Huddersfield Town took the lead twice and were pegged back twice against QPR this evening. It wasn’t a vintage performance but at least Town managed to take a point from it.
Results elsewhere suited Town and mean they are still in a commanding position in the playoff race without many games left to play.
Peformances in this game were a mixed bag, some players struggled in unfamiliar roles, others were OK and a couple were poor without much excuse. Here’s what I thought…
Lee Nicholls – 7 out of 10
Not at fault for either goal, reliable with his distribution and commanded his area well when coming for crosses. There were very few saves for him to make but he did everything required of him.
Oli Turton – 6 out of 10
Didn’t get tight enough for several crosses and made it too easy for balls to be played into the box from his flank. He did put a couple of decent balls into the box, his assist for Toffolo’s headed goal being the pick of the bunch. But, unlike Pipa, crafting those opportunities to deliver a ball usually requires someone else to have created the space for him to run into as he rarely beats a man himself.
Tom Lees – 7 out of 10
Won plenty in the air and was sensible in possession. I’ve not got a lot to say other than he was fine.
Levi Colwill – 8 out of 10
Despite being only 19 years old, we relied on him over and over again to be the player that started off our possession and carried the ball up the field. He looks so classy and reads the game very well. He picked out a couple of lovely quick balls into the forwards which sparked off attacks. Not everything came off for him but he got it right more often than not. He’s been good for Town since the start but he’s even better now and will be sorely missed when we have to give him back at the end of the season.
Harry Toffolo – 8 out of 10
I was a bit surprised when he popped up in the six-yard box to bid in our second, as were QPR’s defence as he was unmarked. He was regularly pushed forward and pulled back as part of Calros’ tinkering and he got on with the job wherever he was positioned and provided width down the left.
Jonathan Hogg – 7 out of 10
He started in that dual role of a defensive midfielder that becomes a central defender in possession but spent most of the second half as an full-fat central defender. He did a reasonable job and showed a bit more ambition than usual with his passing, with a couple of decent long balls out to the wings. He’ll be disappointed the goal was officially recorded as an own goal rather than credited to him but his lovely flicked header at the near post made the goal.
Jon Russell – 7 out of 10
I find Jon Russell a funny player to rate because he does some things consistently well, like shielding the ball, spreading play, controlling the ball under pressure and using his long legs to break up play. But he’s so, so slow. That’s not his fault but it does make it harder for Town to dominate midfield and push forward. I think we felt this a lot more in the first half when he and Hogg formed the central pairing and O’Brien was pushed out to the left. Having said that, his pass to Turton in the build up to Toffolo’s goal was sublime, showing both excellent vision and execution to pick out the unmarked fullback.
Lewis O’Brien – 6 out of 10
Maybe I’m setting a higher bar for O’Brien than other players but I thought this was one of his poorer performances. He was ineffective and wastefully deployed out on the left wing in the first half. He played more centrally in the second half and was, unsurprisingly, able to influence the game more and make his trademark driving runs forward with greater frequency. Even so, I was a bit surprised to hear him awarded the sponsor’s man of the match.
Danel Sinani – 4 out of 10
I worry that Danel Sinani may have become Town fan’s designated whipping boy and I’m judging him harshly because of preconceived ideas that aren’t a reflection of how he has actually played. But, he didn’t play well by any reasonable measure in this game. He struggled to control the ball, got caught in possession, made clumsy challenges when defending and could have cost us a goal when his cross field pass was intercepted on the edge of our own penalty area.
Sorba Thomas – 6 out of 10
I love Sorba Thomas and think he can do many things in football but I’m not convinced he can be a striker. He’s a superb winger at this level, similar as a wing back but playing up front doesn’t make the best of his qualities and exposes his weaknesses. He was offside far too often in this game and when he did manage to get in behind and stay onside he didn’t make the most of those opportunities. This is a shame as the whole gameplan in the early part of this match seemed to depend on playing balls over the top for Sorba to chase. I’m still going to give him a six out of ten despite these misgivings because he still put in plenty of decent crosses and provided our biggest goal threat. The fact we’re so dependent on Thomas creatively is a worry and hopefully something the recruitment team will look to resolve in the summer.
