HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0, EVERTON 2
Huddersfield Town found themselves sinking back towards the relegation mire after their inability to carve out and convert chances came back to haunt them as Everton found finishes from Cenk Tosun and Idrissa Gana Gueye to leave the Terriers looking over their shoulder once again.
Town were missing Tom Ince who had a hamstring injury, but they looked refreshed and up for a battle as they pressed Everton relentlessly, egged on by the very vocal John Smiths support.
But the Terriers have suffered all season in front of goal – and their inability to score goals came back to haunt them again.
Despite the energetic approach by Town the Terriers lacked quality in the final third once they had won the ball but it took the visitors fully 15 minutes before they settled into passing rhythm with Wayne Rooney looking the most likely to set someone up for a time.
Town had a weak penalty call on Rajiv van la Parra turned down before the Dutch winger skied a shot over the bar after Alex Pritchard’s cross picked him out around the half hour mark.
Pritchard was pulling the strings once again when his crossfield pass picked up Florent Hadergjonaj but the Swiss right back’s cross into the area had no takers.
Huddersfield Town punished by lack of goals against Everton
The Terriers had been cutting out most of Everton’s attempts to hit them on the break but their luck ran out in the 39th minute when Van La Parra’s lazy pass was cut out by Theo Walcott who released Cenk Tosun with a great through ball which the Turkish forward drilled inside the back post past Jonas Lossl from 16 yards out.
It was the Toffees’ only shot on target in the half and a costly one to concede for Town.
Everton were out of the quickly early in the second half, with Walcott’s cutback to Idrissa Gana Gueye squared to Nikola Vlasic but the Croatian winger’s effort was saved by Lossl.
Everton were edging their way into the game in the second period, and Seamus Coleman tested Lossl with a couple of chances while Jonathan Hogg was lucky to stay on the pitch after losing the ball to Tosun and hauling the man down trying to get it back.
Town reorganised – Hogg and Collin Quaner were taken off, and Philip Billing and Scott Malone came on in their place.
But Pritchard fluffled his lines in the 65th minute with a horrible miskick when van La Parra’s cross found him in space in the area – the error was to prove costly as Town faded towards the end of the game.
Town’s mistakes were becoming more glaring and despite vocal criticism of their own manager, former Town defender Sam Allardyce, the travelling fans were in a happier mood 13 minutes time when loose defending by Town near their own corner flag allowed the Toffees to put a cross in from the right.
Leighton Baines received the cross, squared for Idrissa Gana Gueye and the Senegalese midfielder smashed it in from outside the box to silence the home crowd.
By this time, the Terriers had put Laurent Depoitre on to partner Steve Mounie up front but they had long run out of ideas and are now just three points ahead of Southampton in 18th with three games to go.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN VS EVERTON MATCH STATS
Huddersfield Town: Lossl, Kongolo, Schindler, Zanka, Hadergjonaj, Hogg (Malone 62), Mooy, Quaner (Billing 59), Pritchard, Van La Parra (Depoitre 75), Mounie
Huddersfield Town Subs not used: Coleman, Smith, Lowe, Stankovic
Booked: Hogg 50
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Jagielka, Keane, Baines, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Vlasic (Funes Mori 75), Rooney (Davies 63), Walcott, Tosun (Niasse 72)
Everton Subs not used: Robles, Bolasie, Martina, Baningime
Goals: Tosun 39, Gueye 77
Attendance: 24,121 (2249 Everton Fans)