Michael Duff takes aim at Huddersfield Town players after FA Cup embarrassment | OneFootball

The Terriers boss didn't pull any punches when it came to criticising his players after Friday's 1-0 FA Cup defeat to non-league Tamworth...

Huddersfield Town were dumped out of the FA Cup on Friday night with a 1-0 defeat away at National League side Tamworth in the first round, and Terriers boss Michael Duff has pulled no punches when it comes to criticising his team's performance.

A long throw-in from Tom Tonks just before half-time flew uncontested all the way through the Huddersfield penalty area, before Town goalkeeper Chris Maxwell could only paw the ball into his own net when trying to punch clear from under his crossbar.

The Lambs would defend that one-goal lead until the final whistle, as the non-league side would pull off a stunning victory over their League One opponents.

It was a result that left the Terriers scurrying away from The Lamb Ground with their tail between their legs, and prompted Duff into some strong words in his post-match reflections.

Duff blasts his Huddersfield Town players

There are times as a manager when it's right to stick up and defend your players in the press, but Friday night wasn't one of those occasions for the Huddersfield boss.

Speaking via Yorkshire Live, Duff said: "Not good enough. Outrun, outfought, outbattled, beaten by a better team in the end.

"Started the game really poorly, concede a goal from the obvious threat, no quality in our play, every cross went in the keeper’s hands.

"We’ll be all over the papers tomorrow for all the wrong reasons. I said to the players in the meeting room, ‘make sure your heads are right’, and they clearly weren’t.

"There’s no excuses. We’ve played three different formations, we’ve had a lot of the ball but not sure the keeper has made enough saves, and if we’d have started the game like we did from the 80th minute onwards we’d have been all right, but we didn’t."

Duff made five changes to his Huddersfield side that beat Exeter City 2-0 last weekend, with Maxwell, Ollie Turton, Jaheim Headley, Tom Iorpenda and Bojan Radulovic all coming into the starting XI.

A strong lineup certainly suggested that the Town boss was taking the tie seriously, and placed a high amount of value on having a good run in the FA Cup this season.

So to concede in such infuriating fashion, and to spurn multiple big chances to not just draw level but win the game, clearly cemented his feeling of it being a night that the players must take responsibility for.

Terriers must avoid Tamworth shock being a catalyst for a poor run of form

Whenever a result such as the one Huddersfield experienced on Friday night occurs, it's pivotal that it doesn't become a watershed moment in a season.

They do, however, act as a real opportunity to show what kind of characters are in a squad, and how much mental fortitude and spirit is within the dressing room.

After going winless through the month of September, the Terriers evidenced their resilience and bounce-back ability in October, as they only lost one of their six games in all competitions last month.

Seven wins, one draw and five defeats from their opening 13 league games has the club sitting in seventh place, and just one point outside the play-off places.

Anything but promotion for the newly relegated side this season will be seen as a major disappointment, and after this FA Cup showing, they must once again show the sort of attitude and self-belief that any top side has.

With some big games on the horizon against the likes of Wycombe and Charlton, as well as a number of the early season strugglers to come in Crawley Town and Leyton Orient respectively, these next few weeks could be huge in Huddersfield Town's season.

Will they put this dismal display behind them? Or will it serve as a hammer blow to confidence levels? Only time will tell.