The team that started for Everton was the same as that which had started on Saturday. The welcome news was that rumours of a 'doubtful' Ferguson turned out to be little more that paper-talk and so the big man led the team out. The other welcome additions to the Everton squad was the return to the bench of Madar and the competitive debut for our new bright yellow 'training' kit (clever use of marketing calling it this rather than a 'third' kit – they somehow have managed this to seem less exploitative of us fans!). For Huddersfield the notable presence, as far as we were concerned, was that of their captain – the great Barry Horne.

The referee was the distinctive Mr Rennie. At the previous games I've seen this man officiate he has been faultless. This evening he was woeful.

The first half was a bit of a nail-biter for us really. Huddersfield are on a roll and top of their division and it quickly became apparent that there was no great gulf between the teams for us to rely on. They attacked us hard and it wasn't long before they carved out several good chances. They worked particularly well down the wings and when a cross came in and the attacker wasn't picked up we really should have been one behind. The ball went inches wide.

The game wasn't played in the best of tempers, and there were a couple of off-the-ball scuffles. At one point, Hutchinson and Horne had a to-do which was disappointing to see. Far worse was when one of our men went down we gave up a fast break attack by kicking the ball to touch and Huddersfield unsportingly didn't return the ball to us from the throw.

If I'm being fair then it has to be said that when our goal came it was very much against the flow of play. A corner kick to us, Duncan flicked it in the box and an Everton player just nodded the ball behind himself into the goal. The action was at the far end so initially I couldn't tell who had got it, but even at that distance once we saw that trademark awful one-armed flapping celebration there was no doubt that the scorer was Waggy. Anyone smart enough to predict he'd get himself on the sheet first would pick up a cool 40-1. (Not me - I'd gone for Ball, the bookies haven't seem to latched on to the fact that he's moved to Midfield and you should still be able to pick up defenders odds of 33-1 on him – that's my top tip for Saturday!).

The score-line was honestly harsh on Huddersfield and they made amends right before half-time when Tommy totally fluffed a cross from the wings. The loose ball perhaps could have been turned away by Watson but the Huddersfield striker was quicker to react. Tommy made a point of holding his head to indicate that he had taken a bash and was fouled. From where I was sitting it looked a fair challenge and a fair goal.

Walter made no changes during the break but it was seemed a completely different Everton team that attacked towards our fans. Some of our build-up play was breath-taking. Flicks, backheels, weighted passes the full repertoire of party-pieces was on show. Everything was good about Everton's play except the finishing. That we didn't score is mystifying given the chances we created.

The miss of the day went to Materazzi. Dacourt, who was the most eye-catching of Evertonians on the day, laid a lovely ball past the keeper and across the face of the goal. Mazzeratti was there, the whole goal in front of him and completely empty. How he struck it wide from that range will haunt me.

He wasn't the only culprit for missed chances though, Barmby made a meal of shooting opportunities a couple of times after he'd done the hard work to get into position. This was Barmby at his most frustrating, he was clearly 'up for the game' he looked for the ball for the entire time he was on the pitch, he showed little fear in running with the ball and trying to start attacks. Unfortunately, for all his effort, practically nothing he tried actually came off. Meanwhile, Duncan was having a very good game from the point of view of 'all round contribution' and joining in the build-up play, yet managed to go the entire 90 minutes without getting himself a single goal-scoring opportunity.

Smith gave up on Barmby towards the end and hurled on Cadamarteri. Danny was every bit as enthusiastic as Barmby had been and managed to find his way into the book within two minutes of getting on the field as a result. His determination to impress nearly got himself sent off a minute later after another careless shoulder barge.

The last throw of the dice was the all-French swap of bringing on Madar for Dacourt (presumably because Olly had picked up a knock). Dacourt left the field to a standing ovation. Madar was only given the dying moments and it was unrealistic to expect him to make any real impression on the game. Nevertheless, it was good to see him back.

The closing stages of the game seemed to be missing the passion that had been there earlier on and so with a couple of minutes left, in the knowledge of car-park queues in these new stadium I decided to get off. Normally, me leaving early is the cue for a goal blitz by Everton but on this occasion it was not to be. The result gives us no room for complacency: there is everything still to play for at Goodison next week.

Individuals

• Myhre 6 - One good save springs to mind, but the goal, in my opinion, was fair and was Tommy's fault.
• Cleland 7 - Fine, hardly imposing, but no serious errors either.
• Materazzi 7 - Fine, bar that shocking miss. Still, he doesn't pretend to be a striker so fair enough.
• Watson 8 - I wonder if Smith will drop him? Has had a succession of good games since he came back. And a goal too! Needs to practise his celebrations though....
• Unsworth 7 - I thought this was his best game since he got back. Not afraid to come forward and few errors.
• Ball 7 - Usual completely professional display.
• Hutchinson 7 - Made a menace of himself. Got booked (again).
• Dacourt 8 - Everton's Man of the match - everything good about Everton came from this man.
• Collins 6 - Yet again, another very quiet game.
• Barmby 6 - Squandered numerous good pieces of possession. In his defence he can't be accused of hiding: when things weren't going his way, he still looked for the ball and looked to do positive things with it.
• Ferguson 7 - Good play-maker role, good holding the ball up; never once looked like scoring.
• Cadamarteri 6
• Madar - hardly got a touch.

