Huddersfield Town managed to shake off a dodgy start and end up comfortable winners of their Yorkshire derby against Hull, giving Mark Fotheringham his first win. It wasn’t a completely convincing Huddersfield Town performance but there were plenty of positives anyway, most of them came in the second half when Town established themselves as the dominant team.
While it was clear that Hull are not a good team, it was pleasing to see Town manage to finish the job against a weaker opponent and hold on to a lead. It felt like a third goal was close for Town on several occasions but in the end we had to settle for a 2-0 win. Here’s what I thought of each individual performance…
Lee Nicholls – 6 out of 10
There was a slightly hairy moment in the second half where he became a sweeper keeper and came out to intercept a loose ball but he dealt with the danger well and stopped a threatening attack developing further. Beyond that, Hull’s wasteful potshots from distance didn’t trouble him. His distribution wasn’t always amazing but he was otherwise fine.
Tom Lees – 7 out of 10
Very solid at the back, dealt with everything that came near him without any fuss. Had a good opportunity in the first half to score that he might have done better with. I think he’s starting to build a relationship with Helik which will be useful as the season progresses and they play more together.
Michel Helik – 8 out 10
Like Lees, very solid at the back, snuffed out plenty of danger without any fuss at all. Doesn’t try to do anything fancy but does the basics very well. He did pull off a superb one-on-one sliding tackle that would have meant big trouble if he didn’t time it perfectly. The rest of the time he was positioned well enough to not need to make last ditch interventions. He also did a great job with his goal. I loved how the ball, the Hull defender and Helik himself all got powered into the net with the force of his header.
Yuta Nakayama – 6 out of 10
Like several Town players, Yuta had a very iffy start to the game but finished it strongly. He misplaced too many passes in the swirling wind in the opening exchanges and didn’t settle into the game. Then after we took the lead he seemed more assured on the ball, was able to pick out blue and white shirts more easily with his passes and generally looked classier. Not to mention that he won the header in the set piece that went on to set up Helik’s goal. I think he’s a good addition to a back three with Lees and Helik as he’s more capable of carrying the ball upfield whereas the other two aren’t that way inclined. He’s certainly less of a liability than Mbete and makes far fewer errors.
Sorba Thomas – 7 out of 10
Perhaps not back to his fluent best in open play but his set piece deliveries were excellent once more. There was a plan to blast corners into the near post which I wasn’t sure about but they did cause a bit of chaos. His free kick led to the second goal and there seemed to be menace and whip on every delivery. Despite picking up a petulant yellow card for a revenge tackle on the player that crocked him moments earlier, I thought he generally looked happier on the pitch than he did in the last few games of Schofield’s time as head coach. The dark cloud seems to have lifted over him and he seems to be happier which I think he needs to produce his best football. There are some players that can thrive on negativity and use it as fuel to propel their performances but Sorba needs to be loved and looks at his best when the crowd are cheering him on and he’s getting the full backing of his coaches.
Etienne Camara – 8 out of 10
I’m being a bit generous with this rating as he was dire until the great bit of play he produced that led to the opening goal, then he seemed to grow in confidence along with the rest of the team. Early on he dithered on the ball too much and didn’t get into a rhythm with his passing. Later in the game he had the awareness to nudge the ball into space before taking a look around to see what passes were on. I still think he takes a little bit too long on the ball at times and invites more pressure on himself because of this tendency but he rode that pressure well in the second half and made Hull’s players look silly at times with his clever footwork. I think he’ll look better when Kasumu returns to partner him to share the defensive duties as Rudoni and later Mahoney weren’t naturals at playing as deep lying midfielders.
Jack Rudoni – 6 out of 10
Like Camara, Rudoni really struggled in the early stages of the match and with both our central midfielders not firing it meant we couldn’t get a foothold in the game and possession was squandered far too easily and Hull kept getting the ball back. Unlike Camara, Rudoni didn’t dramatically improve as he continued to misplaced passes as the game went on and he didn’t get to grips with the job he was given. Too often he tried to pull off hopeful hoofed balls forward to nobody in particular when we needed to build play up patiently or at least play a more intelligent long balls to the forwards.
