Danny Ward scored a much-needed second-half winner as Huddersfield claimed a shock 1–0 Championship win at play-off chasing Millwall, bringing the struggling team closer to safety.
This was just the Terriers’ third away win of the season and just their second win since manager Neil Warnock began his second term in charge last February.
They are now four points behind Rotherham, fourth from bottom, with eight games remaining in the season and with renewed hope in their battle to survive before the international break.
On the other hand, this was a huge missed opportunity for Millwall as they saw their lead over seventh-placed Norwich cut to three points.
It took just five minutes for the hosts to carve out the first big chance of the game when Andreas Voglsammer deflected Murray Wallace’s shot from the left high.
The German midfielder should have hit the mark, but Huddersfield goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik sprang into action early on when he deflected Charlie Cresswell’s effort.
Vaclik then had to be on his toes again to block Tom Bradshaw’s shot from point-blank range, following some good footwork down the right from Cresswell.
Huddersfield nearly took the lead against the course of play after 19 minutes when Jack Rudoni’s shot from the edge of the box needed a deflection by Millwall goalkeeper George Long.
Zian Flemming had been relatively quiet for the Lions in the first half hour, but came close to adding to his tally when he fired wide from outside the box.
The visitors will have been happy enough to see Cresswell shoot harmlessly from distance, but they needed Vaclik to hold parity yet again in first-half stoppage time by avoiding a Voglsammer shot.
There was still time before half-time for the Terriers to overturn a penalty appeal when Josh Koroma went down in the box under a challenge from Danny McNamara.
Millwall struggled to create chances so regularly after half time, with a long-range effort from Flemming flying indicative of how restricted they were now.
Huddersfield then took the lead in the 67th minute when Ward, who replaced the injured Martyn Waghorn late in the first half, attacked Ben Jackson’s cross at the near post and deflected his shot past Long.
The Lions continued to stammer as they searched for an equalizer, with a substitute of their own, Oliver Burke, firing wide after cutting in from the right.
The closest the home side came to breaking the Terriers’ hearts was in the seventh minute of stoppage time when one of their former players, Scott Malone, hit the bar with a cross from the left wing.
