Huddersfield Town left it late against Cardiff but eventually found a way to win a game that seemed destined to end in frustration for Town fans. Late, late goals from Koroma and Russell meant Town preserved their unbeaten run for another game and solidified their position in the playoffs, rising to fourth in the table.
It was far from a perfect Town performance, with Cardiff setting up to defend and Town struggling to break them down and frequently giving the Welsh side opportunities to break against us. This is the kind of game we’ve regularly struggled to win, so even if the football was poor at times, it feels like a huge step forward to have won a game against a team that parked the bus.
Here’s what I made of each player:
Lee Nichols – 7 out of 10
Kept us in the game in the first half with some smart saves. The conditions were horrendous, so he did well to avoid making any mistakes with a greasy ball and a slippery surface. Interestingly, his pass completion rate was 96% which is incredibly high for a keeper, showing how much we passed it out from the back last night.
Oliver Turton – 5 out of 10
After a rigorous examination against Fulham, he had a lot less defending to do against Cardiff. Could perhaps have provided more in attack but that’s not his natural game and he was playing somewhere between a third central defender and a right back. This was a game that was crying out for a swashbuckling full back like Pipa to get forward and create something, Turton is more of a meat and potatoes defender and therefore was never likely to provide a moment of magic to create something.
Matty Pearson – 7 out of 10
I’ve never seen him sprint as much as he did last night and he seemed to just about win all the foot races he got involved in. He’s not exactly rapid but he’s quicker than I thought. As Town pushed up more and more he was left exposed on a few occasions but made important tackles and interceptions when we needed him to.
Tom Lees – 5 out of 10
Was fine for most of the game but stepping out of the backline in the build up to Cardiff’s goal created the space for Doherty to exploit. Was unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a nasty elbow from Hugill late on in the game. Hopefully he’ll recover from the blow in time for Saturday’s game.
Josh Ruffels – 4 out of 10
Had a steady game apart from one bad moment that let Cardiff in to score. Was too weak and didn’t get a tackle in, which allowed Tommy Doherty a clear path through to goal. Like Turton, I’d have liked him to have got forward a bit more and made more of an effort to create something for the forward players.
Sorba Thomas – 9 out of 10
Was the difference between defeat and victory, putting in the two crosses that created both goals. He put in a total of 24 crosses over the course of the game, which shows how much we rely on him to create something when everyone else is coming up blank. If I was being picky, perhaps he could have found a Town player with a few more of those crosses he put in but that’s more to do with the fact Cardiff had giant defenders to nod away most balls that came near them.
Jon Russell – 8 out of 10
He’s a joy to watch at the moment, a big bruiser of a player with a lovely delicate touch when on the ball. I love watching how he buys himself time on the ball when it comes to him. He knows where the danger is and just nudges the ball away from the threat to create the space he needs to look up and play a pass. He’s young and learning his craft, so it’s not realistic to expect him to play this well every game but so far he’s slotted right into the Championship and looks like the exact thing we’ve been crying out for in midfield. Showed good composure and skill to stab home the winner in a crowded box.
Lewis O’Brien – 7 out of 10
Struggled like the rest of the team to find any space in the first half but was starting to really boss the game in the second half until… he got shunted out of position to make way for substitutes (again). Initially moved to the left wing so Eiting could play in the middle, then to left back so Koroma could play left wing. It feels like a very odd way to treat your best player and I would understand if O’Brien felt frustrated to be used as a utility player rather than having the team built around him.
Duane Holmes – 5 out of 10
Didn’t lack in effort but execution was often poor, buzzing around with the ball at his feet but not able to make a telling pass or find the space to get away a shot. He looked like a central midfielder playing on the left wing rather than a proper winger, which is a shame as we needed someone that could get to the byline and deliver quality into the box.
Danel Sinani – 3 out of 10
Allowed Cardiff clear through on goal when he was caught in possession and regularly looked off the pace. His first touch just isn’t good enough for this level of football, too often he fails to trap simple passes and the ball bounces off him and it leads to an attack breaking down. There have been games earlier in the season where he’s looked very good but his recent form stinks, quite frankly, which is unusual when the rest of the team are flying.
Danny Ward – 5 out of 10
Looked very frustrated at times last night as the ball just wasn’t coming anywhere near him. He only managed 20 touches all game and few of them came in dangerous areas. Not really his fault, as there was next to no service for him. A snapshot early in the first half was his biggest contribution to the game but that was from a narrow angle and never seemed likely to lead to a goal.
Substitutes
Carel Eiting – 6 out of 10
Looked tidy with his passing and helped us to move the ball more quickly during build up play but didn’t make the key contribution I hoped he might make with his passing ability.
Josh Koroma – 8 out of 10
I didn’t expect much from him after a few indifferent performances lately but he changed the game in Town’s favour. His runs down the left made things happen and he managed to get himself into decen positions. It was also pleasing to see him occasionally look to go outside his fullback and cross rather than always cutting in and trying to shoot. The strike for his goal was excellent and will hopefully have done his confidence some good.
Jordan Rhodes – 7 out of 10
Won the header and guided the knock down to Koroma to set up the equaliser. I don’t think of Rhodes as being a brilliant header of the ball but he did well in this moment and it helped win us the game.
Town are now definitely in the mix for promotion.Cardiff have always been our bogey team even going back to David Wagner era.To be able to overcome them speaks volumes.What next?Birmingham and Peterborough are both winnable and it strikes me Town could actually be in the top two positions by mid March.It highlights the depth of our squad when the likes of Toffolo and Hogg are on the bench.
