Huddersfield Town lost 3-1 to Barnsley on Saturday thanks mostly to Owen Goodman conceding the first due to a handling howler and then being sent off for an ill-judged charge out of his box that looked more like it belonged in professional wrestling rather than football. Though it has to be conceded that Town started poorly regardless of Goodman’s antics and Barnsley deserved their lead, which they extended with a deflected goal that wrong footed Nicholls. The third for Barnsley came later in the second half after a spirited response from Town, this time a saved shot fell kindly for Keillor-Dunn to convert from close range.
It was a poor day for the majority of Town’s players, who were put in an awful position by Goodman and the game was effectively over before half time.
Owen Goodman – 2 out for 10
He started the afternoon with an impressive double save (the second shot was offside but nobody knew that at the time, so it was still a good stop). Sadly it went quickly downhill as he fumbled a routine attempt to claim a cross which was swiftly converted. I suspect he was looking for opportunities to make amends when he saw McGoldrick advancing in the channel. The wisdom to come at all was dubious (Feeney and Low had him covered) but to do so and not get the ball was shocking. He may have got away with only a yellow for clattering in feet first, had he not followed through with an elbow to McGoldrick’s head. His blunders cost us the game, which isn’t nice to point out but it’s unavoidable when one player has so significantly impacted our chances. He’s been great in four games and poor in two so far, which isn’t the kind of consistency we want. I like Goodman but if Nicholls does well during Goodman’s three match ban then he only has himself to blame for losing his place.
Lynden Gooch – 6 out of 10
Unlucky to be swapped at half time, as he was far from our worst player on the pitch. He made some useful skirmishes forward, finding space in the middle to cut in and create angles for forward passes. The pick was the chipped ball forward that picked out Ben Wiles’ run, which could have easily been a goal if Wiles hadn’t taken too long to shoot.
Josh Feeney – 5 out of 10
Not his most commanding game. Made some decent clearances but should have cut out the cross that led to a disallowed Keillor-Dunn goal. Was also a bit slow to react to the loose ball that Keillor-Dunn pounced on for their third.
Joe Low – 5 out of 10
Should have scored from the close range header from a well-worked short corner, but went for a tricky looping header to the far post that went over, when nodding it down to the near post would have been easier to execute and more likely to go in. Wasn’t his usual reassuring presence at the back, guilty of losing his head when all around him were losing theirs.
Sean Roughan – 4 out of 10
Not specifically to blame for the second goal, which went in because of the deflection off him, but the replays show him turning his back to the incoming shot which I don’t like to see. If he’d have been more focussed on blocking the shot rather than protecting himself, it’s possible we could have kept the score at 1-0 going into the second half and then it’s a lot less comfortable for Barnsley. Looked sluggish at other times, getting caught in possession and wanting more time on the ball than he had.
Herbie Kane – 5 out of 10
Another player that looked off the pace and lost too many individual battles in his area of the pitch. The Barnsley fans’ boos didn’t have the effect I hoped for, as he played well within himself. Being a man down meant that he had less time on the ball and fewer options to pick out colleagues in space, making his natural game hard to get going.
Ryan Ledson – 5 out of 10
Put in a brilliant targeted cross from deep to drop it on Joe Low’s head but the unmarked man mountain fluffed his lines. There were times where Barnsley’s slick passing in midfield made Ledson look like one of those inflatable dummies on the training pitch, as he was bypassed by their passing and movement. Far from his finest game.
Marcus Harness – 7 out of 10
Worked tirelessly to find space and progress Town up the pitch. Was our most creative player and the best things we did tended to come through him. It’s a shame the rest of the team weren’t playing at his level, as a lot of his best work added up to nothing because of those around him.
Ben Wilke – 5 out of 10
Made a brilliant run to get through on goal but wasn’t quick enough with his feet or his thinking, which allowed the defender to catch up and tackle him. He’s often quiet for long periods in games before springing up in good areas, which isn’t too bad if he makes the most of those chances. If he doesn’t convert when he gets into decent positions then his presence in the team feels like an expensive luxury.
Ruben Roosken – 3 out of 10
Would have been our worst player on the pitch on any other day, everything he did went wrong. Either running straight into trouble, dithering on the ball or passing straight to opposition players. I’ve no idea why he threw in such a shocking performance but it was a relief to see him sacrificed to bring on Nicholls after Goodman’s red card.
Alfie May – 6 out of 10
Fed off scraps, as happens too often, but still managed to create those little spaces he needs to shoot. Unfortunately it was typically from poor positions and he didn’t get close to scoring. It was a sensible choice to switch him for Taylor at half time, as a player with more raw pace was more useful for this situation.
Substitutes
Lee Nicholls – 5 out of 10 – Wrong footed by the second goal, which took a heavy deflection that made it hard for him to shift his weight and dive the other way. The third is harder to explain away, as he pushed a long range effort straight into the danger zone, when I’d usually expect him to guide it around his post. A relatively poor performance by Nicholls’ standards but far better than Goodman. He now has a few games to establish himself as number one while Goodman is suspended.
