Huddersfield 0-1 Burton: Jackson Irvine scores late winner

Jackson Irvine scored a dramatic goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Burton secured an unlikely 1-0 victory at promotion-chasing Huddersfield.

The Australian international came off the bench in the second half and was in the right place to claim a precious three points.

Burton came to defend and failed to create a single chance in the first 45 minutes. But after Town captain Dean Whitehead was sent off in the 88th minute there were six minutes of added time and Burton took advantage to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation.

Town had won seven of their previous nine home games and the visitors, with a draw in each of their last three away games, put nine men behind the ball. Huddersfield left their two top scorers - Elias Kachunga and Nahki Wells - on the bench.

Chris Lowe crossed for Joe Lolley but his finish bobbled wide off his shins and Tommy Smith forced a low near-post save from Jon McLaughlin. Aaron Mooy tried to thread a way through and he set Lowe away again down the left. He found Jack Payne but his strike was deflected.

Lolley ran at the heart of the Burton defence but stabbed wide and as frustrations grew there were some late tackles and tensions between rival players. Referee Scott Duncan upset both sides with his decisions.

Rajiv van La Parra's ran down the left at the start of the second half. He burst away down the wing and was brought down by Kyle McFadzean, who was booked. Mooy's free-kick was deflected out with Michael Hefele set to pounce.

Burton had their first chance of the game in the 51st minute when Marvin Sordell beat his man and turned to run into the box. He tried to curl his shot into the far corner but his effort lacked power.

Town replaced Payne and Lolley with Wells and Kachunga in the 55th minute and Burton also became more adventurous, bringing on top scorer Irvine.

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Hefele's long ball was weighted perfectly for Wells on the run but his first touch was poor. Van La Parra fired wide and then missed a great chance when he scuffed his shot from close range.

Irvine won the ball in midfield and Tom Flanagan smashed in a shot which struck goalkeeper Danny Ward and McFadzean lashed the rebound wide.

The game ended in dramatic fashion with Hefele having a header cleared off the line by McFadzean. That sparked a confrontation between players from both sides. After the referee restored order Whitehead saw red for a second bookable offence.

Just when it seemed Burton had achieved the point they came for they got a breakaway deep into stoppage time. Sordell broke away from Lowe on the left and rolled a pass across the box for Irvine to fire past Ward to inflict a second successive defeat on Huddersfield.

Huddersfield boss David Wagner:

"We showed a lack of quality and we have made too many wrong decisions. It was a clear penalty and a clear foul, but saying that sounds like an excuse and I don't want to look for excuses.

"Against a difficult opponent an early goal would have helped. In the end we gave them a few counter-attacks and they have scored. The players tried everything."

Burton boss Nigel Clough:

"There's a lot of euphoria in the dressing room. I don't think anyone gave us a chance. It's a big win but by no means a defining win which means we will stay up. It's a great start to the week when we said anything we got from these next three games would be a bonus.

"After scoring for his country, Jackson was desperate to play. But having flown from Iraq to the UK and to Sydney and back again and having played two games it was too much to expect him to start. Anybody who has been on a long flight will know how tired you are. If he had been on at the start he would probably have been too tired to make that run to score."