Huddersfield Town 2-1 Birmingham City: Neil Warnock moved to tears by winning Terriers return
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Joseph Hungbo's first-half strike was his first goal for Huddersfield
Returning boss Neil Warnock said he had "tears in his eyes" following the reception he got from Huddersfield Town fans before their comeback victory over Birmingham City.
Warnock's second spell as manager got off to the perfect start as they responded to Troy Deeney's early close-range finish to earn a first Championship success from eight games in 2023, thanks to strikes by Joseph Hungbo and Jaheim Headley either side of the break.
"I was really proud of the lads. Every one of them put a shift in. I can't fault anyone. There were people playing out of position and so many changes," Warnock told BBC Radio Leeds after a memorable win - which gives takes the Terriers to within two points of safety.
"Yesterday I could tell in the session that if we could get a result we are not going to just lie down and die. It will still be difficult but it will be difficult for the teams we play.
"I had tears in my eyes before the game. I couldn't believe that [the reception]. I came back a few weeks ago and got such a good reception and that was probably one of the reasons I decided to try and help."
The 74-year-old look emotional after an enthusiastic pre-match welcome when he was reintroduced to the home fans 28 years after his first spell, but the positivity was short-lived as Deeney bundled the ball in via his thigh from Juninho Bacuna's in-swinging cross after just six minutes to put Blues ahead.
Huddersfield responded impressively though, as a line-up featuring seven changes from the midweek defeat against Stoke City played with the sort of passion so typical of a Warnock side.
The hosts hit the bar through Etienne Camara after an error by keeper John Ruddy and then levelled thanks to on-loan Watford winger Hungbo's first goal in Town colours - a stunning curling strike into the top corner following a swift counter-attack to make it 1-1 after an even first half.
Chances followed at both ends before the interval, Bacuna forcing a fine save from keeper Nicholas Bilokapic for the visitors, while at the other end Jack Rudoni was unable to finish on the follow-up after Headley's shot was saved.
Veteran Blues striker Deeney hit the woodwork soon after the restart, before Headley followed Hungbo in grabbing his first goal for Town, to make it 2-1 when he latched on to Bilokapic's long punt forward and coolly beat Ruddy.
Both sides then had chances in an increasingly open game,
Deeney wasted a glorious opening, shooting wastefully over the bar from close range after more great work from Bacuna, while at the other end, Blues twice had to scramble the ball off the line to stay in the game, Danny Ward and Matt Lowton the men denied.
And although the hosts could not extend their lead and had to defend for much of 14 minutes of added time following injuries to Deeney midfielder Krystian Bielik, they survived to claim a first league win since beating Rotherham on 29 December.
Warnock says experience matters
Supporters showed their support for Warnock throughout
A thrilled Warnock praise his side's spirit and commitment.
"I loved it when Etienne Camara got blood on his face," he added. "You have to go through things like that. You have to make sacrifices but the rewards are greater.
"Every one the fans have gone home happy, and every one of the players now believes. That's a big thing and that's why I am in the game and why I came back. I owed Huddersfield something because I didn't really want to leave when I left but it was something I couldn't tolerate.
"It's not all young'uns. Yes young'uns are good [but] experience does count for a bit."
Birmingham City manager John Eustace told BBC WM 95.6:
"I'm really disappointed we didn't come away with at least a draw. The lads showed some good battling qualities.
"We knew it was going to be very difficult, we limited them to few chances and we had the better chances.
"You can see we're fighting, we're doing the right things and on another day we could have scored three or four and been on the reverse side of a good result.
"We keep working hard, we keep sticking together, and hopefully we'll get back on the straight and narrow."