Huddersfield Town 2-1 Birmingham City: Warnock gets perfect start
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Birmingham City: Neil Warnock gets off to the perfect start in second stint with the Terriers as goals from Joseph Hungbo and Jaheim Headley see them come from behind
- Neil Warnock took over at Huddersfield Town for the second time in his career
- His 19th job in a storied career comes just 10 months after he retired
- Goals from Joseph Hungbo and Jaheim Headley saw them come from behind
With a beaming grin, cheeky chuckle and shake of the head, Neil Warnock took one glance at the main stand before kick-off as if to say, ‘Here we go again’.
Thirty years after he first took a pew in the home dugout, then at Leeds Road, Warnock is back at Huddersfield.
And 10 months after announcing his retirement from management, here begins his 19th job, a journey that started in 1980 with Gainsborough Trinity.
Many Huddersfield players and fans were not born when Warnock guided the Terriers to promotion at Wembley in 1995, but they will know about his legendary status in these parts.
Warnock will further cement his status in the hearts of Huddersfield fans if he guides them to Championship safety – they started the day 23rd and winless in 2023.
Neil Warnock was a picture of jubilation at the final whistle as he made a winning return to management
Taking his 19th job of his career Warnock was immediately given a reality check early on
But his first match could not have gone much better and, after battling to beat Birmingham, he hailed his hard-working side for their performance of the season.
‘Every one of them did their jobs today,’ said Warnock, 74. ‘Some of them have never worked as hard in their lives before… now it’s got to be standard practice.
‘(Etienne) Camara had blood on his nose… lovely – I love that!
‘It never gets out of your bloodstream. I’ve just asked the players, “How do you feel after that?” This is how I’m used to feeling!’
Patrolling his technical area in a club tracksuit and adidas Copa Mundials, Warnock eased into his new job with a couple of smiles and waves to the home crowd.
But his facial expression soon turned from optimism to gloom as he watched his shoddy defenders undone by Birmingham after just six minutes.
It was a goal that highlighted the mountainous task Warnock has to keep Huddersfield in the division.
Yet after that, the Terriers were fantastic. Yes, they made some unforced errors and the final stages of the match were nervy, but this was a typical Warnock performance.
A banner was unfurled before the match which read, ‘You’ve got to f***ing die for three points’, a nod to a Warnock catch-phrase from his podcast and a documentary on his time at Sheffield United.
His team indeed gave their all – running more, pressing better and counter-attacking with intent barely seen this season.
Troy Deeney scored after six minutes as Birmingham raced into an early lead, the veteran striker latching on to the end of Juninho Bacuna’s cross which evaded all defenders.
Warnock lifted his hands to his head – one of many expressions we saw here – after shoddy defending that underlined why Huddersfield have lost a league-high 17 games this term.
But then they barely looked back, despite needing some last-ditch defending to see out a mammoth 12 minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Camara hit the bar minutes after going behind and then Joe Hungbo equalised on 25 minutes. The winger raced through, cut inside and unleashed a venomous drive into the top corner.
Deeney nearly reinstated Birmingham’s lead early in the second half when his stooping header hit the post but then John Eustace’s side were then undone by one long ball.
Goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic sent a long pass which bypassed the Birmingham defence and was controlled to perfection by Jaheim Headley, who then fired into the bottom corner for 2-1.
Huddersfield continued to attack and forced Birmingham into a pair of last-ditch blocks, while Jack Rudoni might have had a penalty after Harlee Dean took his legs from behind.
Troy Deeney gave Birmingham City the lead inside the first six minutes but they failed to extend their advantage
Joseph Hungbo grabbed the equaliser just shy of the half-hour mark as Warnock’s players provided encouragement they can survive this season
Jaheim Headley’s goal just after half-time gave Huddersfield all three vital points
Result means Huddersfield go within two points of Rotherham in 21st ahead of crucial few weeks
Warnock admitted that he struggled to remember some of his players names having only taken over this week
Birmingham started to throw men forward in search of an equaliser as Deeney went close again but Terriers’ Australian keeper Bilokapic made some fine saves, most notably to deny Auston Trusty’s close-range attempt.
Blues continued their onslaught, with Warnock and assistant Ronnie Jepson metaphorically kicking and heading every ball as Huddersfield stood tall.
Warnock, who returned early from a romantic trip to New York with wife Sharon this week, admitted he barely knew half of his players’ names.
‘I kept saying to Ronnie (Jepson, his assistant), “Who’s that there, what’s his name?”,’ laughed Warnock. ‘We’ve got an outside chance of staying up but we will give it go. Whatever happens, I want to enjoy myself, I want the fans to enjoy themselves.’
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