Huddersfield Town won their third away game of the season against Bristol City yesterday, an outcome that seemed incredibly unlikely after we went behind after only a few minutes and then missed a penalty in the immediate aftermath of their goal. Town just about deserved the three points though, showing more attacking ambition than we’ve seen in recent weeks and reaping the rewards for pushing forward with more purpose and intention.
Here are a few of my thoughts on the game:
Town’s first comeback victory of the season
In my last article I commented on how Town have one of the league’s worst records at coming back into games after conceding the first goal. So when Town conceded early on yesterday, I was quick to start grumbling about how we never win from these positions and how the players might as well just walk off the pitch, get back on the coach and head back to Huddersfield to save themselves the embarrassment.
This was one of those situations where I was delighted to be proven wrong by the players as they played their way back into contention and kept plugging away at Bristol City until chances arrived. Compared to recent away performances, Town looked to hold possession more and create sustained pressure on our opponent’s box rather than sitting deep and playing on the counter – this was a major factor in why we created more chances and generally looked more of a threat.
The old adage of attack being the best form of defence applied to the tactics Town deployed yesterday. I was pleased to see that at both when the game was level at 1-1 and when Town were 2-1 up they continued to push forward and pose Bristol difficult questions. Had we tried to sit back and cling on to the result it’s very likely we would have ended up dropping points again. Keeping going and getting the third goal meant Bristol City’s late second goal didn’t affect the result and made closing the game out much easier.
Out of form players show glimmers of their former selves
While I think a lot of yesterday’s victory could be attributed to Bristol City being a bit rubbish for long periods of the game, there were also clear signs of improvement in many Town players. Prior to this game there has been a collective funk hanging over the squad that has resulted in just about every player (O’Brien and Nicholls excluded) not being at their best. Against Bristol City there were several moments where we saw some of the better qualities of these out of form players returning.
I’m thinking mostly about Harry Toffolo’s raids down the left flank, where he regularly got into space and managed to play intelligent passes inside to players charging towards the box. Toffolo’s assist for the opening goal came from such a move but there were several other occasions where he did the same thing and it caused repeated problems.
Sticking with Town’s first goal for a moment, Holmes is another player that lookediı a lot better yesterday. His first touch for our opener was superb, it took several defenders out of the equation and gave him a clear path to goal. This came at a time in the game where Town were enjoying some neat build up play but sloppy touches meant we weren’t making the most of our opportunities. Just a small amount of composure can go a long way in those frantic, open stages of a game when both teams are going for it.
Sorba Thomas deserves a mention too. He’s still struggling at times but his run in behind the defence and deflected cross for Ward’s goal was a sign of what he’s capable of. His booking for his temper tantrum in the first half and the repeatedly underhit corners show that he’s still not back to his best but he’s still a threat whenever he’s on the pitch.
Finally, Sinani was another of the players that put in an improved performance. Prior to his injury he had looked off the pace but yesterday was a return to form. His composure and technical ability were a key part in the goal he scored and his quality on the ball helped us to retain possession higher up the pitch and he linked things up nicely during the spells where we managed to apply pressure on Bristol City’s box.
Bristol City showed some Town-like tendencies
After gushing about some of the attacking play from Town yesterday, I also should acknowledge that we also benefited from some fairly dodgy moments from our hosts too. Bristol City showed why they are in a similar position in the table to Town. In moments they looked pretty decent but too often they messed up promising attacks with sloppy passes or dodgy touches.
While I tend to watch most games with blue and white tinted glasses on, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Bristol City weren’t very good yesterday and that was a large factor in the result going to Town. Like with so many games this season involving Huddersfield Town, my overall impression was that it was “two poor sides” facing each other but at least we just about edged it.
Like Town, City wanted to play football the right way but their execution wasn’t quite there. It made the game entertaining to watch but the frequency of mistakes and missed opportunities showed that neither side is likely to be bothering the top end of the table this season.
