Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
The John Smith's Stadium
Saturday 24th August 2019

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 5 hours 30 minutes.  As this was another of the free coach trips, we left home at 8:30am for the coach pick-up at 9am.  We arrived at 2pm after a 45-minute stop for a KFC lunch at Woodall Services.

Ticket Price: £30

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 21,847 with 680 Reading fans.

This was my first visit to the John Smith's Stadium and we had again arrived in good time to have a proper look around the ground.  The weather was perfect, blue sky, sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20s which isn't always the case for August bank holiday weekend!  After listening to a band outside the club shop, we had a quick look inside before stopping and talking to a Huddersfield fan whose daughter had moved down to Reading.  We had tickets in the away end, The Absorbz Stand which is a single-tiered all-seater stand behind one of the goals which is shared with home supporters.  The view from the front of the stand was good, as was the leg room. 

To the left of the Absorbz Stand is the Revell Ward Stand.  This two-tiered all-seater stand is the main stand at the John Smith's Stadium and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the Absorbz Stand is the Absolute Media Stand which is another two-tiered all-seater stand and to the right of the Absorbz Stand is the LV=Britannia Rescue Stand which is a single-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Huddersfield fans seemed to congregate, although there was good noise coming from all four stands.

The first-half was dominated by Huddersfield, however they have carried on their poor form since relegation from the Premier League and were unable to convert any of the numerous chances they created.

The second-half was a different story with Reading growing into the game and becoming confident they could pick something up from the game.  Andy Yiadom was unlikely not to open the scoring as his close-range shot cannoned off the bar after good work from John Swift.  It wasn't long before Reading took the lead through as Ovie Ejaria played a neat one-two with Swift before slotting passed Kamil Grabara in the Huddersfield goal.  The lead was doubled with five minutes remaining as Michael Morrison rose highest to head home from Swift's right-wing corner.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was amazing.  The Huddersfield fans really made some noise throughout the game and it was one of the loudest grounds I think I've ever been to.  The atmosphere in the away end wasn't bad but really wasn't able to cope with the home fans until towards the end of the game when it was clear that Reading would be picking up all three points.  

Journey Time home: 4 hours 30 minutes.  The coach left around 5pm and dropped us into town at 9:15pm after a quick 20 minute stop at Warwick Services for some food.  It was about a 15 minute walk home so we were home just after 9:30pm.

I really enjoyed my trip to Huddersfield.  The stadium is excellent, atmosphere electric and we picked up an away win.  The stadium is however very open to the elements, so as enjoyable as a trip in the middle of summer was, I can imagine that it may be pretty uncomfortable in winter, especially as there is no concourse as such, just an open area at the back of the stand.  Reading played really well against a team that's just been relegated and I'm hopeful that we can push on this season and avoid a relegation battle.