Huddersfield Town endured a frustrating afternoon on Saturday, as they were held to a 0-0 draw by fellow strugglers Rotherham United, who in turn put an end to their nine-game losing streak, which stretched back to January.
Saturday’s Yorkshire derby was a cagey affair and despite the 19-point gap between the Terriers and the Millers going into the game, the visitors never managed to make that differential count on the day. The result at the weekend was Huddersfield’s 15th draw of the season, the most of any team in the Championship. If the club do suffer relegation in May, it’s another stalemate they’ll regret not turning into a win.
With a League One return all but sealed for Rotherham, manager Leam Richardson will hope that his team can earn some positive results between now and the end of the campaign, to build confidence that they can take into next season.
The Millers have reasons to be encouraged by Saturday’s result and could still have a huge say in the fight for Championship survival, with games against the struggling Millwall, Plymouth Argyle and Birmingham City still to come. If you can’t save yourself, try dragging others down with you. That’s a message Richardson will surely relay to his players for those games. Which for the South Yorkshire outfit, are free-hits.
With very little to lose, Rotherham now becomes a banana skin to anyone they face between now and the end of the season, as Huddersfield learned at the weekend.
Moving onto the Terriers, Saturday will feel like a wasted opportunity. The game against Rotherham was, on paper at least, their best chance at a win between now and the end of the season. André Breitenreiter, quite evidently, has some big work to do over the international break.
From the get-go, Huddersfield lacked intensity and their failure to take control of the game early on would later trip them up, as Rotherham more than held their own in an even first half. While the West Yorkshire side did make a strong start to the second half, a red card to Sorba Thomas halted their momentum and with 10 men on the pitch for over 30 minutes, Town never looked likely to go and grab the three points.
In many ways, the international break couldn’t have come at a better time for Huddersfield. For the first time since his arrival in England, André Breitenreiter has a window of opportunity to bring ideas to the squad, without the disruption of games. He needs to make this time count and use it to plot an act of escapology for the Terriers. Huddersfield still have reason to be encouraged, mind. While this season hasn’t quite panned out as they would’ve hoped, they’re still alive in this fierce fight for survival.
Sorba Thomas’ sending off at the weekend means he will be suspended for their home game against Coventry on Easter Friday, which is a big loss. They will, however, be boosted by the return of January recruit Rhys Healey, which is an undoubted positive ahead of the run-in. He could be paramount for the Yorkshire side if he can rediscover his goalscoring touch from his time in France.
Eight games remain for Huddersfield in their battle for Championship survival, they must get points on the board after the break. Otherwise, they’ll be joining Rotherham in League One next season. Rather ominously, Saturday’s game did have the makings of a League One tussle at times. They’ll be aware that a major upheaval in performance levels is a necessity after the break to add vigour to their survival aspirations.
For consecutive seasons, Huddersfield go into the March international break in the bottom three, with a pulsating finale to the Championship campaign set to ensue once again for the Terriers. It’s clear, André Breitenreiter and his men have work to do.