HUDDERSFIELD Following their absences from the Terriers’ Carabao Cup elimination at Walsall, Tom Lees, David Kasumu, and Mickel Miller should be back in the running for Saturday’s League One trip to Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United, according to Town head coach Michael Duff.
On a night when Town blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 to the Saddlers, the veteran trio was missed. The League Two team took the lead after visiting defender Matty Pearson was sent off shortly before halftime.
“Leesy felt a slight tightness in his calf, so it wasn’t worth taking the risk,” stated Duff.
“Kas “rocked” his ankle during the final seconds of the game on Saturday, but fortunately it was only a minor “rock” of the ankle.
“Michele Miller experienced a personal issue; there was a domestic incident. Positively, though, they should all be back for the weekend.
“We are obviously unsure of the scan results regarding Brodie (Spencer), who had a shoulder issue over the weekend, but I would have assumed he wouldn’t be ready for the weekend.”
One of Town’s better players of the evening, Josh Koroma, gave the visitors the lead early on. However, Duff’s team was taken aback when Pearson was sent off, harshly in the Terriers manager’s opinion, for fouling Jack Earing just outside the box.
Josh Ruffels, a returning defender, headed in to give Town a 2-0 lead minutes after Chris Maxwell denied Nathan Lowe’s spot-kick, giving the Saddlers a chance to draw even early in the second half.
On minute sixty-three, Lowe made apologies by pulling one back for the home team. Seven minutes later, Lowe’s blast from close range gave the League Two team the lead.
After Michal Helik, a Town substitute, deflected a cross from Liam Gordon into his own net, the hosts added a third goal to hand Huddersfield their first loss under Duff.
“Obviously, the outcome was disappointing,” he remarked.
“The referee makes a decision and we don’t think it is the right decision and it changes the context of the game. It’s difficult to play with ten men and it was a clear foul in the build-up to it as well.
“We’ve played strong defence in the past; we’ve stopped and blocked balls that were trying to enter the box. They ran harder than we did and prevailed in more duels than we did because we did none of that.
“It’s hard to get back from a place where you don’t win football duels, even though you can come out with formations and patterns and all these kinds of stuff.”
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