Dominating big moments, Drury’s high standards, actual Northern Football and Savage’s touchline antics – Notes on Huddersfield Town’s 4-1 win over Peterborough

Huddersfield Town beat Peterborough 4-1 on Tuesday night, in a game where both sides struggled with the greasy ball and soggy conditions but Town were clinical in front of goal and won by a margin that makes the game look more comfortable than it actually was. Fernandes’ creativity and Joe Taylor’s persistence were too much for Peterborough, who played well but couldn’t break us down in the same way we repeatedly carved open their defence.

Martin Drury was harsh in his assessment of the game, despite the 4-1 scoreline. He had a point that Town’s control of the game wasn’t as good as against Plymouth at the weekend but in previous seasons we’ve rarely put together back-to-back performances in these weeks where the games come thick and fast, so I was more than happy with what I saw. 

Here are a few more thoughts on the game…

Town dominated the big moments

There was a lot of very sloppy football played in this match by both sides but I thought the real difference between the two sides was evident in both penalty areas. On the few occasions where Peterborough were able to create openings in our defence (often due to slips and trips rather than good play) there was always a man or two able to cover and we made some excellent blocks and last minute challenges to prevent shots getting off cleanly. I’ve often felt that Town have struggled to identify danger in their own final third, so it was pleasing how well we restricted Peterborough’s chances even if we allowed them to have a lot of the ball. 

At the other end of the pitch, we saw some good finishing alongside some bad defending from Peterborough. Joe Taylor’s brace was particularly pleasing, after seeing him spurn two one-on-one’s with the keeper against Plymouth, he made no mistake in this game when he rolled the ball around the on-rushing keeper. His second was a more typical striker’s finish, where he converted Harness’s lovely square ball. 

Bronkhorst’s goal to open the scoring was an excellent bit of set piece work. Archie Collins delivered a superb curling free kick to the far post, where three Huddersfield Town players were unmarked and any one of them could have converted it, but it was Brokhorst who wafted a foot at the ball to divert it into the net. Not a glamorous goal but it will have delighted the coaches to see a set piece routine work so effectively.

Bali Mumba’s goal was also thanks to Town’s sharpness in the final third as well as some pretty school-boy defending from Peterborough. The highlights make the defending from Peterborough worse because in isolation it looks like far too many of their players were drawn in to Fernandes and he was able to suck them in and then slip a simple ball to the onrushing Mumba. This only happened because Fernandes had so relentlessly tormented their defenders and made them look silly throughout the game. After DSF had consistently got the better of them, it’s more understanding that three or four defenders rushed onto him, even if it did leave other players completely unmarked. Credit is also due to Mumba who showed good composure to take a touch and curl the ball around the keeper to the far post, a goal he deserved after putting in another excellent shift on the left.

Martin Drury’s high standards

I find it really interesting that Martin Drury’s assessment of this win was a lot more negative than I expected. All of his criticisms of the team were valid but, in my eyes, forgivable given we won the game and played the better football. 

It’s refreshing to hear a Town managed being harder to please than the fans, as it’s usually the other way around. One of my pet hates is when a manager tries to talk up an underwhelming performance, like they’re putting lipstick on a pig. 

Part of me wonders if Martin Drury was using the pick up artist technique of “negging” his squad, by which I mean he might be expressing his disappointment at this game in order to make the players eager to perform even better. We could have controlled the game more and been more careful with how we used the ball but we also played some decent stuff in patches too. 

Settling for good enough can lead to complacency, so it’s good that Drury is setting a high bar for what this team can do. To say that we’re currently in the automatic promotion spots and have played some good football in our opening 11 games makes me excited about what this season could be like. If we can get better than this then in theory we should be right up there at the end of the season. There’s a lot of football to be played before we get there though.

“Northern Football” a season after it was promised

I might be a bit different to some Town fans but I often prefer to watch a good performance over securing a good result. Obviously it’s nice when we get both together but I like to be entertained when I’m watching a football match; I’ve come away from pretty much every game Town have played this season feeling like I’ve watched us really have a good go at the game. It might not always work but you can see the effort both on the pitch and from the coaches to have us get the ball forward and put other teams to the sword.

Just like previous managerial appointments in recent years, we were promised fast, attacking football that reflects the values of the fans, or something to that effect when Drury was announced as the permanent manager in the summer. Similar statements had been uttered when Duff, Grant and Manning were appointed, most notably when Kevin Nagle said Lee Grant would bring “northern football” to Huddersfield Town. 

If that phrase was so tainted by Grant’s failed tenure, Northern Football wouldn’t be a terrible way to describe Drury’s system at Huddersfield Town. It would certainly be more original than calling it “Druryball” (which sounds like something you should see your doctor about if you catch a case of it). There’s grit, but also a bit of flair, it’s straight forward in many ways but is also difficult to produce on the pitch. It’s also the type of football that Town fans have always been receptive to. Keeping the ball just for the sake of it is boring and counterproductive, but moving it quickly through the lines and giving players the opportunity and the support to really attack the opposition is always fun to watch even if it’s a risk that can occasionally backfire. 

Whatever you want to call the football we’re seeing this season, it’s making me actively look forward to watching Huddersfield Town play. These last few seasons I’ve often found myself seeing games as more of an obligation to fulfill, where we might be decent but quite often it would be frustrating and tedious to watch. 

Any other business

• Robbie Savage and Martin Drury’s touchline antics – During the spells in the game where the football became fragmented and bitty, it was an entertaining sideshow to watch the two clubs’ managers flap their arms and scream at their players. If either man was behaving like that on a high street they’d be sectioned but in the coaches’ technical area it’s OK to rant and rave. I’d say that Robbie Savage probably edged it, in terms of which manager was the most animated. I particularly enjoyed him booting the advertising hoardings, angrily clapping at the fourth official and squabbling with the fans in the Riverside Lower about a penalty he felt his team deserved but nobody else had seen.
• Football under the floodlights – I know many people find mid-week games a bit of a bind and the “bums on seats” attendance yesterday must have been pretty poor judging by the empty seats. But those that turned up will have seen the stadium looking absolutely superb in the autumn drizzle under the flood lights. The effect of the lights on the misty rain made the whole stadium almost glow.

• The Rollover Pizza Twist – Huddersfield Town usually give me plenty to moan about but at the moment I’m feeling pretty good about the football on the pitch. Thankfully my experience of grabbing tea from the concessions under the stands did give me something to grumble over. I made the mistake of ordering a “Rollover Pizza Twist” and had one of the worst culinary experiences of my life. Eating this “pizza” was more like chewing on an old slipper that someone had squirted some ketchup and dairylea inside and baked in the oven. I also found quite a lot of pepperoni inside my supposedly margherita flavoured abomination. It was stone cold and almost devoid of flavour. The worst thing was that I actually ate it rather than chucking it in the bin. So not only was I thoroughly disappointed in the food I bought but also in myself for having so little respect for my tastebuds that I ate this disgusting mess. To compound my misery, it cost £9.30 for this atrocity and a cup of Bovril (which was, in fairness, very good). I have nobody to blame but myself. And perhaps whoever dreamt up the concept of a “Pizza Twist” at Rollover. If I was to describe this culinary experience in Huddersfield Town terms, it was like the Old Trafford playoff final against Peterborough and the Wembley one against Notts Forest rolled into one. I’d say, “stick to hotdogs” to Rollover but I’ve had those before and they’re woeful too. Next time I’ll bring a pocket pork pie from home rather than buy food from inside the stadium.