From despair to elation; but that’s pretty normal for us Town fans.
Another inept first half. At times you wonder what they work on in training. Sinani was diabolical, Holmes only marginally better than Sinani, and Ruffles just a smidge better than Holmes.
Sorba did the right thing in those conditions – get the ball high into the box. Not subtle but nonetheless effective. He was outstanding last night, closely followed by
Sorry, clicked too early.
…..closely followed by Jon Russell. The way he took his goal was more skilful than it first appeared.
It was a stolen 3 points but we’ll take them.
Totally disagree that the 3 points were stolen. It was a patient, measured performance by Town with 73% possession, 12 corners and 14 shots. Cardiff are a dirty ( 7 bookings!) side who came just to defend. They were lucky to keep 11 men on the field. They had a lucky individual breakaway goal, otherwise Town were on top the whole match. The relentless pressure paid off in the end by Town being the fitter and better team.
TS I agree with you about most things especially Pearson being quicker than you thought, for me the same applies to Russell. Prior to the games denouement Thomas barely merited a 5 which emphasises his effect on proceedings at the end; and yes, the role of O’Brien baffling
Astonishing yet again, it’s inconceivable that this team could ever lose a football match – I wish! I suspect along with most folk I was praying for a draw not three points.
The end product not really justified by the means; to not have a shot on target until the seventieth/eightieth minute is a reflection of the team’s lack of ability to counteract the low block for so long was disappointing to say the least. In theory we have the ammunition to exploit the possession advantage but not the accuracy of passing or the movement in the final third. A solution will need to be found as this conundrum is likely to appear even more regularly as the season closes. Maybe the Premiership will suit us as this puzzle will not present itself regularly, if at all!!!
Thomas through many eyes was man of the match but his control, passing and decision making were inadequate until the latter stages, when his determination to retrieve the situation was plain to see. If only he in particular, together with the rest of the team, could have produced such commitment from the off.
Nicholls once again excelled, that goes without saying. CC’s substitutions were adventurous, ultimately, thankfully paid dividends; Sinani and Holmes are not suited to this type of game, the former was removed just as he had woken up. Eiting and Russell have the skills to work in tandem, the latter’s feet improvised a seemingly simple goal – it was not, Koroma, for a change, looked confident, taking his goal in emphatic fashion, perhaps a turning point for him. This situation was ideal for Rhodes’ introduction where he can make an impact in the penalty area, which he did, rather than his futile role at Fulham.
The best thing of all was for the crowd, finishing the game and leaving the stadium in high spirits.
When Town are passing across the back 4 or midfield they need to fizz the ball quicker than the present slow passes. The opposing defenders have lots of time to get in place.
Steve
Australia
This piece should have said we were not perfect but we won. It doesn’t matter how as long as there are 3 points at the end of it. I suspect that all us commenters are old duffers who couldn’t run 20 yds. Most of the team had battled Fulham and run many miles just 3 days ago, travelled a 400 mile round trip and then come out to beat a good Cardiff team so less criticism and a lot of credit is more appropriate.
You’re clearly a nicer guy than me, John. The message was that Town were so ‘buzzing’ (the modern vernacular) after the win at Fulham, the team couldn’t wait to get out on the pitch and do it all again. The reality was that they played dreadfully for about 75mins out of the 99. Retaining the ball for lengthy periods by passing it about amongst the back 4 or 5 isn’t that difficult against a side with no great ambition to attack. I thought it might be a new tactic to bore everyone to sleep, including the Cardiff team.
I’m really not intending to be over critical. I’m absolutely delighted to have got the win and by the end there were a few creditable performances. I’ve already singled out Thomas and Russell but I’d add Nicholls (yet another good match), O’Brien (shame he was moved out of the middle of the park), Koroma (shame about a rather embarrassing header shortly before he scored with what was a good strike to find the gap), Rhodes (critical header to set up the equaliser), and the central defence was solid. So it wasn’t the disaster that looked likely for 86mins.
Was it a steal? You could argue that based on possession stats alone, it couldn’t be. I put myself in the position as if I was a Cardiff supporter; you’ve kept Town at bay for 86mins and done so pretty comfortably; you’ve scored a decent goal plus had other half chances, then 2 goals conceded so late on from 2 fairly average crosses, I think I’d feel robbed.
I agree with your comments Terrier but do not think your ratings reflect the comments. Cardiff are one of the form teams so you would expect them to put up a fight.
Turton is meat and potatoes so that has to be worth a 6 – he does a job. Ruffells was undone by an excellent move by Cardiff for which they deserve credit and worthy of ripping him to shreds with a 4. You blame Tom Lees for stepping up to allow the chance to be created – he made one error and gets a 5. There is a theme here that you have been a tad harsh.
On the other hand you say Thomas made 24 crosses, but how many were killer – you do mention the lack of service Ward got though and I assume that is because Thomas is a bit thick putting high balls into the box with giant defenders??? Sure he was instrumental in both goals but his ratio of killer balls to crosses cannot make him a 9 – maybe a 7 at best. And as for Lewis O’Brien being shunted around to make way for substitutions – I presume you are giving Carlos 11 out of 10 for his attacking and game changing substitutions then.
Agree, for 75 minutes we looked unable to pierce Cardiff’s defence. Rhodes has come on a few times now and provided lovely touches to set a goal up. Russell looks a gem, Lewis carries the ball so well and Thomas looks a real threat.