[Lord Snooty]

Huddersfield Town v Sheffield Wednesday
The Sky Bet Championship Play Offs Semi Final 1st leg
Sunday May 14th - 12:00 ko
at the John Smith's Stadium

Well well well, little old Huddersfield Town have made it to the Play Offs in the Championship for the very first time and will play the sleeping Premier League giants of Sheffield Wednesday. Of course, we have no chance of winning this. We are just a small yapping terrier. But as our beloved head coach keeps reminding us, we are aggressive and we never give up.

A brief history of Sheffield Wednesday's Play Off campaigns: Well obviously for most of the lifespan of the Football League Play Offs, Sheffield Wednesday weren't interested because they were a massive Premier League club.
By the time they made it to their first ever play off, they'd fallen through a couple of relegation trapdoors to what is now called League One, ie the 3rd division. And what's more, they only went and won it!
This was the 2004/05 season. Town had won the 4th division play offs the previous season in Cardiff against Mansfield and we were now in the same league as Wednesday again. We finished 9th this season and they finished 5th, behind Tranmere and Brentford, but one place above the mighty Hartlepool Utd. So Wednesday had a two legged semi against our old play off rivals, Brentford.
A Jon-Paul McGovern goal gave them a slender lead in the home leg to take down to Griffin Park. Was it enough? Yes it was. Goals from Lee Peacock and Chris Brunt put them well in charge of the tie before the Bees got a late consolation and the Owls were on the road to Cardiff to face Hartlepool, who had beaten Tranmere Rovers on penalties.
As I mentioned earlier, they won, but it was a struggle. With eight minutes left in normal time they were 2-1 down to the monkey hangers, but as so often happens with this lot, they got a dodgy penalty and Pools got a red card. Steve McLean scored the penalty and the tie went to extra time where another couple of goals gave Wednesday a 4-2 victory.

And that was their only Play Off campaign until they qualified again last season. Did they win it? Course not, or they wouldn't still be in it now. They got to the final though, playing Hull City and getting beaten 1-0 by that classic strike from Mo Diamé.
This all coming after a two legged tie against Brighton, who finished the first leg with ten men, not through red cards but through dirty Wendy kicking them to bits and having four players leave the field seriously injured. Goals from Ross Wallace and Kieran Lee gave them a 2-0 lead to take to the Amex Stadium. Lewis Dunk put the Seagulls back in the tie, but Wallace equalised on the night soon after and t'Owls saw the match out.

So they've won one final and lost one final. Won one semi final and now it's time to lose a semi final.                  

A brief history of Huddersfield Town's Play Off campaigns: We Town fans are more experienced in the heart pounding, palm sweating, underpant staining play offs than our friends from the Sausage Cottage (is that still there?   ). We are three time play off winners. We have three stars on our badge to prove it.          

Not going to go into it all in detail, but here is a rundown of our previous triumphs and failure.

1992: 3rd division
Peterborough United 2–2 Huddersfield Town (Onuora, Robinson og)
Huddersfield Town (Starbuck) 1–2 Peterborough United


1995: 3rd division
Huddersfield Town (Billy) 1–1 Brentford
Brentford 1–1 Huddersfield Town (Booth) (a.e.t.)
Town win 4-3 on pens

Bristol Rovers 1–2 Huddersfield Town (Booth, Billy) (at Wembley)

2002: 3rd division
Huddersfield Town 0–0 Brentford
Brentford 2–1 Huddersfield Town (Booth)

2004: 4th division
Lincoln City 1–2 Huddersfield Town (Onuora, Mirfin)
Huddersfield Town (Schofield pen, Edwards) 2–2 Lincoln City

Huddersfield Town 0–0 Mansfield Town (a.e.t.) (at Millenium Stadium, Cardiff)
Town win 4-1 on pens

2006: 3rd division
Barnsley 0–1 Huddersfield Town (Taylor-Fletcher)
Huddersfield Town (Worthington) 1–3 Barnsley

2010: 3rd division
Huddersfield Town 0–0 Millwall
Millwall 2–0 Huddersfield Town

2011: 3rd division:
Bournemouth 1–1 Huddersfield Town (Kilbane)
Huddersfield Town (Peltier, Ward, Kay) 3–3 Bournemouth (a.e.t.)
Town win 4-2 on pens

Huddersfield Town 0–3 Peterborough United (at Old Trafford)

2012: 3rd division:
Milton Keynes Dons 0–2 Huddersfield Town (Rhodes, Hunt)
Huddersfield Town (Rhodes) 1–2 Milton Keynes Dons

Huddersfield Town 0–0 Sheffield United (a.e.t.) (at Wembley)
Town win 8-7 on pens

We have had 8 previous play off campaigns, winning 3 and losing 5. We have never won a home leg in any of our play offs. But our penalty shoot out record is 100% successful, having won four out of four. Two of our goalscoring heroes from the last campaign, Hunt and Rhodes, are now at Sheffield Wednesday.
So if we don't win on Sunday, don't get stressed. We have more chance of winning it there in a penalty shoot out and then again at Wembley after a goalless 120 minutes.                          

Can your heart stand up to it?