“Gritty” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s 1-0 win over Millwall

Huddersfield Town fought hard and came away with all three points in a fairly stale encounter with Millwall. Maybe it’s my blue and white tinted spectacles, but I think that Town genuinely deserved to win the game even though the ref missed a blatant penalty that could have seen Millwall equalise in the dying moments.

Few players played badly yesterday even though the combination of their efforts wasn’t exactly sparkling football. In fact, Town were fairly ordinary for long spells but were organised enough to keep Millwall out and managed to score yet another set piece goal thanks to Sorba Thomas’ delivery.

Here are my player ratings:

Lee Nicholls – 6 out of 10

Had a horrible moment in the first half where he passed straight to a Millwall attacker but was bailed out by Colwill putting enough pressure on the Millwall man to stop a clear-cut chance developing. Otherwise he had very little work to do as he only faced one shot on target, which I’m struggling to remember. Apart from the mistake mentioned earlier, he made good decisions with the ball at his feet and wasn’t afraid to go long when the short option wasn’t available. While there’s still an obvious preference to pass out from the back we seem less suicidally fixated on this approach and the odd hoof down field helps reduce the number of heart-in-mouth moments.

Matty Pearson – 8 out of 10

He’s pretty shocking with the ball at his feet. In fact, I saw a stat that said he’s got the worst long pass success rate in the Championship. But it’s hard to give him less than an eight because he was superb in all other areas of his game. On one of the few occasions Millwall broke through the lines he made a stunning sliding tackle that was a certain penalty if he didn’t time it perfectly. He also managed to use his arms and elbows effectively to level things up when he was marking one of Millwall’s giant players at set pieces, giving little shoves and nudges at the right moments to put them off.

Tom Lees – 8 out of 10

Another gritty performance, snuffing out danger in the early stages and organising things at the back. He also had more possession than any other player on the pitch, which shows he took responsibility for bringing the ball out of defence and managed to pick out players further forward in decent positions. A huge part of why Town have gone from the league’s leakiest defences to being well organised and relatively stingy at the back.

Levi Colwill – 6 out of 10

Not his best performance but he was still part of an overall decent defensive unit and helped us earn another clean sheet. Millwall are the kind of opponent that you don’t come across in youth football, so it’s not a huge surprise that Colwill found it hard to deal with such a physical and direct opponent. He’s getting better though and the more he plays these kind of games the better he will get. He needs to learn that in some games it’s better to play the safer pass more often rather than giving away possession by attempting risky balls that aren’t on.

Sorba Thomas – 7 out of 10

I find it hard to put a mark out of ten on this kind of performance. He obviously struggled at times, misplacing passes and blazing chances miles over the bar but he also gave Scott Malone a torrid time for periods of the game and produced the moment of quality that led to the game’s only goal. So he was a 9 out of 10 for some bits and a 4 out of 10 in others, so splitting the difference and giving him a 7 out of 10 seems about right. He’s still the player I most want to see on the ball whenever he’s on the pitch and he’s able to put stunning balls into the box from set pieces. I wonder if we possibly rely on him too much though and there were moments yesterday when he seemed frustrated with himself. Getting the best out of Sorba Thomas is going to be a tricky challenge for Carlos Corberán in the coming weeks, it’ll be interesting to see how this is managed.

Jonathan Hogg – 8 out of 10

My choice for man of the match, not just because he scored the winner but because of the desire and grit he showed in the middle of the park throughout the game. He patrolled the patch of grass in front of the defence relentlessly and did a lot of cleaning up and showing for the ball. I was also pleased with how quickly he moved the ball, which frequently allowed us to progress up the pitch and find space further forward. He knew where his teammates were before the ball came into him and played clever balls out to the flanks or further forward to get things going. This isn’t always a strength of his but it made a real difference in the game yesterday, particularly in the first half when we were otherwise struggling to get out of our own half for long periods.

Lewis O’Brien – 7 out of 10

His usual busy self in the middle of the park. He made several jinking runs up field and managed to beat several players in the process. There were a couple of shooting opportunities he had in the first half which he could perhaps have done better with but I’m pleased he was at least having a go, even on his weaker foot. I wonder if he might be more prolific if he played on the right side of midfield, so he would naturally have the ball on his stronger left foot when he cuts into the box. Regardless, his link up play in the final third was good and his movement off the ball created space for colleagues to exploit.

Harry Toffolo – 6 out of 10

Another OKish performance from the fullback. Not bad but reserved and limited in attacking threat. Last season we relied far too heavily on our left flank for attacks, mostly because Toffolow was such a threat. Now it feels like Thomas provides the most threat from wide areas and Toffolo’s role is more to shore things up at the back and make only the occasional forage forward. Given this was the first game of a three game week he may find himself making way for Ruffels at some point.

Danel Sinani – 5 out of 10

It’s to his credit that he kept showing for the ball and trying to make things happen but he struggled to make an impact and too often either made the wrong choice or messed up the execution. He strikes me as the kind of player that looks world class in training but can’t replicate it during a match day. He clearly has immense ability and can play quality balls with his left foot but he wants more thinking time than he’s allowed in the Championship. I think the fact he’s not yet scored may be weighing heavily on his shoulders and getting his first could give him the confidence he needs to kick on.

Danny Ward – 8 out of 10

His only real chance came in the first half with a ball that came to him very quickly and he blasted far over. It wasn’t the easiest opportunity but it’s a shame he couldn’t at least test the keeper with his shot. Otherwise Ward was excellent, working the channels well, linking play up between midfield and attack as well as having more dribbles than any other player on the pitch. While the goals aren’t exactly flowing, he seems a lot more comfortable on the pitch these days and is contributing enough in other areas to still be useful when he’s not putting the ball in the net.

Duane Holmes – 7 out of 10

He faded a bit in the second half but he had a wonderful spell in the first half and was a major part of turning the game in our favour after we spent the first fifteen minutes struggling to get out of first gear. Holmes was the one that managed to pop up in space and move the ball to a teammate to kick off attacks. He didn’t always get it right but most of the time he helped progress play up the field and found a Town player in space.

Substitutes

Josh Koroma – 6 out of 10

Added a bit of energy and pace to the top end of the field in the later stages of the game. Had a great opportunity to score a break away goal when Millwall pushed up for an equaliser late on but frustratingly wasted his opportunity by trying to switch onto his preferred foot when there was a good chance available if he’d have shot with his left.

Frazier Campbell – 6 out of 10

Protected the lead well with some time wasting shenanigans late on in the game, as well as picking up his customary booking for an overly enthusiastic tackle which nearly took out an electronic advertising board.

Oliver Turton – N/A

Picked up another appearance bonus but didn’t do anything of note. I struggle to understand why he’s so regularly brought on as a sub when he rarely makes much of an impact. Though in this case it allowed us to switch the formation to 4-4-2, which I suppose helped us put more pressure on Millwall.