huddersfield 1 Aston Villa 0 - Report and pictures

Though their performance at promotion-chasing Huddersfield was not without its positives, it ultimately ended in defeat due to the inability of Steve Bruce’s side to take their chances and because of one, momentary, defensive lapse which allowed Terriers skipper Tommy Smith to score the game’s only goal.

Smith took advantage of Villa falling asleep at a short-corner to fire past keeper Sam Johnstone with 21 minutes remaining.

Until that point, it was Bruce’s men who had been the better side but they were unable to find the goal their efforts merited.

Henri Lansbury hit the bar, while only good defending from Christopher Schindler prevented home keeper Joel Coleman from netting an embarrassing own goal.

In the end it counted for nothing, with Villa’s increasing injury concerns leaving Bruce short of options once his team had fallen behind.

Villa’s starting XI included two changes from the team which won 2-0 at Rotherham on Saturday with Jordan Amavi and James Bree in place of Birkir Bjarnason and Alan Hutton, the latter of whom has become the latest addition to the club’s seemingly endless injury list.

Such was the paucity of first-team options available to Bruce the visitors bench included two regulars from the under-23s in the shape of Corey Blackett-Taylor and Callum O’Hare. There was also a place among the substitutes for Gary Gardner, following his recovery from an ankle injury.

The hosts knew victory could move them to within three points of the top two and were quickly on the offensive, Elias Kachunga firing straight at Villa keeper Sam Johnstone from six yards out, albeit having strayed into an offside position.

Villa were hardly holding back themselves however and it was Bree who forced Terriers keeper Coleman into the first serious save of the match.

The 19-year-old’s first effort, after the hosts had failed to clear a corner was blocked. His second was well struck and acrobatically kept out by Coleman, diving to his left.

With the hosts quick to press out of possession the pace of the game was high and though their play was not as slick as their opponents, it was Villa who carved out the better chances.

Conor Hourihane was guilty of wasting a glorious opportunity to open the scoring when he chested down Jonathan Kodjia’s flick before hammering a half-volley over the bar with just Coleman to beat.

Lansbury then went even closer by hitting the woodwork. Again Kodjia was the creator, collecting a pass on the right before somehow escaping the attentions of three opposing players. When he was eventually dispossessed, the ball set up perfectly for Lansbury but his volley came crashing back off the bar.

Coleman, who had replaced the injured Danny Ward between the sticks, then had team-mate Schindler to thank for saving him from embarrassment. The defender was in the right place at the right time to clear off the line when the keeper had fumbled Hourihane’s corner toward goal.

Huddersfield, for all their attractive build-up play, failed to seriously test Villa keeper Sam Johnstone during the opening period. On the one occasion the hosts did break behind opposition lines, when Smith beat Neil Taylor to a long ball, Johnstone was quickly out to smother.

Kodjia sent a drive from distance flashing wide of the far post as Villa continued to pose a threat early in a second half which initially lacked the intensity of the first.

Villa’s Taylor and Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy were both booked as the game became increasingly scrappy and it took Smith’s opener, with 21 minutes remaining, to enliven a home crowd which had begun to become restless.

The visitors, having defended so well to that point, were guilty of switching off when the wideman collected a short-corner and he was allowed time and space to fire past Johnstone from the right-hand side of the box.

With Villa struggling to create and Bruce shorn of options on the bench, it always felt like being the game’s decisive moment.

James Chester headed over from a Lansbury free-kick but the home team were looking increasingly comfortable.

With the game inside the final ten minutes, Kodjia was booked for diving after tumbling theatrically in the box, while Blackett-Taylor was handed his senior debut, replacing Taylor.

Teams

Huddersfield (3-4-1-1): Coleman, Hefele, Schindler, Lowe, Smith (c) Mooy, Hogg, Kachunga, Brown (Wells 68), Van La Parra (Cranie 84), Quaner Subs not used: Payne, Lolley, Stankovic, Coddington (gk).

Villa (4-1-4-1): Johnstone, Bree, Chester (c), Baker, Taylor (Blackett-Taylor 87), Jedinak, Adomah, Lansbury, Hourihane, Amavi (Davis 81), Kodjia Subs not used: Elphick, Richards, Gardner, O'Hare, Bunn (gk)