Ben Jackson – 7 out of 10
A very solid showing at left wingback, motoring up and down his flank with purpose, both in attack and defence. I like the intensity he brings onto the pitch and his attitude. There’s probably a bit of development required on the ability side, which will come in time as he adjusts to the Championship, but I think he’s showing the mental and physical attributes that are needed to make an impact at this level.
Duane Holmes – 6 out of 10
Buzzed about and got himself into some useful areas to cause problems for Hull’s defenders. It would have been better if this busy work actually led to more end product in terms of either shots, assists or even decent passes to set up chances for colleagues but that wasn’t often the case. However, I think this role of sitting behind the front two suits him as it gives him the licence to roam around the pitch and drop into the wing areas and drive into the box. While he may aspire to be a box-to-box midfielder, this free role behind the strikers may be his most natural position.
Jordan Rhodes – 8 out of 10
I thought Rhodes was superb at the bits and pieces he was doing in the channels in this game. While it isn’t glamourous to pick up the ball on the wings and exchange passes with the midfield, it does help to build up play. He was neat and tidy in everything he did which helped everyone else in the team. It’s not headline grabbing stuff but it makes it easier to get a foothold in the game. Then he also provided the threat we needed in the box too, blasting the decent chance he was given towards the far post to elicit a great save from their keeper that led to a goalmouth scramble with two more attempted shots that didn’t go in.
Danny Ward – 6 out of 10
Rhodes was the one given the task of dropping off more and Ward tended to be further forward, as far as I could tell, so he was less obviously involved in the game but still did plenty of running and bothering the back line even if it didn’t get him much in terms of tangible results. He did get himself an assist for our second goal though, with a creative lofted cross to the far post which was headed home by Helik. I think the fact that Ondo was called up from the B Team suggests that Fotheringham wants something a bit different up top, as Ward and Rhodes are similar propositions. For now though, I think Ward’s starting position is safe.
Substitutes
Connor Mahoney – 7 out of 10
I thought Mahoney was absolutely reprehensible in the league cup earlier in the season, genuinely, disgustingly bad. However, in this outing he looked a completely different proposition, much better. Clearly a spell in the B Team has done him good and his fitness levels have got closer to where they need to be and he looked more up for it.
Oli Turton – 6 out of 10
Fine, did a good job of shoring things up on the right-hand side in the late stages of the game. Much more defensively sound than Sorba Thomas, even if he isn’t likely to set pulses racing when he gets forward.
Josh Ruffels – 6 out of 10
Another one that was solid and dependable off the bench. Helped to see the game out and keep Hull’s limp attempts to get back into the game at bay.
Charlos Ondo – N/A
A nice cameo performance, he ran his socks off and showed willingness to run the clock down, picking up a booking in the process. There weren’t any opportunities to see what he can do with the ball at his feet really but it’s good he got his senior debut under his belt and hopefully more meaningful amounts of minutes will be given to him in the future.
No big argument from me, TS. Your individual & overall assessment I largely share.
If I had to quarrell with one score it would be Rudoni. I like what I’ve seen of him on previous occasions; always good to see a genuinely left-footed player in midfield (cf O’Brien); but I thought he was very poor on Sunday. He misplaced a couple of early passes and got caught in possession and after that I thought he went missing, even hiding, not making himself available to the back three. I’d have subbed him at half time. I hope it’s just one bad game and that he’ll quickly get back on his horse.
I do totally agree with your generous assessment of Camara but he is starting to look the real deal.
I was pleased to see Diarra make the bench; shame we didn’t see him on the pitch. I’ve still got high hopes for him. Ondo – who? He’s gone under my radar. I can’t say I saw anything in the few minutes he had on the pitch but Fotheringham must have seen something.
I just query the approach that “it’s all about what you do in training” in order to get selected. It’s probably ok at this stage in order to up the ante in training sessions but it surely can’t be maintained as a policy. There must be players who are brilliant scampering about, doing drills, but freeze on match day (Mbete?) and you’d potentially end up with too many inexperienced B team players on the field at once.
