Michael Duff relieved to see Huddersfield come out on top at Stevenage

Huddersfield manager Michael Duff felt a mixture of relief and pleasure after beating Stevenage 2-1 to return to winning ways in League One.

Callum Marshall put Town ahead after three minutes and although Brandon Hanlan equalised eight minutes later, Nigel Lonwijk headed the winner in the 24th minute.

Town stay fifth having put two disappointing defeats behind them and Duff said: “We looked much better and I think if we get the third, we go on and get more.

“Their keeper has made some great saves, Callum Marshall’s gone round him and hit the outside of the post, but we’ve had to dig in and fight.

“We had to ride our luck a little bit, they clipped the bar in the last minute although I don’t think it looked like it was going in.

“But it’s a horrible feeling to have because all it takes is a bounce of the ball or a missed tackle.

“We started the game well, scored a really good goal, and then we got done by a whack down the pitch and an individual error.

“To be fair to Nigel, he’s gone down the other end and won the game.

“It’s been really tough but the players have been fighting and they’ve been trying.

“It looked a little bit more like us.”

For Stevenage, it is another loss at home and one where they will think they should have got at least a point from.

Dan Kemp had a glorious opportunity five minutes after they equalised while Jordan Roberts could only head straight at the keeper when in a good position.

Jamie Reid then clipped the bar in the final minute but manager Alex Revell was frustrated with the result.

He said: “We had ample opportunities in the game but if you make mistakes, you get punished.

“The first goal was really sloppy from our point of view, we didn’t deal with the first contact or the second and then we don’t mark in the box.

“We’d scored a fantastic individual goal to equalise but then we get beat off a set-piece where you have a man to mark but you lose them.

“That comes down to accountability and ownership to make sure your man doesn’t score and to lose it in that fashion isn’t what’s expected.

“We were trying to force a goal but I think the performance was probably summed up with that last 30 seconds.

“You want the ball in the box to go and score an equaliser but we don’t put it in and then the final whistle goes.

“I know Murphy Cooper has pulled off two great saves in the second half but apart from that, I thought we were trying to go forward.”