Preston North End travel to face the Terriers of West Yorkshire first the 42nd time in league competition at the weekend and our fifth of those games at what is now the John Smith’s Stadium.
Overall, in our previous 83 league encounters – home and away – we are two wins behind our Roses rivals, with 30 wins to their 32, since our first meeting back in October 1912, when the two sides shared the points in a 1-1 draw.
Since Huddersfield moved to their new home at the start of end of the last century, PNE have not picked up a win at the new venue, their last coming at the old Leeds Road ground back in 1992, a game we feature below.
The Roses rivalry was huge in the first half of this century, twice facing Town in FA Cup Finals, the first a victory for them in 1922 and the Lilywhites gaining revenge thanks to George Mutch’s penalty in the last minute of extra-time in 1938.
Our biggest away win against the Terriers was in 1955, when Tommy Docherty, Bobby Foster and brace from Jimmy Baxter gave the Lilywhites both points in a game Sir Tom Finney was a major tormentor.
But back to the first day of February 1992, when North End, under Les Chapman made their penultimate trip to Leeds Road looking for three points.
It had been a tough start to the year for Chapman’s men, not picking up a point as they headed across the Pennines to face a side who had been in superb form at home all season – the old pools coupon would have had it down for a guaranteed home win!
But rather than trying to stifle their hosts and get in their two banks of four, the yellows took it to their opponents and patience paid off with two late goals.
The first, on 73 minutes saw Tim Clarke in the Terriers’ goal struggling with a back complaint and he let Lee Ashcroft’s angled drive through his fingers and Graham Shaw gleefully knock home from close range.
And eight minutes later the lead was doubled as Lee Cartwright found the goal with a clean strike that even a fully fit goalkeeper would have found difficult to keep out.
Prolific former Welsh forward Iwan Roberts pulled one back for the home side to set up a nerve-jangling finale, but the Lilywhites held out to claim a famous victory, with goalkeeper Simon Farnworth the man of the match to end a run of six straight defeats.