Danny Ward – 5 out of 10
Struggled to make an impact despite putting himself about the pitch. He was withdrawn at half time due to a slight injury concern which makes me wonder if he was playing within himself during the first half if he could feel something wasn’t right.
Substitutes
Duane Holmes – 6 out of 10
Busy as always but largely ineffective. We needed him to make an impact but he failed to get involved enough.
Tino Anjorin – 4 out of 10
He still looks miles off the pace of the Championship. He looked knackered within a few minutes of coming on and was unsure of where he should be at times. The few occasions he got on the ball were universally disappointing. Is there some weird contractual obligation for us to give him minutes written into the loan deal or is he one of those players that looks amazing in training but doesn’t do it on the pitch? With games running out, it seems less and less likely that he’s going to make a meaningful contribution to our season but I’d love to be wrong on this.
Pipa – N/A
A slightly baffling late substitution as he had no time to make an impact in a straight swap with Turton.
I agree with most of what you say although maybe too generous in your marks.
Anjorin as you say was disappointing; yet again it was impossible to determine what, if anything he is going to bring to this side, however he is not being given a chance to prove his worth through of lack of time on the pitch and lack of useful passes.
Unlike you I have plenty to say about Lees: one of my pet hates from first kicking a football when pig’s bladders were used to inflate the ball and dubbin was ineffectively applied to the leather to repel the water but in wet conditions they still ended up like medicine balls, has been the lack of commitment and poor technique in not making oneself “big” when attempting to blocking a shot, a football in the goollies being far less painful than conceding a goal – Lees turned sideways on for their second goal.
This game was a bit of a throwback. Town started brightly, scored a fortuitous goal, continued to play at an acceptable level, but eventually descended into the incoherent mess from which few emerged with credit including CC whose substitutions seemed dubious at the time and became more unfathomable as time wore on. The importance of Ward was amply demonstrated as time wore on, although we new that anyway, the introduction of Holmes baffling, apart from not being a “like for like”, he is just about reasonable going forward but otherwise a liability, his first two passes were gifts to the opposition and he maintained that standard, but then Rhodes who may have been considered has been consistently unsuccessful; I hope the recruiters are taking note.
In general I could not see what we were trying to achieve other than Hogg in a back three facilitating a magnificent fullback-to-fullback goal.
I was delighted to escape with a draw and as previously stated would be very happy with another one on Monday.
I think that the coach should also be added to match ratings. On this display he would rate only a 5 as his selections, original positioning of the players and the substitutions left a lot to be desired. Thomas isn’t a striker. O’Brien isn’t a left winger, Anjorin should not be used again and why would you bring on the smallest player that you have in Holmes to replace your striker. We still don’t have anyone to hold the ball and create in midfield. Russell is painfully slow and much too negative. Hoggs contribution is mainly defensive and O’Brien isn’t where he should be. Too often Colwill or Lees are stood still with their foot on the ball with no-one to pass to. Eiting has to play against Middlesbrough as should Pipa. Whether it’s Ward or Rhodes in the centre, Koroma should return to the left and Thomas on the right. Lets get back to what works with no more tinkering. I often wonder how we would perform if 6’6″ Naby Sarr would fare at number 9. He would certainly be someone to aim at and be a handful!
QPR had lost their last 5 games why did CC pick a defence looking team ; fortunately we scored
a goal from a corner but it didn’t take QPR too long to realise that Town built all their attacks from the back so their is not going to be an immediate danger and adapting well pressed accordingly in the end could have easily have won . Why oh why bring Homes on for Ward a big mistake he tried hard but he is not a center forward they were better options. Town lucky to get a point I was happy to see Hogg back to him normal self
I totally agree with the comments, however we have reached 70 points and that’s a great achievement in its self. Yes it would be interesting to see Eiting , if nothing else to try and get some creativity in the team. The next time we look at recruitment policy please mark up strikers being a must, as we seemingly only have one.
I fully agree with Bob’s comments. Our season has been remarkable, as I, for one, would have been pleased with a 10th finish after last season’s performances. We have needed a striker for many seasons, and why we haven’t managed to secure one is anyone’s guess. Playing a single striker such as Ward is a tough ask for the player. I am hoping that the recruitment for next season improves, as key areas still need improving.