Lee Grant admits Huddersfield Town contributed to their own downfall in Bolton loss

The Terriers were beaten 2-1 by Bolton Wanderers

Huddersfield Town boss Lee Grant acknowledged that his side were “punished in the worst way” for a below-par second-half performance in their dramatic 2-1 loss to Bolton Wanderers.

The Terriers had been on course to take all three points from Thursday’s encounter at the Accu Stadium, with Leo Castledine’s early header putting them ahead for most of the contest.

However, Town were unable to hold on, as Sam Dalby and Amario Cozier-Duberry both struck in stoppage time to consign the hosts to a painful defeat.

Grant conceded that his side had contributed to their own downfall with their performance after the break, where they registered just one shot.

Reflecting on the defeat, the manager told HTTV: “About as tough an end to a game as you can get. About as sore as we can feel, about as angry, disappointed and upset as we can feel.

“The emotion in the stadium, on the pitch, on the side, I think we’re all shared in that emotion. When you lose a game in that fashion, it really hurts, it stings, you can’t hide from that.

“There will be a sense for all of us that the second-half performance leads to where we end up in the game, and that’s a real disappointment, because the first half we didn’t show any signs of that, and the second half we stray away from the things that we hold dear, our values, the things that served us really well in the first half, and we’re punished in the worst way for it.

“Do I feel like the group were trying? Yes I do. I feel like they wanted to win that game so badly that perhaps it affected the mentality, and how we went about that second half, and therein lies the lesson for us as a group.

“There’s no doubt about it, this is going to be one of the most painful ones we have, and can have. For us as staff, for the players themselves collectively, of course individually as well, there’s no doubt about it, you have to be ready, honest and open to look at it, and to take it firmly on the chin.

“Conversation yes, work yes, open and honesty yes, all of those things are important, because to come away from the things that you did so well in the first period, that’s probably the biggest disappointment I think for all of us as a group.”

The result leaves the Terriers eighth in the League One table, on 19 points from 12 matches played. Meanwhile, Wanderers leapfrogged Town into seventh with their win, with Steven Schumacher’s side moving onto 20 points after 13 games.

Town started the season by taking 12 points from their opening five matches, but have now picked up seven points from their last seven games, leaving them two points adrift of the top six prior to tomorrow’s fixtures.

The Terriers will return to action at Wycombe Wanderers next weekend, but Grant confirmed that his side would be back to work straight away as they look to get back on track.

“We’ll be in tomorrow (Friday) to make sure that we look at this. We don’t waste any time in hiding or shying away from the things that we do well, and we have to be the same when things don’t go our way,” the Terriers’ boss said.

“Very quickly we have to be in, we have to look at it, we have to really be honest about why we end up in a 93 and 95 (the timing of the two goals), two situations that we shouldn’t be in, and we have to make sure we put that right.”