8 February 2020 –
Huddersfield Town 2 Queens Park Rangers 0 (21,083)
E I E I E I O, up the
football leagues we go for ground number thirteen of the 2019/20
season. To Huddersfield Town to be precise, who were hosting Queens
Park Rangers. We allowed plenty of time and after a smooth trip we
found ourselves in a “Match Day Parking for £5” compound behind
a factory, but within sight of the floodlights. Ten minutes later we
were right outside the John Smiths stadium, marvelling at
Huddersfield's “megastore” which is actually a Portakabin, and
looking for a programme seller. We didn't find one (and the shop had
sold out after the game)...
From the outside this
stadium has a nice, original look, instead of box-shaped stands there
are four huge curved steel beams holding up the front of each side,
it's pleasing to see at least one stadium architect literally
thinking outside “the box”. It is set in front of a large hill,
with the Pennines looming darkly in the distance. It's just off Leeds
Road which was the name of their old place, and somewhere that I
visited several times with Super Leeds, so we thought the old ground
must be somewhere close(ish). We were right, we walked virtually
right past where it used to be.
Clicked our way through
the turnstiles and up many, many....many stairs to find our seats in
Row SS of the Fantastic Media Stand – I really don't like either
grounds or stands being lumbered with ridiculous sounding sponsor
names, much prefer “South Stand” or whatever. Can't imagine fans
singing “We're the Fantastic Media Stand, we're the Fantastic Media
Stand”, can you? Our view was terrific, from the top tier,
separated from the bottom tier by a row of executive boxes, and the
tannoy system was very loud. And here I have to credit Huddersfield's
DJ who plays a succession of songs aimed directly at “my
generation”...Stone Roses, The Jam, you know the kind of thing –
proper music. Not a Little Bloody Mix tune in sight.
One of the reasons we
came to Hudds was to catch up with their manager Danny Cowley and
Sam's favourite player Harry Toffolo, both imported this season from
Lincoln City where we saw them many times. Happily Toffolo was in the
starting eleven and during a first half in which the home team played
Bloody Awful football he was the stand-out performer, romping down
the left flank and defending solidly. It was 0-0 at half time, QPR
looked much brighter and more dangerous, and hit the post.
Huddersfield pretty clueless. Half time “entertainment” was
simply some local youngsters taking penalty kicks against the female
Huddersfield mascot, not sure if it was a rabbit, dog or skunk,
although we later worked out that it must be a dog (the club nickname
is The Terriers).
Before kick-off there
was a minute's silence in tribute to former HTAFC player Jordan
Sinnott, and there was a minute's applause in the 25th
minute (his shirt number), both were respectfully observed.
The second half
improved slightly in terms of both the football and the atmosphere.
Huddersfield had an extra player in the form of Storm Ciara, giving
their forward play more snap and verve, while QPR struggled going the
opposite way. A goal from Kachunga and a dodgy penalty by Mounie (it
was deffo a dive) gave the hosts a comfortable 2-0 win. A particular
highlight was QPR's introduction of ex-Leeds starlet Jack Clarke, and
it was reassuring to see him as clueless for QPR as he had been back
at Elland Road on loan before Christmas. It spurred the Cowshed Boys
(Huddersfield's “home end”) into action and we can joyfully
report that they do indeed hate Leeds scum.
Post match we quickly
found our way back to the car park but actually getting out of
Huddersfield was a bloody nightmare, and took an hour. Poor post-game
traffic management!
And so to the scoring:
Atmosphere 2.5 Only
really got going after the goals.
Food & Drink 3.5 I
loved it, superb pie. Sam disappointed with no burger but enjoyed his
Yorkshire wrap. Bit pricey.
Stadium 4.0 Striking,
original, good views, worth a visit.
Value For Money 2.5
Over-average prices for under-average football.
Bonus points for
Bovril, Character Mascot, 50/50 draw, Yes they all hate Leeds scum,
singing at least three different songs, big old bad-ass scoreboard,
big flags.
Half a point for
flag-waving kids.
Lost a point for home
fans using a drum.
Zero man-bun bonus...
Final score 19.0
Huddersfield go second thanks to scoring a lower Atmosphere score
than Rotherham.
Current table:
1 Rotherham United 19.0
2 Huddersfield Town
19.0
3 Chesterfield Town
18.5
4
York City 17.0
5 Walsall 16.5
6
Stamford 16.0
7 Doncaster Rovers 15.5
8 Boston United 15.0
9 Lincoln City 13.5
10 Newark Flowserve
13.25
11 Falkirk 13.0
12 Sleaford Town 12.5
13 Mansfield Town 12.0
Total goals so far = 39
Average goals = 3.00. Global average 2.75.
Miles this match = 161.
Miles this season = 1577.
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