Although largely competent, there was just enough uncertainty for every Huddersfield attack to cause concern among the Everton fans and for every Everton attack NOT to cause concern for the Huddersfield team and their supporters.

Apart from Watson's goal, there were far too many attempts to walk the ball into the net and Materazzi (especially), Barmby and Cadamarteri showed mastery of control by contriving to miss from close range. You would honestly believe that it takes lots of practice to waste gilt -edged chances from close range instead of scoring.

One player who shone on the night was Duncan Ferguson. I admit to not being over-fond of the talisman but he hardly put a foot or head wrong last night. His performance was even better than against Forest despite the lack of goals. He was mobile, inventive and skillful and his work just cried out for someone to feed of his lay-offs and perhaps to provide him with better supply, although he made a great deal of what he got. This in turn was not Route One stuff. There is evidently much work going in on the training pitch because the improvement is there for all to see. 4-4-2 is the name of the game and it works!

And yet ... Another booking for Hutchinson and Ferguson. Hutchison was harshly done by for rolling the ball short when he gave it back for a free kick – hardly throwing the ball away so much as a limp-wristed lob. Referee Rennie booked him and then instantly booked Ferguson when he came up (presumably as is the captain's right) to query the decision. Perhaps it's time Duncan grouped referees and linesmen with the media and refused to speak to them. It's rare for a booking to be reversed on the field so probably better to leave the protest to the manager after the game.

As it was Referee Rennie had one of those games as far as Evertonians were concerned: he missed something like 7 handballs by Huddersfield, a couple of which were in the penalty area and the Huddersfield equaliser would have been disallowed by many refs for the charge on Tommy as he went to catch the ball. The impact caused him to drop the ball and Allison reacted quicker than Everton to poke the ball home from close range.

The 30 minutes after half-time were probably Everton's best this season. Some lovely flowing moves with one-touch side-foots, back-heels and flicks opened up the Huddersfield defence several times but the final touch just wasn't there. The substitution of Barmby saw the end of the dominance and Huddersfield came back into the game towards the end.

Madar did little but it was good to see him on the field. Cadamarteri appears to have had a brain transplant from Oster. All arms and backside, he was booked almost as soon as he came on and was almost sent off for another physical challenge a few moments later. The final warning administered by Rennie calmed him down but also reduced his effectiveness. He's not a dirty player but he needs to control his aggression or he will be sent off and what good does that do the team?

One last comment, why was Collins on the field? He contributed very little; slow on the ball, I don't recall a single tackle that he won and he never got forward to join the attack. Definitely not his night.

Thankfully Duncan was on song.

Town went into the match on the back of a four-game winning streak and they more than held their own against their top-flight opponents in the first period. However, after the break the visitors took charge but they could live to regret their profligacy in front of goal in the second leg of this Worthington Cup round two tie.

Everton have gone out in the second round of this competition three in the past four seasons – to Portsmouth in 1994, Millwall 12 months later and York two years ago – and Huddersfield was one of the toughest draws they could have faced.

Certainly in the first half, it was difficult to tell which was the Premiership side as Town caused their illustrious visitors plenty of problems. Marcus Stewart sent two headers just over, while Thomas Myhre did well to get down to his left to save Ben Thornley's low drive.

However, Everton still created the clearest opportunities in opening period, with England international Nick Barmby guilty of missing two gilt-edged chances. He blazed over Nico Vaesen's crossbar from eight yards out when clean through and then saw the Town keeper made a fine one-handed save to his volley after Duncan Ferguson had won yet another header in his opponents' box.

Between Barmby's two efforts, though, Everton took the lead through the unlikely figure of 36-year-old Dave Watson.  The centre-back, now on the coaching staff at Goodison, had not expected to have much of a role as a player this season but injury and illness caused manager Walter Smith to call him up at Nottingham Forest last Tuesday.

He helped his side to their first win of the season at the City Ground, keeping a clean sheet in the process, and he was a key figure as 10-man Everton secured a goalless draw against Leeds at the weekend. He has always had an eye for goal throughout his career and tonight he reacted like a goal poacher to give the Blues a lead they scarcely deserved.

Don Hutchison's 37th-minute corner was nodded goalwards by Ferguson and Watson got the faintest of flicks to the ball two yards out to beat Vaesen. However, Everton's advantage was short-lived, with Allison levelling matters on the stroke of half-time.

Allison and Stewart, with 13 goals between them before tonight, are the most prolific partnership in the country at the moment and Allison joined his team-mate on seven goals with the equaliser.

Myhre, whose first team place will come under threat when Steve Simonsen's protracted move to Goodison goes through, failed to gather Steve Jenkins' deep cross and Allison was first to react, smashing the loose ball home from six yards out.

But Everton came out revitalised after the interval and had more than enough chances to make the second leg at Goodison in eight days' time a formality. Kevin Gray cleared the ball off Hutchison's toes inside the Town area before Marco Materazzi somehow contrived to poke Olivier Dacourt's low cross wide from three yards out.

