Huddersfield Town 3-3 Manchester United U23s – Player ratings

Huddersfield Town played out an entertaining draw with Manchester United youth team this afternoon. Town only fielded seven of their senior players, so it was another chance to see some of our exciting academy products in action.

Here are my ratings for the players this afternoon. Before reading it’s important to note that most players didn’t play the full 90 minutes, it’s only a friendly and I was watching on a fairly blurry YouTube stream so might have missed a lot. With that in mind, take all these ratings with a pinch of salt.

Hamer – 4 out of 10

Made a huge error for the opening goal and looked nervy for a good while after. I’ve watched the goal several times to try and work out what he did wrong. He knew the Man United player was coming but turned his back on him anyway and took far too long to get his pass away. He did otherwise have some nice moments and showed some creativity and ambition with his passing out but has to get the basics right.

Harry Toffolo – 7 out of 10

Looked good back in his usual left back slot after playing in central defence on Wednesday. The new formation allows him more licence to get forward and this should mean we see him putting more ball in the box this coming season.

Romoney Crichlow – 8 out of 10

Could have done better for Man United’s second goal but opted to let his man pass him rather than risk a red card by jumping in. Otherwise this was a very assured performance where he looked far older than his years. I’d like to see him compete for a place in the first team this season as he looked significantly better than Stearman.

Richard Stearman – 4 out of 10

Continuing his poor form from the Millwall game at the end of last season. He looked slow and out of touch for long periods of the game. He was regularly up against Elanga and couldn’t get near him. I’m not ready to give up on Stearman yet but he needs to improve his form between now and the start of the season.

Aaron Rowe – 9 out of 10

I’d be tempted to make him my man of the match because he was superb for the majority of the afternoon. He tired badly in the last ten minutes but that’s understandable given the sheer amount of ground he covered. He seemed to pop up everywhere, made some great runs and put in a few decent tackles too. It’s great to watch him slalom through tackles and almost dance with the ball at his feet.

Josh Austerfield – 8 out of 10

Another assured performance from the youngster in the deep-lying midfield role, arguably against tougher opposition than Bradford. He looks so confident on the ball and makes intelligent passes without fuss. I hope we see a lot more of him in the coming season. I’ve gone from barely knowing he existed to being one of his biggest fans in the space of four days!

Ben Jackson – 7 out of 10

Very quiet in his first spell and struggled to make an impact on the game. Far better and more lively when he re-entered the game in the second half. Made some positive runs forward, played a great low cross into the box late on and showed off his range of passing again. He seems to be able to ping crossfield balls straight to his colleagues with both his left and right foot.

Alex Pritchard – 8 out of 10

I don’t know if it’s the deeper position on the pitch or the responsibility of having the captaincy but he’s looked really good in his last two games. As a number 10 he often ran straight into trouble and lost possession but playing deeper gives him more time on the ball and space to play passes. He also struck the ball superbly for the goal he scored from a freekick.

Josh Koroma – 8 out of 10

Took a while to get into the game but made a brilliant run and square ball for Town’s second. He linked up nicely with Aaron Rowe regularly and made cleverly timed runs to get into space. His goal was the perfect way to cap off a great performance, he showed good feet to get his shot away and then it flew into the top corner like a rocket. It’s a shame such a good goal came in a friendly, hopefully he can reproduce that moment in league games too.

Juninho Bacuna – 7 out of 10

Played left wing to start with and then dropped into midfield for the second half. I’m not sure out wide is the best position for him but he made a decent fist of the job he was given, looking most dangerous when he drifted inside. His goal was a tap in after Koroma did the hard work but it was good to see him getting into those positions and attacking the ball when it was played in.

Danny Ward – 6 out of 10

Didn’t do anything wrong but also didn’t make a huge impact on the game. His movement off the ball looked good and he was unlucky at times when balls weren’t played into where he wanted them. I think he’s going to be a useful member of the squad and will fit in well with the new system.

Substitutes

Jaden Brown – 7 out of 10

Looked a little out of place when he came on as a winger, lacking the touch and threat to play that far forward. When he reverted to his full back position he seemed more at ease on the ball and made some penetrating runs with the ball from deep.

Headley – 7 out of 10

Didn’t have long on the pitch to make an impact but some creativity and guile on the left wing. I particularly enjoyed him giving a bit back to the Manchester United player that fouled him. I worry that academy players can be a bit wet behind the ears, so I don’t have a problem when they show a bit of fight and passion.

Obiero – 6 out of 10

It didn’t quite come off for him when he played up front. He didn’t receive a lot of service as Manchester United finished the game strongly but when he did get on the ball his touch let him down occasionally. Still showed signs of being a quality player but not his afternoon today.

Diarra – 7 out of 10

Another player that had two separate spells, like Ben Jackson. Didn’t do a great deal in the first half but in the second half he managed to get stuck in and fought for the cause. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get on the ball much in the final third so we didn’t get to see what he’s capable of closer to the goal. He looks physical size and technical ability look far beyond his 17 years, so I’m very excited to see how he develops from here.

Pat Jones – 7 out of 10

He looks lightning quick but didn’t manage to get one on one with his full back in a race to the byline. He did create a few openings with dribbles infield and showed that he’s capable of carrying the ball when under pressure. He may be a bit too raw for the first team but has bags of potential.

Mustapha Olagunju – 7 out of 10

Didn’t have much time on the pitch but didn’t let himself down at all. He looks like a big, strong player with a delicate touch on the ball. I recall one tackle late on which was excellently timed and stopped an otherwise dangerous sitaution from developing.