At least it’s 3 points and we’re back within touching distance of the pack. You’re right, Town weren’t great but Hull were marginally worse. If Hull had scored in that first 20-minute spell where Town hardly had a kick or if their striker had knocked in that chance to equalise on the stroke of half-time, it might have been a different outcome.
I think Fotheringham was trying to make a point about training.It seems Danny Schofield was on too familiar terms with some players.I don’t think he meant it literally he just wants to make the point that he will not stand any nonsense in training and quite rightly so.Some players need a swift kick up the backside.
What is is about this group of players that they are far from their best/hopeless in the first half of games. If MF had sent out 11 different players for the second half one could have said yes not surprising as the first 11 were hopeless and well done for making the changes of all 11 as the players in the first half were hopeless and the players in the second half were great.
This has been an issue for what seems like months now. Change of managers seems to have made no difference. If Hull had had anything about them we would have been x goals behind at half time and sent out the changed 11 for the second half and still lost as we could only win the second half 1-0 after being 2or 3 down at half time.
I am teased for my use of the word “bizarre” but I feel it is justified in this case.
Have you any thoughts as to why this conundrum still prevails TS ? Despite changes of managers.
Great report as always and U(but for goodness sake stick a rocket up their harses before the game starts) TT !
Spot on.
Not much to dispute about your comments TS. The first half was so painful to watch constantly expecting a calamity or the concession of a goal at any moment. The first eight minutes involved a continuous pattern of mistakes: passing; marking; ball watching; losing possession; you think of a type of error and it will be in there somewhere.
Fortunately matters improved especially in midfield where Camara and Rudoni initially appeared to mistakenly believe they were infallible – they were rubbish. That pair were the major authors of incompetence but others were keen to occasionally follow in their footsteps. Rudoni is not a number 8.
Our good fortune came in the shape of yet another own goal, down to Camara’s creative juices flowing in making himself space and crashing in a deflected cross, good fortune again just before half-time when the defence, yet again left a player, in this case Longman, alone for far too long, luckily with Nicholls’ assistance he pushed the goal scoring chance wide.. A bit of genius from Ward created a sitter for Helik although I half expected the referee to whistle for a push in the defenders back. At last I could enjoy the rest of the game.
I think it’s fair to say that Hull were favoured defensively with a number of shots being saved, blocked or hit woodwork and unlucky with their own efforts on goal, perhaps incompetent rather than unlucky.
I thought Nicholls, Jackson, Helik, Rhodes and Thomas impressed, Holmes in the number 10 role was rarely involved and certainly not defensively, which was a very good thing. Our midfield pair was painfully slow and inaccurate initially but improved. I look forward to Kasumu’s return.
MF sounds like a mega-confident bloke, which seems to transfer into the minds of players, he’s talking us up the table already.
Our passing out from the back is and has been for a long time consistently poor.
A deserved win against inferior opposition and again I state – there is hope.
I think we are possibly starting to see emerging what might be Town’s best starting XI. The defence looked pretty solid with that back 3; Kasumu coming back for Rudoni is the one obvious change. Rudoni might swap for Holmes or even Diarra for Holmes. Simpson (once fit) will be another sriker option.
If we’re continung with this formation, if I were an opposition manager, I think I’d be targeting Town’s flanks. Relying on Thomas’s defensive skills at wing back worries me and Jackson is inexperienced and seems to prefer attacking rather than defending.
Question – is there a place for Hogg (once fit)? I don’t see him as part of our best back 3, and for me, Kasumu and Camara are now in the driving seat in the central positions in front of the back 3. So it might be a subs role for the team captain.
A clean sheet at last. Just because we struck gold with Colwill last season doesn’t mean all young loanees are going to be a good thing, especially in defense. Boyle in my opinion gets the nod before those 2. Good to see some energy in midfield and looking forward to seeing a new striker come through. I was beginning to think there were no teams in the div worse than us, so there is hope yet !
I agree with most comments on here, poor for the first 20 minutes got better as the game went on,but why do have all 11 players in the box for corners and free kicks Thomas and Holmes can’t head the ball or tackle so why not leave them up the pitch, they will take at least 3 players out of the danger zone and leave the defence more space to defend.