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Huddersfield 1-2 Fulham: Watch the highlights of Jan Siewert's final game in charge of the Terriers

By Tom Carnduff

23:41 · FRI August 16, 2019

26% of teams who have been relegated from the Premier League secure an immediate return the following season.

Newcastle were the last side to do it as they won the Sky Bet Championship title in 2016; Burnley and Hull also bounced back the year before.

If you were asked to make a judgement on Huddersfield's chances based on the evidence of their 2-1 defeat to Fulham in wet West Yorkshire conditions on Friday night, many wouldn't back them to add to the 21 teams included in the above percentage.

Of course, we're incredibly early into the 2019/20 campaign. 43 games remain for these two sides; plenty of time to make amends for a team who looked disjointed in their attempts to secure all three points on offer.

While this one result may appear insignificant in the grand scheme of a season; it was a definitive moment in Jan Siewert's short managerial career.

The Terriers' 171-day wait for victory goes on. Their 1-0 win over Wolves back on February 26 being the only success in Siewert's reign; his win percentage now drops below 5%.

NOTE: Jan Siewert was sacked following the publication of this article on Friday night - read more here.

Jan Siewert hands out instructions

It could have been different with Town certainly being the happier of the two sides during the early proceedings.

Florent Hadergjonaj and Terence Kongolo enjoyed opportunities to attack from wing-back while Lewis O'Brien proved himself to be a nuisance for the opposition defence.

O'Brien and Alex Pritchard were the duo asking the questions. They saw multiple shots blocked in the area; unable to convert chances created by nice link-up play through the midfield.

At the other end, Fulham boast the best attacking trio in this division on paper. Aleksandar Mitrovic, flanked by Anthony Knockaert and Ivan Cavaleiro, created opportunities and tested Kamil Grabara in the Huddersfield net.

A tame half closed with neither side doing enough to go ahead. The Town faithful were urging their side on as the teams headed into the tunnel.

Minutes into the second-half, the home end were silenced as another defensive disaster from the Terriers handed Fulham the opener.

Aleksandar Mitrovic puts Fulham ahead against Huddersfield

Cavaleiro's harmless touch inside the area was shanked needlessly across goal by Juninho Bacuna; Mitrovic was alert and rose above Tommy Elphick to nod the ball in from yards out.

The goal saw Fulham find their rhythm. Yet, against the run of play, and probably against home expectation, Karlan Grant put the hosts level.

Hadergjonaj's run down the right ended with a cross into the box. The header was far from easy by the striker, and while it appeared that Marcus Bettinelli had done enough to keep it out, the goal line technology showed the ball had crossed the line by a matter of millimeters.

Big things are expected of loan goalkeeper Grabara by his parent club Liverpool and he demonstrated his quality to prevent the visitors re-taking the lead.

Knockaert was played through one-on-one; only to be denied by the Terriers stopper who did enough to prevent the ball being chipped over him from inside the area.

Frustration started to creep in from both sides. The home fans felt like they were on the wrong end of decisions from the referee while Mitrovic was unhappy with his treatment from the opposition defence.

Scott Parker's introduction of Bobby Decordova-Reid was a sign of the balance of play. The visitors looked the more likely to score next and Parker was doing what he could to boost their chances of a result.

Ivan Cavaleiro scores Fulham's winner against Huddersfield

Moments later, the Cottagers were back ahead. A move that began thanks to Cavaleiro's strong touch on halfway was finished by the forward inside the area.

Steven Sessegnon, making his league debut exactly three years to the day after brother Ryan's first league appearance in a Fulham shirt, whipped in a cross which was brought down by Mitrovic, he found Cairney who slipped it to Cavaleiro and the Wolves loanee stroked the ball into the top corner with a wonderful curling effort.

It was nothing less than they deserved. Huddersfield carried a small threat with no real end product; Fulham on the other hand were unlucky not to have more than the two goals on their tally.

Mitrovic's battle with the defenders continued. Despite a positive performance from the Serbia international, his poor theatrics late on failed to deceive the match officials.

Battling two opponents in the corner, Mitrovic suggested he'd received a boot to the face. Unfortunately for him, a televised game tends to have cameras covering all angles and it showed an act of simulation as opposed to a red card offence.

Huddersfield's attempts to grab an equaliser were almost non-existent. A supporter throwing the ball back at Siewert was hardly malicious, but the facial expression reflected the mood of the stadium.

Town's last throw of the dice saw Grabara charge up the field for a late free-kick, such is the desperation for victory, but it came to nothing. Boos greeted the full-time whistle again as Huddersfield's miserable start to the campaign goes on.

Just what new Terriers chairman Phil Hodgkinson will do in regards to Siewert remains to be seen. A decision for him to stay or go will undoubtedly be a point of discussion in the immediate aftermath of the result; and the majority of Town fans are likely hoping for the latter of those two outcomes.

Huddersfield 1-2 Fulham: Watch the highlights of Jan Siewert's final game in charge of the Terriers

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