Huddersfield climbed to second place in the table after last night's 2-1 win against local rivals Bradford City at Valley Parade. The visitors opened the scoring through Mark Hudson's brilliant free kick on 21 minutes, but former Celtic midfielder Bobby Petta drew the Bantams level with a stunning free kick of his own ten minutes before the interval. The winner came in the 89th minute when Andy Booth struck the 100th league goal of his career to give the Terriers all three points - and givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with Huddersfield's match winner the morning after the night before.
Q:HOW WERE YOU FEELING THIS MORNING?
A:I've got a few aches and pains that seem to take me a little longer to recover from these days – but I'm fine. You always tend to feel better when you've just had a good result and that is a fantastic result for us. You could see by the reaction of the players and the fans at the end just what it means to the club. It was great to get my 100th goal too - it was probably one of my better ones.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED WITH THE WIN?
A:Very much so, we lost both games against Bradford last season so we were keen to make amends for that. As far as the fans are concerned, this is the most important local derby of the season for them, so it was nice to be on the winning side. It was a great atmosphere last night and I thought both sides played some good stuff.
Q:HAVING PLAYED FOR BRADFORD FOR SO MANY YEARS, I IMAGINE YOUR BOSS PETER JACKSON WAS A HAPPY MAN AFTER THE GAME?
A:He was absolutely delighted, as we all were. We felt that we had dropped two points against Bournemouth last week so it was important to get back to winning ways and keep in touch with the sides at the top of the table.
Q:YOU SEEMED TO HAVE A GREAT PHYSICAL BATTLE WITH DAVID WETHERALL LAST NIGHT?
A:Yes it was good contest and he's always a tough player to play against because he's so experienced. He's had a great career, and played at the highest level, so it was always going to be a tough night for me. To be honest, he has normally come out best in our games in the past so it was nice for me to get on the scoresheet.
Q:IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT YOU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST SENIOR PLAYER IN THE SIDE THIS SEASON?
A:Yes, I probably am. We've got a really young side, with an average age of around 21, but, despite their ages, they are all still quite experienced because they have been in the side for the last two or three years. If we can keep this squad of players together I think the next couple of years could be exciting times for Huddersfield because these young players are just getting better and better.
Q:THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT YOUR STRIKE PARTNER PAWEL ABBOTT PLAYING AT A HIGHER LEVEL, HOW GOOD IS HE?
A:He's an exceptional player and his goal record since he joined the club is phenomenal. He's one of the best finishers I have ever played with and it's almost like you wouldn't be surprised if he scored in every game – he's that good. If we can manage to keep hold of him I'm sure he will score 25 to 30 goals this season.
