MATCH REPORT: Barnsley 0 – 1 Huddersfield Town – pre-season friendly

Huddersfield Town won a relatively entertaining friendly against Barnsley by a single Steve Mounié goal, scored in the final minute. It was a deserved victory over a Barnsley team that worked hard and forced Town to up their game.

Town victorious after testing first half

It was a fairly slow start to the game and Barnsley pressed well, forcing quite a few sloppy mistakes from Town in possession. If this was a competitive game it might have been a concern that we misplaced so many passes in the first half but this kind of rustiness is to be expected in pre-season friendlies.

Town struggled to build meaningful chances in the first half and the best chance of the half came from a cross-come-shot from Philip Billing which went wide of the post. Barnsley nearly scored themselves from a header but Joan Lössl made a reaction save at point blank range to stop the ball going in.

Barnsley probably had the better of the play in the first half but momentum swung towards Town in the second-half. We managed to assert ourselves more, spread the ball around and our creative players managed to get on the ball more often.

There weren’t a lot of chances, but Collin Quaner drew a couple of great saves from Barnsley’s keeper and Sean Scannell almost scored from a header before Steve Mounié won the game for Town with a dink over the keeper.

Player ratings v Barnsley

Jonas Lössl – 7 out of 10

Made a great save at close range but otherwise didn’t have a lot to do. His distribution was excellent at times, playing it quickly to feet and picking out players in advanced positions. Let down slightly by a couple of loose passes that went straight to Barnsley players.

Chris Löwe – 7 out of 10

A steady performance, worked hard up and down the wing. Made a brilliant burst into the box and almost scored at one point. He came forward better when Quaner was in front of him, due to the big man cutting inside more and creating space for the overlap.

Christopher Schindler – 7 out 10

Chelsea loanee Ugbo was a handful at times and Schindler conceded some fouls in dangerous positions to stop his man getting past him. Solid otherwise and looks to be building an understanding with Zanka.

Zanka – 8 out of 10

Hard to judge when he didn’t have a lot to do but looks strong, mobile and assured in possession. I think he’ll be a great signing for Town.

Dimitri Cavaré – 7 out of 10

Looked nervous early on and clearly wasn’t used to the system Town play. He grew into the game and made some good overlapping runs and put in a couple of decent looking balls. Faded towards the end but looks like he could do a job for us.

Philip Billing – 6 out of 10

His passing was good at times but sloppy at others. He looked a bit lethargic in the middle of the park and was caught in possession too many times. Six may be a harsh rating but I don’t think it was one of his better games.

Jonathan Hogg – 8 out of 10

A typical Jonathan Hogg performance: made some great interceptions, screened the defence and covered a lot of ground. He also played a few more ambitious passes to get the ball out wide, which tended to find their man.

Joe Lolley – 8 out of 10

One of his best performances, quiet in the first half but involved in a lot of our attacking moves in the second. His best moment came on a 30-yard run where he beat at least three Barnsley players and had his shot blocked. He played in the number 10 role for much of the game and it seemed to suit him.

Tom Ince – 6 out of 10

Not an awful performance but struggled to make an impact. Played on the left-hand side and didn’t do all that much, improved when switched to the right-hand side in the second half.

Collin Quaner – 8 out of 10

I love Collin Quaner so much it’s hard to know if I’m being objective, but I think he had a great game. Looks better out on the wings than as a striker and makes life difficult for fullbacks. Could have had at least a couple on a different day, but was twice denied by excellent saves from the Barnsley keeper.

Steve Mounié – 8 out of 10

Even in the warm up it was possible to see that he’s a different class to strikers Town have had in the past. He’s strong in the air, niggles centre backs and looks to get a shot away every time he’s on the ball. He took his goal very well, with a cushioned lob over the keeper after latching onto Lössl’s huge kick upfield.

Sean Scannell & Lewis O-Brien both came on as subs but didn’t play long enough to be able to give a fair rating.

Highlights

HTTV’s highlight’s below show the key moments from the game but only lasts two and a bit minutes. You can follow this link to see the fourteen-minute highlights that the Barnsley FC YouTube channel put out.

David Wagner reaction to victory at Barnsley

Wagner seemed pretty chipper when talking to HTTV, praising Mouné for his goal and talking about the behind-closed doors friendly that took place earlier in the day. Jonathan Hogg also talked about the Barnsley win for HTTV.

Terrier Spirit opinion

Barnsley gave Town a tough game and with both teams playing at a reasonable tempo for a friendly. It was good to get a win but more importantly, it was a good workout for the players. The new signings all looked pretty good, Lössl and Mouné stood out as looking like a step up in quality for Town.

It’s important not to get too carried away at this stage of the season but things seem to be coming together nicely for Town. A home friendly against Udinese next week and the two friendlies at the Austrian training camp will give the team even more chance to blend together and get up to full fitness.