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Huddersfield Town chief Martin Drury on two-goal Derensli Sanches Fernandes and his 'deal' with Joe Taylor HUDDERSFIELD Town head coach Martin Drury praised the 'outstanding' efforts of his players in not letting the 29th-minute dismissal of Bali Mumba affect them en route to an impressive and resounding 3-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon on the opening day of the 2026-27 League One campaign. Town raced into an early 2-0 lead at the Accu Stadium, thanks to a brace from summer signing Derensli Sanches Fernandes, but the game turned when Mumba was red-carded for a late challenge on Dons opponent Isaac Ogundere. The hosts did not let it alter the complexion of the game and dug deep when they had to, playing with 10 men for just over 70 minutes. They put gloss on the day when fit-again substitute Bojan Radulovic struck from close range on 78 minutes after fantastic work by Radinio Balker. Drury, taking charge of Town for the first time as full-time boss at league level, said: "I thought we started the game really well, I thought we were on the front foot, aggressive, played forwards and ran forwards and tried to pose problems for the opponent early on. "We got two goals; two really good goals that we were pleased with. I wanted us to kick on from there really and to keep going and then we found ourselves in a position where we could get the third goal and suddenly you could go from 3-0 up with 11 players on the pitch and then with a split second you're only 2-0 up and you've just had a man sent off. "The game swung at that point, we tried to wrestle back momentum which was difficult between then and half-time. "We then were forced really to take Joe (Taylor) off. Joe had done really well, started the game really, really well but from a tactical perspective, we had to get the balance right in terms of how they were attacking down the side. "So we made the change at half-time. Joe had covered the most distance on the pitch of any player at half-time as well, so he had a real physical output which was pleasing because he's not played all the minutes in pre-season. "And then in the second half, as we get tired, we have more players on the pitch that shouldn't have been on for that long, we shouldn't have got them off from a physical point of view. "So you look at Ibane Bowat, he wasn't ready to play that amount of minutes but we had to push him, we had to keep going - just in terms of what Wimbledon did in terms of putting six or seven players on your last line, constantly playing direct and constantly putting them all in the box. "We couldn't gain control in possession as much as I would have liked, so then you have to use the game to the best of your ability to try and get some things from it from a defensive point of view and I thought the players were outstanding and relentless in nature. I thought they kept going to the end. "It's a foundation for us to build from today, it wasn't perfect but I thought there was a lot of things that we can take positively from it." On a red-letter day for Fernandes, who received a stirring ovation from Town fans when he came off in the second half, Drury continued: "He's a real talent. Really humble as well. "He's great around the training ground, dry and witty. I think the players have really taken to him. "I think the players are learning what he needs in support, what he needs for allowing him to go and do his things and I think the players are also demanding of him in terms of what we need from him without the ball and I thought today he worked his socks off both with and without the ball." Making his first league start for Town since last October, Joe Taylor whet the appetite with a terrific performance, registering a superb assist for Fernandes' opener on four minutes. Taylor made way at the interval as the hosts made a defensive change, conscious that they were playing with 10 men with the decision all to do with the circumstances of the game. Asked about the contribution of Taylor, Drury commented: "I think I said it before that I'd not worked with Joe last season. "Other people told me about Joe, the qualities that he had, little bits that might frustrate you. "People that know me and the things that might frustrate me, I've not seen it with Joe. I think he's been brilliant. "Every day he's been brilliant. Again, he's very dry, very witty. He brings some things to life. "He's got a tendency to get frustrated. It's not because his attitude's not quite right, it's because he cares that much. I've got a deal with him that we need not to see that." The one sour point was the dismissal of Mumba following a needless looking challenge. Drury said: "I've not seen it back since. And obviously it was at the far side of the pitch, so I'm not too sure. I'll have to watch that back. "And I'm also mindful if I say anything daft, I'll be in trouble, so I'll keep my opinion to myself on that."