Walsall 1 Huddersfield Town 3

Last updated : 23 April 2006 By Footymad Previewer
Woeful Walsall slipped to relegation for the second time in three seasons while Huddersfield kept alive their promotion hopes with a conclusive win.

With only one win in their last 18 games and without a home win this year, the writing was always on the wall for the sad Saddlers.

Their predicament was highlighted when Chris Westwood was sent off mid-way through the second half as Huddersfield deservedly clinched a vital win with skipper Nathan Clarke the cornerstone of their latest success.

The Terriers made a good recovery from their mid-week defeat against Chesterfield, although they should have been more conclusive in their finishing.

Pablo Mills was a stalwart in Walsall's defence and was ably supported by Anthony Gerrard as they combined to keep out Huddersfield's attack.

But the breakthrough occurred in the 25th minute and the goal came out of the blue to the delight of the 1,500 travelling Huddersfield fans.

A neat pass by Chris Brandon to the unmarked David Graham resulted in the on-loan striker unleashing a powerful low drive from 25 yards which skipped into the corner of the net.

It was Graham's ninth goal of the season and he demonstrated his value to Huddersfield's promotion bid since his loan move from Sheffield Wednesday in January.

In sharp contrast Walsall were badly disjoined and their form fully explained their current plight.

There was little danger from their strikers, Jimmy Constable and the veteran Steve Claridge, who is now assisting his 18th club of his career.

Huddersfield sat back on their slender lead in the second half and allowed Walsall to enjoy more of the attacking in their quest for an equaliser.

But the Terriers were still the more dangerous when they did move forward and Danny Schofield was only thwarted from scoring by a brave save from Andy Oakes.

Andy Booth also had a header from a long throw from Clarke hit the top of the bar as Walsall launched a hectic late onslaught in a bid to share the spoils.

Walsall's cup of woe overflowed in the 71st minute when Westwood was sent off for retaliation against Booth.

Pawel Abbott added a second for the visitors in the 83rd minute and although substitute Michael Leary pulled back a late goal in the 88th minute a shot from Abbott smashed against Booth and into the net to compound Walsall's misery.