Match ends, Huddersfield Town 1, Wigan Athletic 0.
Huddersfield Town 1-0 Wigan Athletic
- From the section Championship
Midfielder Adam Clayton's late strike gave Huddersfield a narrow victory over fellow mid-table side Wigan.
Clayton fired in his fourth goal of the season, beating away goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi at his near post with a 20-yard strike five minutes from time.
Wigan had looked set to register a sixth clean sheet in eight league games until the former Leeds player struck.
Huddersfield's Oliver Norwood had hit the bar with a 40-yard free-kick four minutes before Clayton's winner.
The home side, boosted by the return of striker James Vaughan from a knee injury, dominated the early exchanges.
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A goal-line clearance from James McArthur kept out Tommy Smith's header before Vaughan twice narrowly failed to connect with teasing crosses from Adam Hammill.
Wigan, who have now failed to score in their past three away games, grew into the match, with loan signing Martyn Waghorn providing their brighter moments.
But he was first involved in a bizarre incident on 14 minutes when, affected by the wind, he kicked the flag instead of the ball at a corner.
Referee Mark Brown insisted the corner be taken again, much to the disgust of Norwood, who was lucky not to be booked for dissent.
Marc Antoine-Fortune hit the top of the bar with a shot from Waghorn's pass after 52 minutes before Waghorn himself twice went close.
The on-loan Leicester player first hit the side-netting from close range when Fortune put him in, then blazed over from McArthur's cross.
At the other end, substitute Danny Ward grazed the side-netting with a near-post shot from Norwood's diagonal through-ball.
But Ward's introduction turned the tide in Town's favour and they began to dominate, with Clayton and Norwood coming in their own in the closing stages.
Huddersfield manager Mark Robins:
"I am delighted with the win because the conditions were so tough.
"At times it looked like no one had played the game before but I thought what quality there was on show came from us.
"The game was just strange and surreal and the conditions dictated it."
Wigan manager Uwe Rosler:
"I am as happy as I can be having lost the game. Huddersfield caused us big problems but we coped very well in difficult circumstances.
"We had more chances and more possession and we restricted them to shots from long distances.
"I felt the wrong team won. If we play like that we will win more than we lose."
Line-ups
Huddersfield
- 1Smithies
- 12Hammill
- 3Dixon
- 33LynchBooked at 67mins
- 39Gerrard
- 27Smith
- 6Hogg
- 8Clayton
- 21WellsSubstituted forWardat 61'minutes
- 9Vaughan
- 4Norwood
Substitutes
- 2Woods
- 5Clarke
- 7Scannell
- 11Ward
- 13Bennett
- 16Southern
- 18Lolley
Wigan
- 26Al-Habsi
- 24Perch
- 3Crainey
- 14Gómez García-PencheSubstituted forMcCannat 82'minutes
- 17Boyce
- 25Barnett
- 33WaghornSubstituted forMcManamanat 71'minutes
- 8Watson
- 32Fortuné
- 16McArthurSubstituted forMaynardat 88'minutes
- 22Beausejour
Substitutes
- 4McEachran
- 7McCann
- 11McClean
- 13Nicholls
- 15McManaman
- 18Espinoza
- 29Maynard
- Referee:
- Mark Brown
- Attendance:
- 15,576
Match Stats
Home TeamHuddersfieldAway TeamWigan
- Possession
- Home45%
- Away55%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away12
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away1
- Corners
- Home12
- Away13
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away12
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Huddersfield Town 1, Wigan Athletic 0.
James Perch (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Vaughan (Huddersfield Town).
Paul Dixon (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Callum McManaman (Wigan Athletic).
Foul by Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic).
Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ben Watson (Wigan Athletic).
Oliver Norwood (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Wigan Athletic. Nicky Maynard replaces James McArthur.
Leon Barnett (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Vaughan (Huddersfield Town).
Offside, Wigan Athletic. Chris McCann tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.
Goal!
Goal! Huddersfield Town 1, Wigan Athletic 0. Adam Clayton (Huddersfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Emmerson Boyce.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Ben Watson.
Attempt blocked. Adam Clayton (Huddersfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Oliver Norwood.
Substitution
Substitution, Wigan Athletic. Chris McCann replaces Jordi Gómez.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Callum McManaman.
Oliver Norwood (Huddersfield Town) hits the bar with a right footed shot from more than 35 yards from a direct free kick.
Foul by James McArthur (Wigan Athletic).
Adam Clayton (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Oliver Norwood (Huddersfield Town) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Daniel Ward.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Stephen Crainey.
Offside, Huddersfield Town. Joel Lynch tries a through ball, but James Vaughan is caught offside.
Offside, Wigan Athletic. Ali Al-Habsi tries a through ball, but Marc-Antoine Fortuné is caught offside.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by James McArthur.
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Leon Barnett.
Leon Barnett (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Vaughan (Huddersfield Town).
Substitution
Substitution, Wigan Athletic. Callum McManaman replaces Martyn Waghorn.
Attempt missed. Daniel Ward (Huddersfield Town) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Oliver Norwood with a cross.
Foul by Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic).
Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Booking
Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Marc-Antoine Fortuné (Wigan Athletic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Joel Lynch (Huddersfield Town).
Corner, Huddersfield Town. Conceded by Stephen Crainey.
Attempt blocked. Daniel Ward (Huddersfield Town) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Oliver Norwood.