A first defeat in the new League One season then for Stevenage who believe they are title favourites - on this evidence they won't be far wrong.

Huddersfield Town won 2-1 at the John Smith's Stadium are a dominating first half.

And although there was a bit of fight from Boro after the break, this won't make the end of year highlight reel.

This is is how I rated the performances.

Player ratings

Huddersfield Town (1) 2 Stevenage (0) 1

Murphy Cooper - 7

No blame attached for either goal, problems were all in front of him. Got a hand to a Ben Wiles chip too, enough to allow Charlie Goode to clear and continued to be fairly impressive, a number of very good punches relieving danger.

Luther Wildin - 5

Like last week, he didn't get forward too much although a lot of that was down to the opposition. Playing as a wing-back with pressing duties meant there was often a gap behind him, and Huddersfield exploited that at times.

Dan Butler - 5

Same again, over run at times as Huddersfield dominated possession and territory, especially in the first half. Bit better after the break but not with any major influence. 

Carl Piergianni - 6

Raised the ire of the home fans with his typically robust defending. Was booked though and although he won his fair share of headers, it was a tough day at the office for the skipper.

Dan Sweeney - 7

Just about best of the bunch but then he and Piergianni went blindly running towards goal for Town's second, leaving Wiles unmarked. Tried to make things happen after the break and that positivity gives him the Comet Sport man of the match, just edging out Appere.

Jordan Roberts - 6

A real nuisance after the break with niggly little tackles and battling, earning him a number of attacking free-kicks. His usual exemplary pressing wasn't really on point though and didn't influence the game too much in an attacking sense, worrying for a forward.

Tyreece Simpson - 5

Playing against his old club, he tried but was not really at the races. Brought off at half-time and there wasn't too many arguments.

Charlie Goode - 6

That goal-line clearance was vital but in the middle of the back three, it never saw him dominate the strikers. Again replaced at half-time as Boro went to a flat back four.

Elliott List - 5

His miss at the start of the second half was the big talking point, if I'm being kind he may have been surprised to see it come to him, but then strikers should be ready to react at all times. Rest of the time he was chasing shadows and what time he had on the ball didn't produce any quality.

Dan Phillips - 6

Put a foot in from time to time but that brought him a yellow. From then on he lost the freedom to be a real menace.

Louis Thompson - 5

Unable to make an impact on the game like he had against Shrewsbury. Huddersfield counterparts were able to find space and time on the ball but he wasn't.

Subs - Louis Appere, Dan Kemp, Kane Smith, Harvey White

Made a big difference.

Appere especially was impressive. His hold-up play, strength on and off the ball and but should have scored at least one.

Harvey White's set-piece delivery made an impact in the 15 minutes plus stoppage time he was on. Kemp was also busy.

Huddersfield Town stand-outs

Ben Wiles could have had a hat-trick but was a real thorn in Stevenage's side. Identified as a threat before the game and yet Boro were still chasing shadows at times.

Lasse Sorensen was another who gave the visiting defence nightmares. Good crossing for both goals, something Boro's full-backs/wing-backs couldn't replicate.

Overall

Huddersfield are a good team and should really have been out of sight. Not usual privy to stats at half-time, or one that takes a whole lot of notice, but got them here and they weren't pretty viewing for Stevenage.

Only 26.4 per cent possession in the first half, no shots at all compared to 11 from Huddersfield, and a passing accuracy of 46 per cent, less than one in two.

The subs made such a difference, that shape definitely looks to be what works for this Boro squad, and if they had scored any of those early chances, it is a whole different game. 

Do think a lot of the lessons though will belong to the management team, who are new too remember. But aside from formation, personnel may be slowly fitting into a hierarchy - some players staking their claims for regular starts, others slipping down the pecking order.

An EFL Trophy game on Tuesday might just be the perfect tonic to reset and get back on the winning trail for Boro.