Town crashed to defeat in another lacklustre display against Huddersfield which saw Jerel Ifil sent off for unnecessary retaliation early in the second half, writes STFC Sports Reporter Adrian Smith

Town lined up with Matt Hewlett and Christian Roberts returning to the starting line-up as Rory Fallon dropped down to the substitutes bench.

Huddersfield started in lively fashion with Andy Holdsworth firing in a dipping shot in the 3^rd minute after being allowed plenty of space in midfield. Town responded with Brian Howard showing some fancy footwork to trick the visitor's defence before sending in a low ball across the face of goal which was knocked to Steve Jenkins but he was twice denied at close range when the ball struck a defender's legs.

Shortly afterwards Howard's weak shot from 20 yards was deflected for a corner which he took but the keeper Rachubka took his cross easily.

Matt Hewlett announced his return in the 13^th minute with a bad two footed challenge on Andy Holdsworth 40 yards on the right touchline but the referee considered that a warning was enough. 

In the 16^th minute Jerel Ifil appeared to be fouled from behind in the Huddersfield penalty area and although the assistant referee awarded a corner, the referee K Woolmer amazingly awarded a free-kick to the visitors.

Disaster struck when Huddersfield's leading scorer Pawel Abbott opened the scoring after some comical defending by Town in the 20^th minute when a succession  of half hearted tackles allowed the ball to run to Abbott and he drilled the ball to Evans right.

Town responded with some determined attacking play but the visitors matched their efforts and although Town finally gained a corner in the 33^rd minute the ball from Howard was wasted. The ball was released upfield and Chris Brandon scored from an acute angle after some hesitant play by Ifil and also Rhys Evans who appeared to be slow leaving his line.

The 3-5-2 system being used by Town was clearly not working as Huddersfield were quick to exploit the space left by uncertain defending as the crowd grew restless but Andy King decided to continue with it.

Eventually Town mounted a serious attack on goal as Parkin carved out a good opportunity for himself after receiving the ball from Robinson but Town's leading scorer sent in a weak right footed shot which was easily saved by Rachubka who was signed from Charlton last week.

Christian Roberts was presented with an opportunity to score when a free-kick was awarded 20 yards from goal in a central position for a foul on Robinson but his shot struck the defensive wall and was cleared.

Shortly afterwards the referee blew his whistle to end a disappointing half which was dominated by the visitors as Town again showed defensive frailties.

Half Time:

Swindon Town 0 Huddersfield Town 2

The half started with a free-kick awarded to Town for a foul in the 4^th second when Heywood was charged into by Holdsworth. The ball was sent downfield and eventually reached Ifil who sent in a cross from the right wing which was caught by Rachubka.

Jerel Ifil had a dreadful few minutes starting in the 48^th minute when he fouled Brandon on the left wing and received the first caution of the night.  Three minutes later Brandon had to receive treatment after colliding with Ifil and landing in the advertising hoardings but was able to continue after treatment.However Ifil's unhappy night was ended when he tangled with Abbott and although the referee eventually gave a free-kick to Town, Ifil decided to take matters into his own hands and retaliated against the Huddersfield player.  It has to be said that had the referee dealt quicker with the initial foul on Ifil, matters may have been different.

Brian Howard was fouled on the left wing in the 55^th minute which saw a caution for Holdsworth but Roberts's free-kick was easily dealt with by the visitors defence and Town continued to press forward with O'Hanlon going close with a header from close range.

Steve Robinson tried a cheeky shot which went just wide of the right hand upright in the 62^nd minute and at the other end Abbott responded with a much more dangerous effort from 20 yards which went inches over the crossbar.

The referee Mr Woolmer decided to take centre stage in the 67^th minute when a dreadful challenge on Christian Roberts was allowed to go unpunished but moments later he cautioned Heywood for a defensive bodycheck. Shortly afterwards Town were put under unnecessary pressure when Duke was slow to deal with a pass down the wing and Abbott charged towards the goal but Duke redeemed himself with a saving tackle.

Rory Fallon replaced Matt Hewlett in the 70^th minute as Andy King gambled with 3 up front and it almost paid dividends when a long throw by Duke was headed narrowly wide by Roberts with Rachubka beaten.

Town continued to chase the game despite having only 10 players and Rachubka did well to punch the ball away under pressure from a Jenkins corner and the ball was cleared. The referee continued to annoy both sets of supporters with some erratic decision making as the teams tried to play football. He again antagonised the crowd with another howler in the 76^th minute which saw a promising Town attack halted for a foul but the referee allowed the culprit to go unpunished!

Grant Smith entered the fray in the 78^th minute when he replaced David Duke and he was involved in some good attacking play with some excellent crosses which almost saw Sodje score an own goal when he sliced the ball just wide of the goal.

The referee evened up the numbers in the 86^th minute when he sent off the ironically named Lee Fowler for a bad two footed challenge on Grant Smith on the halfway line. 

There were thoughts of 'and Smith must score' as he charged towards goal with only the keeper to beat and the substitute Grant Smith  did indeed toe-poke the ball home in the 87^th minute to give Town some hope.

Huddersfield resorted to spoiling tactics which eventually saw goalscorer Abbott being cautioned for delaying a free-kick and the referee moved the ball on 10 yards to help Town's cause. Despite some intense Town pressure the visitors defence held firm and the referee blew the full time on another disappointing performance which only saw Town play any creative attacking play in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The result sees the visitors leapfrog Town in the table and Andy King must again concentrate on Town's defensive frailties and a lack of creativity in midfield before this Saturday's home match against Doncaster Rovers.

Swindon Town: Rhys Evans, Jerel Ifil, Sean O'Hanlon, David Duke, Steve Jenkins, Matt Heywood, Matt Hewlett, Steve Robinson, Brian Howard, Sam Parkin, Christian Roberts