Two points off the playoffs but doubts remain
Carrying on the theme from the previous section, I’m still not convinced about this Town team even though we’re tantalisingly close to the playoff positions. It’s hard to argue that a team can be in a false position 23 games into the season but that’s my honest opinion about Town right now.
I think we’ve done remarkably well to pick up the points we have done with the squad we’ve had this season but the panic many fans felt after the poor run Town were on prior to this game shows how fragile the confidence is in this team.
I don’t like to be too doom and gloom after a victory but I think it’s too easy to criticise after a defeat but many of the same issues that have seen us drop points lately remained in this game. Luck and a more positive strategy saw us get this result over the line but I’m not banking on us making a late playoff charge this season.
At least it seems likely now that Town won’t be embroiled in another relegation scrap. We now sit 14 points clear of the relegation zone, so surely even Town can’t fall so far as to be worried about survival this season. If you think this kind of mentality is tempting fate then I would suggest backing Town to go down, as we’re currently rated by the bookies as a 66/1 shot for the drop. Optimists can get 40/1 on Town being promoted but surely nobody genuinely thinks we’re going up, do they?
Taken together, it’s clear bookmakers don’t expect to see Town doing anything other than finish comfortably midtable. I’d be pretty happy with that after so many years of struggling over the line.
Penalty woes
Thankfully it didn’t affect the outcome of the game but it’s worth taking a moment to look back on Danny Ward’s penalty. This was the fifth consecutive penalty Town have missed (if you exclude the penalty shootout in the league cup) from five different penalty takers.
While I would usually say that your main striker should be on penalties, I’m not sure Ward was the right choice for penalty duties yesterday. Thomas and Sinani both took our other set pieces yesterday and both strike the ball more cleanly than Ward.
Sometimes penalty saves are down to brilliant goalkeeping but yesterday’s save doesn’t fit that category. Once he’d guessed the right direction the poor effort from Ward meant it was a regulation save. It was a nice saveable height, not near enough to the post and not hit hard enough to overcome the poor placement.
I’m probably in a minority of Town fans in this view, but I was dubious about the penalty decision yesterday anyway. Lewis O’Brien is a master of nipping in front of players and then chucking himself to the floor. This regularly yields free kicks in midfield areas but in the box there’s usually a higher threshold before the whistle is blown and I thought the contact was too minimal to justify a penalty. So maybe it was the football gods leveling things up with yet another unconverted penalty for Town.
Colwill’s error is the price of playing out from the back
If no further goals had been scored after Bristol City’s first yesterday then this article would have spent a lot more time dissecting Colwill’s error in the build up to that goal. Luckily it didn’t stop us collecting maximum points but it really was a daft mistake to try and dribble his way out of trouble when it was obvious he just needed to get rid.
All teams that play out from the back, including Liverpool and Man City, concede goals like this from time to time. If it’s only every now and again that it happens then it’s generally seen as a price of this style of football and, on balance, it’s worth it for the extra control you get over a game by keeping hold of the ball more. The problem we had last season was that we were messing things up in almost every single game, if Colwill can put this blunder behind him and avoid doing it again for a while then it’s just one of those things.
I’m aware that Naby Sarr gets a lot more stick for similar mistakes but I think that’s justified due to the frequency he was doing this sort of thing last season and the fact he’s a seasoned pro. Colwill is in his first full season of men’s football and despite the fact he typically plays with composure beyond his years, we have to accept that he’s going to get things wrong occasionally.
What now for Town?
Prior to this game the narrative was that Town were on the slide and there was a bit of pressure on Carlos to turn things around. To his credit, he did just that in this game. While it wasn’t a perfect performance, it was encouraging to see Town look to keep attacking even when they were ahead and this was ultimately a large part of why we won the game.
Blackpool at home represents a good test of where we are. It’s certainly winnable but they haven’t been the whipping boys they were tipped to be at the start of the season and could provide a tricky test. I feel more optimistic about our chances than I did before yesterday’s game but the only thing that has been consistent about Town this season has been our inconsistency. Actually, that’s not true, there is another consistent thing: Turton getting subbed on after 70 minutes – at this point I’m assuming he’s splitting his appearance fee with Carlos.
