January recruit Duane Holmes fires Terriers to their first win in 2021

Swansea City’s impressive defences were breached at the John Smith’s Stadium. A man-of-the-match performance from Duane Holmes led Huddersfield Town to their first triumph of the year.

The American forward performed admirably alongside striking counterpart Fraizer Campbell, scoring his first two goals for the Terriers in their resounding 4-1 win over promotion hopefuls Swansea.

Campbell opened the scoring after 22 minutes. The 33-year-old connected with Pipa’s cross, with the mishit shot striking the inside of the post before nestling in the near corner of the goal.

Just before the interval, the Swans drew level. Aston Villa loanee Conor Hourihane scored his fourth league goal in five league games since arriving in Wales in January.

Following a poor challenge from Lewis O’Brien on the edge of the box, Hourihane curled his free kick past the helpless Ryan Schofield.

At half time Swansea boss Steve Cooper made two changes in an attempt to start the second period strongly and gain yet another crucial three points in their promotion hunt.

Instead, it was the home side who were rejuvenated in the second period; just three minutes after the restart Lewis O’Brien put his side ahead by netting his first goal at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The 22-year-old started the move, picking up the ball on the halfway line and driving past three Swans players before offloading. He then received the ball back and thundered a left-footed shot home from 20-yards.

O’Brien has come under scrutiny in recent weeks due to his lacklustre performances at left back; however, Carlos Corberan’s formation change suited the Englishman as he was asked to play on the left of a midfield three.

Once they took the lead, there was no stopping the rampant Huddersfield attack. Duane Holmes netted twice in quick succession, putting Town 4-1 ahead after just 55 minutes.

The latter of his two strikes was a wonderful looping effort that found the top corner from 25 yards.

The 26-year-oid left Huddersfield to join Scunthorpe United back in the summer of 2016. His good form at the Sands Venue Stadium earned Holmes a move to Championship outfit Derby County.

The attacker failed to turn many heads during his two-and-a-half-year spell in Derbyshire, scoring only six times in 86 total appearances.

This prompted Holmes to move back to his former employers when the opportunity arose earlier this year.

After failing to score or assist in his previous four appearances since re-joining the West Yorkshire outfit, the American ensured that the mass praise from Town fans upon his arrival was well justified.

Prior to Saturday’s rout, Cooper’s side had only conceded 15 goals. Therefore, the Terriers have scored just under a third of Swansea’s total goals conceded this campaign.

Huddersfield will be looking to string some positive results together as they face three bottom half sides in their next three fixtures. Next up is a trip to Holmes’ former employers Derby, where he will be desperate to continue his excellent form.

They have now advanced to 18^th place in the league standings and sit a comfortable seven points above the relegation zone.

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