Hereford United 0 Huddersfield United 1: Hereford United suffered a huge blow in their battle to avoid relegation from League One after a 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town at Edgar Street on Saturday.

Graham Turner's side are now nine points adrift of safety with only eight games remaining after Michael Collins' 71st-minute strike sealed a 1-0 win for Lee Clark's men.

And Bulls boss Turner admitted the defeat was hard to take: "It's a right kick in the teeth again," he said.

"It's a game we shouldn't have lost. It's a stupid goal to concede from a straightforward cross and we should be able to defend better than that, that's concentration."

The Bulls went in to the match on the back of a morale-boosting midweek 2-1 win at Carlisle United and flew out of the traps in boisterous mood. Bristol City loanee Jennison Myrie-Williams brilliantly teed himself up six minutes in for a left-footed volley from 25 yards out that stung the palms of young Terriers goalkeeper Alex Smithies, who was forced to plunge to his left to push behind for a corner.

Impressive on-loan Manchester United striker Febian Brandy then had claims for a penalty waved away as he went to ground under a challenge from Andy Butler. At the other end, a slip-up from shaky Hereford skipper Karl Broadhurst gave Anthony Pilkington two chances to break the deadlock.

Broadhurst's error let in the former Stockport man and, after Bulls keeper Peter Gulacsi blocked his first effort, the ball fell kindly for the striker on the penalty spot for a second bite at the cherry, but he could only shoot straight at a grateful Gulacsi.

Hereford then caught their opponents napping with a brisk counter-attack as Myrie-Williams teed up midfielder Toumani Diagouraga who fed Brandy. The striker beat Butler for pace and brought a smart low save from Smithies at his near post.

Pilkington then found space in the Bulls box and tested Gulacsi again, before Bulls debutant Marc Pugh fed the dangerous Brandy, who turned his man sharply before sending a rasping shot wide from the edge of the area.

Neat work down the left between Kris Taylor and Pugh led to a cross for Brandy who volleyed over, before Steve Guinan shot wide after Myrie-Williams had teed him up.

Pilkington again found space four minutes before half-time and drove forward unchallenged by the Bulls rearguard before firing just wide with Gulacsi well beaten.

Hereford lost defender Dean Beckwith a knee injury at the interval, and the game petered out after the break, with most eyes glued to the travelling Huddersfield Town fans behind Smithies' goal, who had decided to entertain themselves by dancing around in their underwear despite the Herefordshire chill.

Brandy had another effort on goal after another trademark sharp first touch and turn, before Town midfielder Michael Flynn volleyed wide.

Pilkington then had two more efforts on goal, curling wide from the edge of the area from substitute Andy Booth's flick, before testing Liverpool loanee Gulacsi with a volley.

The long-awaited breakthrough came after 71 minutes when Gary Roberts' cross was flicked on by Booth for young full-back Collins to loop a left-footed effort into the net.

Former Everton frontman Danny Cadamarteri then fed Booth. He laid the ball off to Pilkington, who was yet again denied by Gulacsi.

The Bulls nearly scored a goal made in Bristol minutes later as City's Myrie-Williams jinked his way to the byline before feeding Rovers loanee Andy Williams, whose shot was deflected wide at the near post.

Hereford pressed for a much-needed equaliser, but Ben Smith's tentative strike from distance was simple for Smithies, while Brandy failed to connect with an attempted scissor kick from a Myrie-Williams cross, and time ran out for the Bulls, who must surely now have to win all of their remaining eight games to stand a chance of survival. But Turner vowed his side would keep battling until they were down mathematically.

"While we still have an opportunity to get out of trouble we'll keep working away at it and keep fighting and hope that something will turn," said the Bulls boss.

"Once again I don't think we deserved to lose. I thought we played reasonably well in the first half. We got in to good areas out wide without really producing what was required."

Hereford United (4-4-2): Gulacsi; Rose, Taylor, Broadhurst, Beckwith (Jackson 45, Williams 76); Pugh (Johnson 87), Myrie-Williams, Diagouraga, Smith; Guinan, Brandy. Subs not used: Veiga, O'Leary.

Huddersfield Town (4-4-2): Smithies; Williams, N Clarke, T Clarke, Butler; Roberts (Berrett 85), Ainsworth (Booth 57), Flynn, Collins; Cadamarteri, Pilkington. Subs not used: Eastwood, Kelly, Goodwin.