Millwall 0-1 Huddersfield: Danny Ward secures vital win for Terriers in battle for survival
Danny Ward scored a much-needed second-half winner as Huddersfield secured a shock 1–0 Championship victory in play-off chasing Millwall that saw the struggling side close to safety.
It was the Terriers’ third away win of the season and only their second since manager Neil Warnock began his second spell in charge last month.
They are now four points behind Rotherham who are fourth from bottom of the table with eight matches left in the season and with renewed hope in their fight for survival ahead of the international break.
On the other hand, it was a huge missed chance for Millwall as they saw their lead over seventh-placed Norwich cut to three points.
It took the hosts just five minutes to seize their first big chance of the game when Andreas Vogelsammer turned the defense of Murray Wallace on the left side of the top.
The German midfielder should have hit the target, but Huddersfield goalkeeper Thomas Vaclick was called into action soon enough when he beat Charlie Cresswell’s effort.
Then Vaclik had to be alert again blocking Tom Bradshaw’s close range shot, following up with some good steps down the right by Cresswell.
Then Huddersfield almost took the lead against the run of play after 19 minutes when Jack Rodoni’s shot from the edge of the area needed to be deflected by Millwall goalkeeper George Long.
Zian Flemming was relatively quiet for the Lions in the first half hour, but came close to adding to his tally when he shot wide from outside the area.
The visitors would have been happy enough to see Cresswell fire from distance, but they needed Vaclik to maintain par once again in first-half injury time by parrying a shot from Vogelsamer.
There was still time before the break for the Terriers to wave a penalty appeal when Josh Koroma went down in the area under a challenge from Danny McNamara.
Millwall struggled to create chances with equal regularity after the break, with Fleming’s long-range effort hovering over an indication of what they were now restricted to.
Huddersfield then took the lead in the 67th minute when Ward, who had replaced the injured Martyn Waghorn at the end of the first half, charged Ben Jackson’s cross at the near post and headed his shot past Long.
The Lions continued to hum as they looked for an equaliser, with their own substitute, Oliver Burke, shooting wide after being cut in from the right.
The closest the hosts came to breaking the Terriers’ hearts was in the seventh minute of stoppage time when one of their former players, Scott Malone, hit the crossbar with a cross from the left wing.
