Huddersfield Town 0-1 Nottingham Forest: Why Wembley heartbreak shouldn’t be the end of Carlos Corberan’s dream

Huddersfield Town and Carlos Corberan saw their promotion dream end at Wembley on Sunday as Nottingham Forest sealed a place back in Premier League for the first time since 1999.  

“One step too far” is likely going to be a phrase levelled at Corberan and his side, probably unfairly, on an afternoon where there was little between the third and fourth best teams in this year’s Championship.

Levi Colwill turning an excellent James Garner cross beyond Lee Nicholls was ultimately the difference; an unfortunate moment for the Chelsea loanee, who has enjoyed a fine first year of senior football.

There was an improved second-half display despite that decisive blow at the end of a conservative half, albeit without the reward of a goal or a penalty. Under the Wembley arch, Corberan and his squad were forced to watch on as Forest celebrated a top-flight return.

It’s been a season that didn’t deserve this end but, as we know, in a play-off final there is always a winner and always a loser.

Defeat and deflation for today and the weeks to come, yet there’s a pre-season just around the corner and the bigger picture has to be that this is a platform for Huddersfield.

How many times have we seen a side suffer play-off heartbreak and bounce back 12 months later? Brighton, Leeds and Bournemouth are three examples that spring to mind from the last decade and offer a blueprint for Corberan. His opposite number, Steve Cooper, is another after back-to-back failures with Swansea City.

Planning starts now for 2022/23, amid the agony.

“My feeling is to accept that we didn’t win today,” Corberan told his post-match press conference.

“Accept that we had a big opportunity to go to the Premier League. That was my dream and the dream of the group.

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