Five conclusions: Jon Worthington changes turn game against Mansfield

The Terriers showed signs of improvement but remained unconvincing in the first half, only to come good after the break thanks to some canny tweaks

1. The result was everything

There’s no doubting that Huddersfield Town rode their luck a bit here. Mansfield had the majority of the presentable chances, but wasted all but one of them.

Given the Terriers’ tendency to collapse after going behind, we fear for what might have happened if Will Evans had put away the two sitters he missed early in either half, or if Jordan Rhodes had headed home a chance he was disappointed to miss.

Having established their two-goal lead, Town made the seven minutes of injury time more nerve-racking than we all would have liked thanks to the visitors’ late goal from a set piece — the second game in a row Town have conceded from a dead ball, having shipped just three all season previously.

But thankfully, Town put away their two best chances, meaning Mansfield’s late strike made no difference. It’s a good job they did, and not just because the fans in the Cowshed had already made their feelings clear with their pre-match banners.

The other results elsewhere meant that if Town had lost this game, re-entering the top six would be close to beyond them. Instead, they have stayed within touching distance and earned themselves a result they can build on.

It wasn’t a stellar or memorable performance by any means, but given the week they’d just been through, we didn’t expect it to be. We do expect them to push on and show a bit more from here, but the three points are everything for now.

2. Jon Worthington got exactly what he wanted from the goals