The disappointment, the missing man, the difference between home and away ... the story of Huddersfield Town 2 Rotherham United 0

The rumbling throb of maintenance machines as grounds staff went to work was the backdrop to Matt Taylor's after-match press conference held by the players' tunnel at the John Smith's Stadium.

The radio reporter checked his levels, the written gang pressed their voice recorders a little nearer the manager's mouth.

Despite his increase in volume, Taylor had little to shout about.

His Rotherham United side had gone into the international break on a wave of optimism following a superb win over Norwich City; they had come out of it to be concerningly inferior in the Yorkshire derby against a Huddersfield Town side expected to spend the season in the lower reaches of the table.

After six matches of the Championship campaign a pattern is developing: the Millers are a match for anyone on home territory and a match for no-one on their travels.

“We were never in control of the game,” said Taylor. “We conceded too many counter-attacks in the first half. In the second, we were second best too often. There was more physicality from the opposition.”

Rotherham went into Saturday's clash depleted by new injures and the absence of playmaker Cafu was a blow from which they couldn't recover.That they picked up no new knocks in West Yorkshire was hollow comfort for the boss.

“It might be a reflection on our performance, in all honesty,” he said. “There weren't enough tackles or full-blooded moments where we put our bodies on the line. When we did, we came out second best.”

THE MATCH

Taylor stood, arms folded, taciturn. There was about as much expression on his face as there was in his team's display.

Huddersfield had just doubled their lead in the 70th minute. From back to front in a matter of seconds; game over.

It's hard enough to come back from 1-0 down against a Neil Warnock team. From 2-0? Forget it. It was a long final half-hour for Rotherham's near-2,000-strong following.

“The second goal has killed us,” the manager said. “It came out of nothing. It was another long ball and a couple of lost contacts.

“At 2-0 you are chasing the game and you become a little disjointed. Players are slightly out of their preferred positions. We had moments but they weren't sustained for long enough for us to have more pressure.”

Town led on 18 minutes when Sorba Thomas crossed from the right and former Millers loanee Josh Koroma was at the back post to direct the ball home.In the second half, Koroma returned the favour from the left and his teammate raced in to end the contest with a one-touch finish.

“The goals are so, so frustrating,” Taylor said. “Life is so much more difficult when you're chasing a game. It's the first time we haven't scored this season but also we're nowhere near keeping a clean sheet.”

As he held court two groundsmen worked in tandem, pushing deep towards goal, coming back to the halfway line and then repeating the process, much like Town strikers Delano Burgzorg and Kian Harratt that had done earlier as Huddersfield repeatedly caught Rotherham on the break.

“We saw the team sheet with no Danny Ward on it and we thought they had lost a bit of physicality at the top of the pitch," the boss said. "But their front two really worked our centre-halves. They never gave them a second's peace.”

Town had opened the scoring while Cohen Bramall was lying hurt on the turf and the ball was crossed from the exact spot the left-back would have been occupying had he been on his feet.

Juvenile defending from the Millers had seen the ball remain in play and Taylor said: "It epitomises where we are at the moment. We can say we were a little unlucky but we played a huge part in our own downfall.

“We had the opportunity to clear the ball on numerous occasions. We were a man down and we did not see out that moment.”

Rotherham were almost level on the stroke of half-time as Fred Onyedinma's swift turn and snap-shot brought a sharp save from Terriers goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

The same player headed against the bar as the visitors enjoyed their best spell of the game at the start of the second half but it wouldn't be until the 84th minute that they truly threatened again.

The tame header Tom Eaves directed straight at Nicholls when he had all the net to aim at summed up a dispiriting afternoon.

Rotherham had possession but little penetration and Town would have won by a greater margin had Thomas, Burgzorg and Harratt not been so wasteful.

Millers old boy Wiles, showing up well on his home debut for his new employers, was another of the culprits, bending a first-half shot off target when he would have fancied himself to have tucked it away.

A different midfielder was on Taylor's mind

“It would have been the perfect game for ‘Caf’ to be in there just to settle things down and get the ball where we wanted it,” he said.

THE NEW BOY

With a nimble skip and a sweet delivery, the new arrival he showed what he can bring to the team.

It was Sam Clucas who put the ball exactly where Eaves had wanted it and from where the striker should have done much better.

The game was gone by the time the free-agent signing came on but his cameo showed deftness in his touch and in his thinking.

“His cross was one of our few moments in the second half,” Taylor said. “We know we have got to get more sharpness into him. He added a little bit more control when the match was a little bit more chaotic.”

With that, the manager headed back inside. Still the mowers whirred away in the background.

A check on the Millers levels. Not high enough.

Huddersfield (3-5-2): Lee Nicholls; Matty Pearson, Michal Helik, Josh Ruffels; Sorba Thomas (David Kasumu 88), Jack Rudoni, Jonathan Hogg (Rarmani Edmonds-Green 55), Ben Wiles, Josh Koroma (Brahima Diarra 76); Delano Burgzorg (Jaheim Headley 76), Kian Harratt (Kyle Hudlin 76). Subs not used: Chris Maxwell, Pat Jones, Ben Jackson, Yuta Nakayama.

Rotherham (4-3-3): Viktor Johansson; Dexter Lembikisa, Cameron Humphreys, Tyler Blackett, Cohen Bramall; Hakeem Odoffin (Arvin Appiah 55), Christ Tiehi, Ollie Rathbone (Sam Clucas 75); Fred Onyedinma, Jordan Hugill (Tom Eaves 75), Andre Green (Sam Nombe 75). Subs not used: Dillon Phillips, Hamish Douglas, Sebastian Revan, Georgie Kelly, Ciaran McGuckin.

Goals: Koroma 18, Thomas 70 (Huddersfield).

Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire).

Attendance: 19,050 (1,937).