Huddersfield Town made it through to the third round of the League Cup after knocking out Premier League new boys Sunderland on penalties. Town put in an almost flawless first half performance for a team playing against an opponent from a higher league, with Leo Castledine’s sublime strike the icing on the cake of an already great team performance. The second half involved a lot more hanging on and Sunderland had more chances than the one they scored. But Town held their shape well and eventually clawed their way back into the game enough to have chances to win it themselves in the dying stages.
The scores might not reflect a brilliant win against Premier League opposition but the real star of this performance (apart from Leo Castledine) was the collective effort of the team to work hard and limit Sunderland’s opportunities. It was a real collaborative performance and it’s reassuring that Lee Grant can make ten changes to his team and still see a unified and well-drilled team.
Here’s what I made of each individual performance.
Lee Nicholls – 7 out of 10
Played some nice passes out from the back but also put his teammates in trouble at times. Snuffed out a good Sunderland opportunity by coming off his line and taking a knock. Then while looking injured, made an excellent save to keep out Sunderland again. Couldn’t do anything about Sunderland’s goal. Then became the hero with an excellent save on Sunderland’s sixth penalty, which was so good it looked like their player had pulled it wide but Nicholls got right across to guide it around the post.
Lynden Gooch – 7 out of 10
Looked proud to be given the captaincy when up against his old club and acted like a leader on the pitch, particularly in guiding young Vost in midfield here and there. He was up against some quality players down his flank and stuck to his task with mostly good results. Understandably restricted on how much he could bomb forward but did support our attacks when he could. Stole yards at throw-ins to a ridiculous degree, which is completely acceptable and correct when it’s a Town player doing it.
Jack Whatmough – 8 out of 10
Headed everything that came near him away and looked very solid. Alert to any danger and snuffed it out without any fuss. Was composed and calm in the first half but had to scramble about a lot more in the second half when Sunderland repeatedly opened up our defence but he still did his job. Did slip at the worst possible moment when trying to clear the ball, which led to the chance Nicholls threw himself in front of. Overall, very impressive and gives Lee Grant a selection headache for Saturday.
Murray Wallace – 6 out of 10
Looked a lot more comfortable in central defence than left-back. Was very strong in the air and defensively solid. Had a pass intercepted that nearly cost us a goal after taking too long to release it. At other times he played some nice passes, but just needs to move the ball a bit more quickly. I’d also question whether he should have been in front of their attacker for the goal, as he was the closest player but wasn’t in a position to get in the way of the cross.
Sean Roughan – 7 out of 10
Played some nice balls forward from deep but didn’t push up the field as much as usual, particularly in the second half when we were under a lot of pressure. Solid and dependable.
Dan Vost – 6 out of 10
Very neat and tidy with everything he did but still looks a bit hesitant. The times when he was given the ball he looked decent but looked happy to avoid the limelight as much as possible. Showed he’d got a bit of steel when he clattered Rigg in the second half and nearly knocked him out.
David Kasumu – 8 out of 10
Looked really fired up for this game. Some good tackles, carried the ball up the field well with slaloming dribbles and even had a shot from range but it went wide. Gave us something completely different to Ledson and Kane in the centre and showed that he can fit into Lee Grant’s system despite his different skill set. Held his nerve and shook off cramp to take our sixth penalty despite looking very nervous before taking it.
Dion Charles – 5 out of 10
Played without his trademark headband but this change didn’t bring about a change in his fortunes. Joe Taylor teed him up to strike at goal from a corner but Charles smashed his shot wide. Despite still working hard all over the pitch, he looks very short on confidence. He’s doing lots of other work but we looked a lot better when Harness took up the right-sided attacking midfield role. Also put himself under needless pressure by picking up a silly booking.
Leo Castledine – 8 out of 10
What a goal! His volleyed strike flew into the net at such a speed that the keeper barely saw it. He showed good anticipation to react first to the knock down from the corner and beautiful technique to strike it so cleanly, especially because he had to stretch to hit the ball. Was busy all through the game and did a lot of running. Sometimes he was a bit too speculative with his balls forward and didn’t give his teammates a chance to get on the end of them. The high rating is based mostly on the goal-of-the-season contender but he was OK the rest of the time.
Cameron Ashia – 7 out of 10
Lots of hustle and bustle off the ball and some decent runs when he got on it. He did well to get a shot away from a tight angle in the first half but could only hit it straight at their keeper. Didn’t seem phased by playing Premier League opposition and clearly wanted to have a go at their back line.
Joe Taylor – 6 out of 10
Did a lot of running and was a proper nuisance to Sunderland’s defence. Had a couple of chances to get in behind Sunderland’s back line but the ball didn’t quite drop for him. His best moment came at a corner where he latched onto a loose ball and tangled with a defender but used some trickery to set up Charles.
Substitutes
Ben Wiles – 7 out of 10 – Helped Town keep the ball in the closing stages and showed good game awareness to slow play down and frustrated Sunderland. Took his penalty well too.
Marcus Harness – 8 out of 10 – Another experienced player that helped steady the ship in the late stages. He also set up a few attacks with some excellent passing and movement. My wife thinks he has dreamy eyes and he looked completely unphased by his penalty, so I’m bumping him up to an eight.
Jay Sway – 6 out for 10 – Had some nice moments but could have done better in others, needed helping out at times. It was a tricky stage of the game to come into cold and he looked a bit out of his depth but I think there were also signs that he can play a bit too.
Bojan Radulovic – N/A – Looked delighted to convert his penalty and celebrated with the players at the end.