Finally, Merry Christmas to all Town fans reading this, especially all the regular commenters who are so consistently thoughtful, entertaining and polite (which is so rare online these days). I hope you all have a safe and happy festive period.
I didn’t see the game apart from the highlights, but nice for all to get a win just before Christmas. I’m hoping for a comfortable upper half finish with the opportunity to try some of these youngsters we keep hearing about in a no pressure situation.
A merry and safe Christmas to all.
Only going from the audio commentary and today’s 10-minute highlights, your assessment that “it was two poor sides facing each other but at least we just about edged it” is spot on.
And I also agree with you that there’s something very odd about the league table this season that a team as average-to-poor as Town can be only 2 points off the play-offs at the mid point.
And no, despite not being an enthusiast of the team’s capabilities, I don’t think we’ll get relegated. That would require a slide beyond all slides.
Matt Glennon is very realistic about Town’s capabilities on the audio commentary. He rightly says that players who are constently good week in, week out, cost many millions. Town have spent nothing and unlikely to spend anything in January. So it’s inevitable that you’ll get weeks when it clicks and weeks when it doesn’t. That’s life as a Town supporter; hoping for more good days than bad.
Good comments TS a Merry Christmas to you and your readers, your comparison of the playing attributes of the two teams apt and small individual improvements telling, although promotion with this team might necessitate surrendering my season card, with the prospective horror show in mind!
What a great start to the match; another Cowill error – their almost commonplace at the moment, his talent and concentration are not currently aligned; a poor penalty from Ward – at that height the shot needs raw power.
However the collective response to going behind was far more reassuring than when taking the lead. Holmes took his goal calmly, maybe he should be the penalty taker, but he was weak in tracking, in possession and passing, Thomas was found wanting defensively again. The match however was good to watch in spite of or maybe because of the impending doom created by the opening ten minutes.
I don’t like watching matches from behind the goal but our midfield woes with regard to our regularly disastrous passing and giving ground and space to the opposition up to the penalty box appeared the same. There were a few heart stopping moments defensively throughout the game not least in the last fifteen minutes amplified by my viewing position; City had more and better opportunities to score than us.
On balance it was a well deserved victory not least because of three well taken goals, especially Sinani’s whilst Ward’s was more opportunistic after not allowing his penalty miss to affect him.
I just wish Corberan would stop tinkering by bringing on substitutes when the team is playing well together. He takes off the most effective attackers, Ward, Thomas and Holmes and puts on Rhodes for 12 minutes, Turton for 6 and Koroma for 1 minute not counting injury time. It doesn’t leave the substitutes time to settle in and I’m sure the players taken off could have managed the full 90. It just disrupts the team and that’s when we tend to concede.
Just a few points to mention Terrier.
Bristol City may have been poor, but when Huddersfield were poor against Barnsley and Coventry we still managed to draw. Signs of a good side? I’m playing devils advocate here, but don’t talk negatively about Huddersfield’s win because the opposition were worse than us.
And as for Sinani, poor chap. Two goals in four games and he is out of form? Three goals in five games now. I accept there is more to football than scoring goals but he seems to be a player people want to dislike. Ollie Turton is another.
As for the amount of points we have picked up with this squad – its a much better squad than last season and no mistake.
Enjoyed the blog and the comments.
17 points from safety is all I keep telling myself. Hopefully we all get to watch Town win on Boxing Day and see what 2022 brings.
Bristol City did sit back, but we seemed to have a front 3 plus wingbacks and LOB full of energy and a clever movement for once.
The thing I always pick up from CC is how high his standards are and when he is unhappy with our bravery. He almost never questions the effort, but will often say we were not brave enough. So Simon’s comment, “…you’ll get weeks when it clicks and weeks when it doesn’t. That’s life as a Town supporter; hoping for more good days than bad.” rings true as this was just one of those days when it clicked and even CC was happy.
Have a great and safe Christmas all of you. UTT.