Joe Taylor – 7 out of 10 – Did a lot of running and competing for balls he wasn’t likely to win. Got his reward with his goal, where he was alert to a dodgy backpass and converted the opportunity well.
David Kasumu – 7 out of 10 – Brought the qualities that our midfield had been missing, with his energy and tenacity. After a good outing in the cup against Sunderland and indifferent performances from our other midfielders, Kasumu must be close to taking either Kane or Ledson’s place in midfield.
Lasse Sorensen – 6 out of 10 – It was his pressure that forced the dodgy back pass that Taylor pounced on for our consolation goal. Did a lot of running but didn’t create much otherwise.
TS, your ratings are spot on, but I think it could be argued Goodwin fumbled the first save and was slightly lucky with his double save early in the game, although as you say the offside flag saved any potential blushes there was nothing unlucky about his handling of the ball, just incompetence in losing it when conceding Barnsley’s first goal. Then he didn’t deal with his failures very well amplified by hurling himself at McGoldrick in a not particularly dangerous situation some distance from his goal – the dismissal was inevitable, Prior to this, infuriating periods of an overload in passing betwixt defenders and keeper had to be endured as a result of Barnsley’s energy and pressing.
As a team we played reasonably well in parts despite the disadvantage but Barnsley played very well even when it was 11v11. After previously praising Roosken’s touch it completely deserted him in this match and he was rightly hooked for Nicholls. Who played well? Harness and Taylor scored.
The referee looked out of his depth with some very strange decisions – similar to Goodwin.
I forgot to mention that Goodman also handled the ball outside his box without punishment, so it could have been a hat-trick of mishaps for him if the ref was watching properly. Hopefully this was just a bad day at the office. Though with Blackpool also being summer up that way too, we can’t afford many more without it impacting our chances this season.
Nico Vaesen was sent off on his debut for, if I remember correctly, a rash challenge out of his area. Goalkeepers, I know this as it is the position I have mostly played, are a bit like drummers. Mostly very reliable but prone to do the odd weird thing. He will learn from it I’m sure.
The drummer comparison is a good one. They’re part of a group but slightly outside of it too because their roles are different. I’d forgotten about Nico Vaesen’s debut but that’s a good example of why we shouldn’t write Goodman off just yet. Vaesen had a tricky start but was one of the finest keepers I’ve seen play for Town.
I think awhile ago you did call him Kamikaze Goodman. How right you were.
What a mess.
I can see that he’s got potential to be a very good keeper. But I also think he wants to be the main character too often, which was exactly the reason he decided to smash into McGoldrick when he had well-positioned teammates to deal with the threat.
Did Goodman , have a lobotomy prior to the kick off over at Barnsley. Complete cock up by Goodman for there first , totally agree with previous comment. Goodman was lucky with the double save. Red card all day long for Goodman. 2 questions need asking , why did he feel he had to rush out , to an area which there was No danger. Secondly why take the striker out , No need to .
Nicoholls was at fault for there 3rd goal.
Hopefully both goalies will learn quickly, from there massive mistakes. If not , we are in for a long season. Besides a striker or 2 needed to be brought in. Put a Good experience Goal keeper, Top of the list .
UTT-⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
I don’t know exactly why, but I’ve heard keepers say in the past that it’s hard to come off the bench and perform when you’re not expecting to be involved. It sounds like a weak excuse but hopefully Nicholls will be better when he knows that he’s going to be playing in these upcoming games. Goodman needs to get better with balls that bounce in front of him and to improve the mental side of his game when it comes to recovering from mistakes.
Goodman had a bad game, but whats all this rubbish about him being lucky with the double save???
Its like you (inluding TS) want to kick him when he’s down.
The ball squirmed under him but he made enough contact to stop it rolling over the line. There’s maybe some luck involved there but I thought he did well.
I agree with your point about kicking him while he’s down to an extent but it would be a bit odd to write about this game without discussing the errors Goodman made. Thankfully, I’d hope he has better things to do than read this blog, so it shouldn’t affect him. But I do agree with you that player ratings articles can feel a bit like kicking players when they’re down. I once gave Jack Rudoni a 5 out of 10 and then I noticed his mum had just started following me on Twitter, so must have seen the write up. Since then I try to be fair and balanced as much as possible. The rule I try to follow is to focus on the performance not the person. So I wouldn’t say Goodman is a bad keeper but I would feel comfortable saying he’s had a bad game. We all have bad days though, so I’m optimistic that he’ll more than make up for these errors over the course of the season.
The problem with having such a standout culprit to blame for the defeat, it distracts from the very mediocre/poor performances right around the team. I wasn’t there but listened to the live match commentary. What I heard was that Roosken was also having a very bad day and was probably fortunate to get pulled to make way for Nicholls.
This team does have undoubted potential but they need to keep their feet firmly on the ground. They are going to have teams up-and-at-’em most weeks and they’re going to need to combat that. There’s no divine right to be in the top 2, or even the top 6, and unless you are as good as Birmingham were last season, it’s going to be a battle.