“He keeps playing well despite being shunted all over the pitch” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s win over Birmingham

Huddersfield Town achieved something incredibly rare yesterday: a straightforward victory. After putting in a defensive masterclass against Fulham and then coming from behind in the final moments of the Cardiff game, this game was far less dramatic with Town getting comfortably ahead in the game and then doing enough to keep their hosts at bay.

It’s very rare for Town to win by more than a single goal so I feel like this result represents another step forward for this team. It was also another clean sheet to add to the tally, which the defence deserves credit for after withstanding a lot of Birmingham pressure in the second half.

Here are my player ratings.

Lee Nicholls – 8 out of 10  

There’s a concept called the “hedonic treadmill” which states that whenever you have something good you tend to get used to it after a while and then just take it for granted. So a new car or house is nice to begin with but then you become accustomed to it and don’t enjoy it as much as when you first acquired it. There’s a risk of this happening with Lee Nicholls as he’s putting in great performances in nearly every game at the moment. His push onto the crossbar from Hernandez’s strike was superb given the speed the ball was traveling and the small deflection the ball took on the way. Even if it is something he’s doing every week, he still deserves all the praise we can throw at him.

Oliver Turton – 6 out of 10

It’s occured to me that we see the best of Turton when things aren’t going well for Town, so he really came into his own when Birmingham were having their spell of having a lot of possession. His positioning is always good and he gives the team stability. Not an exceptional performance but very steady at the back.

Matty Pearson – 7 out of 10

Very solid at the back, making sure that he got his body in the way whenever Birmingham looked like getting in behind him. Typical, no-nonsense defending.

Levi Colwill – 8 out of 10

Scored a goal to celebrate the day of his 19th birthday in style. While it looked like an own goal to me, I’m glad it’s been chalked up to him as he deserves the credit. Did incredibly well to step into the starting eleven after a long time out and didn’t look rusty at all. He had more touches of the ball than any other Town player, which shows how much we trust him to bring the ball out from the back. While Lees has been great lately too, I think I’d prefer Colwill kept his place when Lees’ recovers from his knock to the head. 

Harry Toffolo – 6 out of 10

Put in a good shift but didn’t actually create a great deal with his energetic running. He was steady at the back though and was involved in a lot of neat link up play on the left wing. 

Jonathan Hogg – 7 out of 10

While he was the deeper lying midfielder, he actually popped up further up field than usual and was able to get involved in attacks a bit more. Won most of his battles in the middle of the park and gace Juninho Bacuna a bit of stick at times too. 

Jon Russell – 6 out of 10

Not a bad performance at all but not as eye catching as he has been in his earlier games. Like Sorba Thomas at the start of this season, he wasn’t likely to be able to sustain Man of the Match winning performances every game, so it’s a relief that when he’s not awesome he’s still fine and contributes to the team. Helped a lot with the defensive side of the game and made it harder for Birmingham to get through the middle of the park. He tended to drop a little bit too deep at times though, which is something I’ve noticed in previous games too. Still, it’s incredible to think he hadn’t started a Championship game until a few weeks ago as he looks so comfortable at this level.

Lewis O’Brien – 8 out of 10

Took his goal very well. While it looked like a tap in at first glance, he showed good composure to slot it into the corner rather than blasting it at the keeper. It’s to O’Brien’s credit that he keeps playing well despite being shunted around all over the pitch. On Wednesday night he played midfield, left wing and left back. Yesterday he played striker, left wing and in midfield. Personally, I’d like to see him playing in his preferred position but he tends to be one of our best players regardless of his position. As well as scoring he got plenty of tackles in, ran relentlessly and put in a few decent balls.

Duane Holmes – 6 out of 10 

Like O’Brien, a victim of his own versatility at times as he was played in a variety of roles. Put in plenty of effort and made some useful tackles but wasn’t the creative force I hoped he could be in the game. With stories in the press that Tino Anjorin is getting closer to being fit to play, Holmes will need to up his levels to retain his place in the team.

Sorba Thomas – 9 out of 10

I think I have slightly Sorba Thomas tinted glasses these days, I just love watching him play. Whenever he gets on the ball he looks like he’s going to make something happen and he played a key part in both of Town’s goals. He was heavily involved in the build up that led to winning the corner that he swung into the back post for Colwill to finish and he incredibly speed won the ball and led to the chaotic defending that set up O’Brien’s goal. Outside of those key moments he was regularly breaking forward and putting balls into the box. He was a little bit unlucky to see his shot from a narrow angle come back out after hitting the woodwork as his performance deserved a goal to cap it off.

Jordan Rhodes – 7 out of 10

Danny Ward works his socks off in every game so it wasn’t a huge surprise that he was rested for this game, particularly as Rhodes proved himself to be a more than capable understudy. He competed well in the air and his flick downs and knock ons were intelligently done even if his colleagues weren’t always reading where he was going to put the ball. Sadly his best chance of the game came when he got in behind the defence but a combination of a poor second touch and the speed of their keeper rushing out meant he couldn’t apply the finish. 

Substitutes 

Danel Sinani – 5 out of 10

I can’t remember anything he did, so I looked at his stats and he completed two of the seven passes he attempted. Not great but it was a tricky situation to come into as we were already two up and just needed to see the game out.

Danny Ward – 7 out of 10 

Looked really sharp and aggressive in his brief cameo and helped to relieve pressure by running with the ball. Will surely return to the starting lineup for Peterborough on Friday night.

Koroma – N/A

A last minute, time-wasting substitute. Arguably he deserved more of an opportunity after impressing from the bench against Cardiff but the competition for places is such at the moment that he may have to be patient.