Vaesen got down well to his left to save from Barmby after Ferguson's height had again caused Huddersfield problems as Everton took control.

Referee Uriah Rennie then turned down frenetic appeals for a Blues penalty after Barmby's shot appeared to strike a defender's hand inside the Town area. Substitute Danny Cadamarteri, on for Barmby, stabbed Hutchison's low free-kick just wide before Marcus Browning's tame header five minutes from time – the hosts' first effort on target in the entire second period – was straight at Myhre.

Everton continued to look the likelier winners but they could not find that elusive goal and Huddersfield will be quietly confident of causing an upset on Merseyside in the return game.

Top of the First Division for the first time in 28 years, Huddersfield showed why as Allison and Marcus Stewart – 14 goals between them this season – repeatedly found gaps in the Everton defence in the first half. In the 21st minute, from an excellent Steve Jenkins centre, Allison headed down and Ben Thornley's drive was well taken low down by Thomas Myhre.

Four minutes later another diving header, this time by Stewart, was too high with the Everton defence in trouble, and again he was allowed a free header at the far post in the 35th minute from another cross by Jenkins.

But, in the 37th minute, it was Everton's turn to cash in on Duncan Ferguson's aerial threat and from Don Hutchison's right-wing corner the striker nodded back across the goal for Dave Watson to head Everton in front.

But all the tension of months of struggle at the Merseyside club surfaced again seconds before half-time when they were once more vulnerable from a centre by Jenkins with Myhre dropping the ball and two defenders looking the wrong way as Allison forced home the equaliser.

Everton, however, were content to hold on to the 1-1 scoreline in the second half and the Yorkshire club just could not again penetrate the visitors' defence. At 36, busy Huddersfield captain Barry Horne, who earned an FA Cup winners' medal in his days with Everton, was one of the most influential players on the field next to Ferguson who did not waste a ball.

BARNSLEY (1) 3 READING (0) 0                7,840 
Barnard 22, Fjortoft 59, 86. 
BLACKPOOL (1) 2 TRANMERE (1) 1              3,954
Aldridge 24, 54.  Parkinson 16. 
BOLTON (1) 3 HULL (0) 1                     7,544
Phillips 45, Gunnlaugsson 61, Frandsen 89.  Brown 80. 
BOURNEMOUTH (1) 1 WOLVERHAMPTON (0) 1       7,096
Stein 17.  Ferguson 83. 
BRENTFORD (1) 2 TOTTENHAM (1) 3            11,831
Scott 28, Freeman 66.  Carr 44, Dominguez 53, Vega 82. 
BURY (2) 3 CRYSTAL PALACE (0) 0             2,780
Johnrose 9, Matthews 23, Johnrose 58. 
FULHAM (0) 1 SOUTHAMPTON (0) 1             10,222
Coleman 54.  Beattie 62. 
HALIFAX (0) 1 BRADFORD (1) 2                5,714
Hanson 57.  Moore 32, Beagrie 68. 
HUDDERSFIELD (1) 1 EVERTON (1) 1           15,395
Allison 45.  Watson 37. 
IPSWICH (0) 2 LUTON (0) 1                   9,032
Scowcroft 48, Thetis 79.  Douglas 60. 
LEYTON ORIENT (0) 1 NOTTM FOREST (4) 5      4,906
Reinelt 87.  Johnson 4, Freedman 14, 17, Stone 44, Harewood 84. 
MACCLESFIELD (0) 0 BIRMINGHAM (0) 3         2,275
Forster 66, Marsden 70, Rowett 89. 
NORTHAMPTON (0) 2 WEST HAM (0) 0            7,254
Freestone 77, 85. 
PORTSMOUTH (2) 2 WIMBLEDON (1) 1            7,010
Aloisi 9, McLoughlin 25.  Ekoku 35. 
SHEFF UTD (1) 2 GRIMSBY (0) 1               4,689
Hamilton 28, Ford 69.  Ashcroft 51. 
SUNDERLAND (2) 3 CHESTER (0) 0             20,618
Scott 32, Phillips 39, Bridges 58. 

BRISTOL CITY (1) 1 CREWE (1) 1              3,082
Akinbiyi 15.  Rivers 21. 
COVENTRY (0) 1 SOUTHEND (0) 0               6,631
Hall 64. 
DERBY (1) 1 MAN CITY (1) 1                 22,986
Delap 9.   Tiatto 27. 
LEICESTER (1) 3 CHESTERFIELD (0) 0         13,480
Heskey 41, 51, Taggart 61. 
MIDDLESBROUGH (1) 2 WYCOMBE (0) 0          11,531
Ricard 37, Festa 90. 
NORWICH (1) 1 WIGAN (0) 0                  11,426
Bradshaw 22 og. 
QPR (0) 0 CHARLTON (2) 2                    6,497
Newton 15, Harper 45 og.  
SHEFF WED (0) 0 CAMBRIDGE UTD (1) 1         8,921
Benjamin 3.