By Tim Hodges
Huddersfield Town 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
The Seagulls won on the road at Huddersfield Town with two goals from Wlll Buckley.
The Albion were forced into two changes. Marcos Painter came in for his first game of the season, deputising for the injured Wayne Bridge.
Then just prior to kick off Tomasz Kuszczak failed a late fitness test, and with Casper Ankergren already ruled out, Peter Brezovan made his first appearance of the season in goal for Albion.
The Seagulls were all over Huddersfield from the start. Within the first five minutes Craig Mackail-Smith shot inches wide and moments later the impressive Bruno Saltor crossed in from a short corner, for Buckley, who fired the Albion in front.
The Seagulls kept up pressure throughout the half. Ashley Barnes had a handful of chances to double Albion’s lead, with Liam Bridcutt back to his influential self and being the architect of many of Albion’s chances.
The Seagulls worried the Town defence every time the ball went forward – a defence that included Brighton-born former Albion player Joel Lynch.
Five minutes before half time Bridcutt found Mackail-Smith, who in turn swept the ball to Buckley, Albion’s first million-pound man. He turned the Town defence inside out before finding the bottom corner to double Albion’s lead.
Huddersfield were more of a force in the second half but did little to trouble a slightly nervous and occasionally hesitant looking Brezovan.
The big Slovakian keeper, despite his size, looked out of depth at corners but the Terriers failed to capitalise on this.
Will Hoskins replaced Mackail-Smith shortly after Gary Dicker came on for Barnes.
Dicker looked to shore up Albion’s defence from a defensive midfield position and dug in with Bridcutt.
Hoskins looked lively and linked up well with Buckley at times. At last the Nottingham-born forward is beginning to show the potential that caused Gus Poyet to pursue for a number of months and sign him from lowly Bristol Rovers.
Huddersfield never really got going until right at the end. Albion got a bit jittery.
Almost dead on 90 minutes Danny Ward hit a rather tame shot which Brezovan fumbled into the path of on-loan Simon Church and the Irish international tapped home for Huddersfield.
But it was no more than a consolation as, with four minutes of added on time, Albion held firm and unlike the previous week took all three points back to Sussex.
