DARREN Moore felt a draw was the least his Huddersfield Town side deserved against Middlesbrough - and was gutted for goalkeeper Jacob Chapman whose "fairytale" was ruined late on.
Chapman is Moore's third-choice keeper and was handed his first Town start after Lee Nicholls and Chris Maxwell picked up injuries. The 23-year-old's debut looked set to be a memorable one after he superbly kept out Jonny Howson's late penalty, only for the Boro captain to score the winner from the resulting corner.
Moore was frustrated with the manner of the winning goal but otherwise had no complaints with what he felt was a fine Huddersfield performance. The Terriers looked the more likely winners after Michal Helik had cancelled out Josh Coburn's opener before Howson's late strike.
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Moore said: “I didn’t envisage us being on the losing side after that performance.
“But that’s football and the players have to keep their heads up. What is doing Huddersfield Town are small lapses in concentration.
“I thought it was a really good game and credit to the players for the performance. It was fine margins. It was a difficult game, but the performance was there.
“When the performance is there, the result is never too far away. We were in control of the game and took the game to the opposition. What has done us is a split-second of concentration.
“We didn’t get a first-time contact and a second regain. He didn’t get first-time contact and if he got a clean contact, it goes over. But it hit the ground and went in off the bar.
“I can only speak on behalf of the players that it was an outstanding full-stretch save. There was nothing wrong with the penalty. That’s what we were all gutted for after. On a night when the fairytale line was for Chappers, it was not to be."
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