Herbie Kane – N/A – Subbed on as a specialist penalty taker, similar to how American Football teams bring on their special teams to take field goals. Handled the pressure well and struck his penalty nicely.
Great win, and this breeds confidence within the squad (not sure about the word group). I wonder where Bojan fits into the scheme of things, did he volunteer to be a early penalty taker, or did Grant know about his skills. Interesting if he has a future with the terriers, or as people expect he’ll be off.?
Agreed, we’ve had two brilliant nights in the League Cup this season and it’s been good to keep momentum going.
As for Bojan, I’d guess he put his hand up to take one. Strikers are expected to, with them usually being the ones you want shooting at goal. For him, it’s a chance to get a bit of glory too when he’s had very little of that while he’s been at Town.
Superb team display and a world goal from Castledine.However when he came on Harness showed what a class act he is,no way is he a 3rd tier player.
I love watching Harness playing, he sees the game so well and everything he does adds something to what we’re doing. It feels like he’s due a goal soon too.
Good win on Tuesday night.
Harness , how is this guy playing in League 1. ?
Bojan- Penalty taker , ?
Young lads – Ashia , Vost and Sway
Future looks good , so long has they keep listening to the coaches and Grant .
Vost could be a very good player .
U T T -⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
I agree with all your comments. With Vost, I might have been a bit harsh on him in my assessment because he didn’t put a foot wrong in any significant way. Hopefully he’ll get even better once he’s had a bit more first team experience.
Well, that was a surprise, except I had predicted a victory – but not on penalties!
I thought on the balance of chances and possession Sunderland deserved a victory, but as you point out TS the team held its shape well, coupled with the now standard aggressive running and pressing meant we always had a chance and so it transpired. The painful part was the passing falling apart when Sunderland was so dominant in the second half, their profligacy in shooting helped us enormously.
Your comment about Vost being hesitant struck a chord with me as I feel I didn’t notice him overmuch, except for his goal of course, in either cup game, nevertheless he has performed very well.
If Castledine ever scores a better goal than that I hope it’s for us. Kasumu was the star of the show for me. Nicholl’s long distribution was generally unimpressive again except he did set Taylor free on two or three occasions but he was unable to take advantage of them. I struggle to comprehend the tactic of kicking long when he’s standing next to his two centre backs, consequently further up the field we are outnumbered.
Yet ultimately it was Nicholls who won the game for us.
I think a draw was a fair reflection of the ninety minutes. From the start of the second half until around 75 minutes, they were cutting through us consistently and it looked like a matter of time before they scored enough to win. But in the other sections of the game, I think Town edged it by controlling the game without having much of the ball. Our aggression and work rate were the key factors.
Kasumu looked very good, Castledine’s goal suggests he’s a real talent, and Vost hasn’t stood out but that’s probably a good thing as a lot of youngsters are noticeable because of all the things they’re getting wrong. And with Nicholls we know he’s a great keeper but unfortunately he’s not great for how we currently want to play.
Best (Sunderland) commentary moment “I apologise to Nicholls he must have been injured when he received treatment, the replacement goalkeeper was warming up” . Bless.
Ha ha. I was just as easily duped, as I thought he’d taken a nasty knock in that challenge he rushed out for. Perhaps it stung a bit and he decided to use it as a chance to take the sting out of the game for a while.
I think we have something special here. This manager and coaching team have bonded this group so well. To get Sorenson playing like the player we thought we bought from Lincoln. His starting last Saturday meant Gooch could start last night as captain against his old side, play 90 minutes and score in the penalty shoot out. So much pride in there now. I loved Wagner and Jacko but I think we have a better manager now. He has that balance between being close to the players but always looking like he is in charge and knowing exactly what he wants from them. The impact the subs have had has been incredible. First time in years I start to look forward to games a few days before.
It’s taken 4 weeks for Grant to prove himself better than Jacko and Wagner? Really? How long before he outdoes Herbert Chapman?
Well Herbert Chapman was only manager for two of our three title wins, so if Lee Grant can win three consecutive Premier League titles for Huddersfield Town, then he’ll comfortably be better than Chapman.
Just to say Jacko is, and always will be, my favourite Town manager. What he achieved with the resources and players he had was brilliant. Lovely man and Town through and through.
I think my personal favourite is Wagner but Jacko is a close second. Both created some of my favourite moments as a Town fan. Hopefully Grant can add to those memories this season.
I loved the passion both Jacko and Wagner had but I like how balanced Grant is. When I think of Jacko it is the video of the penalty shoot out, I think in Cardiff, where he has his head buried in Yorath’s shoulder and can’t look. My abiding memory of Wagner was after The Heffs winning goal against Leeds. Both stirring memories but I like the controlled way Grant has about him. I think he will go a long way in the game.
It’s hard to say exactly what kind of manager we have in Lee Grant with it being so early in his tenure but so far the signs are encouraging. Even this early on with the likes of Danny Schofield and Mark Fotheringham, it was clear they weren’t going to make it. With Grant he at least has the potential to be considered as good as Wagner and Corberan but he’s now got to put it into practice.
I agree that games are events that I anticipate now rather than trudge into knowing what to expect (that run of defeats at the end of last season feels like a different time in Town’s history all together).
For me, it’s too early to say Grant is better than Jacko or Wagner as both of those past managers got us up to a higher level. But the foundations look to be there and if we carry on like this, he could be as good or better. If he delivers automatic promotion then that would be a clear indicator that he’s one of our best recent managers as we’ve not done that for as long as I’ve been supporting Town.