Huddersfield Town have no excuses for FA Cup humiliation

This would have been embarrassing even without the live BBC Two cameras beaming the Terriers' awful showing into living rooms across the country

Congratulations to Tamworth first of all, and congratulations to the BBC selectors who successfully identified Huddersfield Town as the perfect mugs for a dramatic and memorable FA Cup encounter.

Those compliments are the only ones we can hand out. Town deserve none. The faces of the players and staff as they came back out of the dressing room to depart the stadium amid Tamworth’s ongoing celebrations were universally red, frustrated and embarrassed. So they should be.

FA Cup upsets can happen, but nothing about the nature of this defeat gives Town any solace that they were simply undone by its famous magic. Town were poor from the beginning and got worse in an absolutely moribund performance.

They managed just one more shot on target than opponents sitting in mid-table two divisions below them — and Tamworth’s winner didn’t even require a shot.

It’s not like Tamworth are the next Wrexham or Stockport in waiting. Speaking to the locals before the game, it was evident that Tamworth are still pinching themselves at the speed of their ascent back up to the National League. There was a touch of impostor syndrome evident among the fans about competing in the fifth tier, let alone beating a team with aspirations of climbing back into the second.

For it all to happen live on terrestrial TV only adds to Town’s embarrassment. Unfortunately, fans will have to endure an even greater than usual level of mockery from those sensible enough to support other teams.