By Matt Stephens
The match wasn’t without controversy as the Town bench were left outraged by a number of the refereeing decisions, some deemed to have massively impacted the final outcome of the game.
The hosts were the first side to apply real pressure, with the first shot of the game flying past the post leaving Faye Hazelton unfazed in the goal.
The game saw a stoppage for a few minutes as one of the home side’s players received treatment after going down after 13 minutes.
Burnley continued pushing for the opener 18 minutes in, with a tremendous challenge in the box by Beth Ibbotson, keeping Town level.
After 22 minutes the home side opened the scoring, a shot from the edge of the box proving too powerful and finding the back of the net.
The Terriers weren’t behind for long, however, as within just a minute of Burnley scoring Rebecca Beresford’s shot went in off the post after Kate Mallin’s free-kick eventually found her in the box.
Burnley bagged their second of the game after the 31st minute on the counter, with uproar from the Huddersfield bench after the referee blocked Caz Fields, allowing the home side in on goal.
The rest of the first half continued in a similar manner following the controversial goal, with Burnley earning an array of corners but not being able to capitalise on any, meaning Town went into the break 2-1 down.
The second half started as the first finished, with Burnley the more positive of the sides which saw them find their third goal of the afternoon within two minutes of kick off.
Controversy returned in the 54th minute, when Town felt hard-done by after being denied a penalty following claims of a handball in the box by a Burnley player.
Huddersfield really came into it towards the end of the game, playing positive football and creating opportunities, but struggling to be clinical with the final pass.
Beth Ibbotson’s rocket of a free-kick almost halved the deficit in the 86th minute, but the home keeper was able to get behind the effort and send it out for a corner that Town were unable to capitalise on.
Despite a late push to get something out of the game, the final whistle blew condemning the Terriers to a 3-1 loss on the road against a high-flying opposition.
The gruelling fixture list that Huddersfield have dealt with in recent weeks has had a significant impact on the fitness of the players, many of them managing minor knocks as the list of match-fit players continues to become more concerning for the coaching team.
Facing Nottingham Forest at home next, followed by Newcastle away, the girls have some tough fixtures to face and will no doubt give it their all to earn some vital points in the race for survival.
