ALTHOUGH honours were even at the Galpharm Stadium, Marc Pugh was keen to claim the bragging rights in his personal War of the Roses.

The likeable Lancastrian popped up with a deserved equaliser to ensure Cherries would depart this West Yorkshire stronghold with a share of the spoils.

Pugh’s third goal of the season, a precision header, helped Eddie Howe’s men take a point from a venue where Cherries have failed to win since it opened in 1994.

He also continued to prove just what an astute signing he was, even if Cherries vice-chairman Jeff Mostyn felt a transfer tribunal’s valuation of £100,000 was “quite excessive”.

However, if Pugh can maintain his current form, he will turn out to be one of the bargains of the season and Mostyn would doubtless be more than happy to eat his words.

“The most important thing is that we got something from the game,” said Pugh, whose leveller came 11 minutes from time.

“But I will definitely be ringing a few of my mates to brag about my goal because it was extra special to score here! I had about 10 family members watching.”

Pugh, who was born across the border in Bacup, also had another reason to celebrate after receiving some good news on the eve of the match.

“I had a day off on Friday because my wife is pregnant and we went for our three-month scan,” revealed the 23-year-old winger.

“We were over the moon that everything was okay and it was an amazing experience. It just gives me that lift to do extra well knowing I’ve got a little’un on the way.”

Pugh and his team-mates showed no signs of a hangover from the previous week’s late collapse against Notts County as they tore into much-fancied Huddersfield.

The Terriers, beaten only three times at home under boss Lee Clark, will have counted themselves extremely fortunate to have been level at the interval.

Outplayed, outfought, outwitted and outmanoeuvred for much of the first half, Clark’s richly-assembled team were made to look very ordinary by Cherries.

And as one irate home supporter in the Main Stand was at pains to point out, “this is rubbish” was a fairly accurate summary of their limp showing during the opening 44 minutes and 59 seconds.

However, although his vitriolic outburst did not give credit to the visitors, Huddersfield were forced to play second fiddle to a Cherries team which, not for the first time this season, was very much on its game.

Whichever players the legion of talent scouts situated in the directors’ area had come to watch, most would have left the Galpharm with ticks next to the names of several members of the visiting team.

Wing wonder Liam Feeney led his marker Liam Ridehalgh a merry dance throughout the first half, while Pugh also excelled as he regularly gambolled between defenders to cause mayhem.

In central midfield, Anton Robinson and Marvin Bartley strutted their stuff in typically altruistic fashion, while Shaun Cooper, operating just in front of the back four, contributed the artistic brushstrokes.

The Cherries defence ensured Huddersfield’s formidable frontline remained largely ineffective, while goalkeeper Shwan Jalal, who was to later make a crucial intervention, soaked up the West Yorkshire rays.

Up front, Josh McQuoid continued to impress with a display full of running and cunning that was capped by another finely-taken goal, his fourth in three starts since being drafted in to replace Brett Pitman.

Asked to plough a lone furrow due to injury to Michael Symes, McQuoid curled in a delightful right-foot shot to give Cherries the lead in the 32nd minute, the goal owing much to the quality of assist supplied by Bartley.

His effort was sandwiched between Robinson seeing a header cleared off the line by Ridehalgh and McQuoid poking another very presentable opportunity wide of the upright from Feeney’s centre.

However, cometh the fourth official’s electronic scoreboard, cometh a goal for the opposition with Antony Kay heading home a Gary Roberts corner in the second minute of injury time to spare the boos of the Galpharm faithful.

“If we could have come in leading at half-time, it would almost have been the perfect 45 minutes,” said boss Howe. “We were well in control of the game in the first half and had scored at a good time.”

Having conceded on only two occasions from corners last season – both against relegated Grimsby – Cherries’ rare aberration at a set-piece must have been praying on their minds as they took to the pitch for the start of the second half.

And so it proved as Bartley was judged by referee Eddie Ilderton to have tripped Roberts inside the penalty area just three minutes after the restart, Roberts promptly despatching the spot kick past Jalal and sending the Cherries goalkeeper the wrong way.

“Unfortunately, we conceded from a set-play on the whistle and had a little hangover from that at the start of the second half and conceded again,” said Howe.

“I turned to Jase (Jason Tindall) and said ‘I don’t know how we’re 2-1 down’ because we had controlled it from start to finish.”

Although Cherries had a let-off when Alan Lee struck the post midway through the second half, they were rewarded for their efforts when Pugh finished emphatically after Harry Arter had picked him out at the far post.

His hot-pot of a header was then matched by Jalal’s stunning save to push Lee Novak’s shot around the post three minutes from time, a stop described by Howe as “world class”.