Huddersfield Town succumbed to a last minute defeat to Barnsley yesterday in a hard fought game that lacked quality football but was full of frenetic action.
While the manner of the defeat was unlucky, it’s hard to argue with the outcome when we had ridden our luck at times earlier in the game and failed to take our chances at the other end.
In a season where there was more at stake, this result might have hurt but as we’re already looking very likely to finish midtable it’s hard for me to feel too upset. A draw would probably have been fair but you’re always likely to lose if you defend balls into the box as poorly as we did for both of their goals.
Here are my player ratings:
Ryan Schofield – 7 out of 10
Some excellent saves and some less marvelous moments but balanced out to be reasonably good overall. I thought he should have had a foul for a push for the first goal but regardless I’d have liked to have seen him make contact with the ball when he came for it. On the bright side, he pulled off an absolutely remarkable save in the second half which seemed like a certain goal. His distribution continues to be safety first, which made sense yesterday against a team that were pressing aggressively high up the pitch. The accuracy of his long kicking could be better but in his defense, he doesn’t have very much to aim for so has to be a bit more creative.
Harry Toffolo – 6 out of 10
Made some decent runs forward, particularly in the first half. Wasn’t given the usual amount of freedom though and was tightly marked when he did get into good areas. There was a moment where he latched on to a loose ball just yards from goal but his twisting and turning couldn’t generate the space he needed to get away a shot.
Naby Sarr – 6 out of 10
Had a few nerve-jangling moments where he looked like he was about to “do a Naby Sarr” but managed to dig himself out of the holes he dug for himself with last-ditch tackles or hurried passes after lingering on the ball a bit too long. Apart from narrowly avoiding disaster a couple of times he was otherwise steady.
Rarmani Edmonds-Green – 6 out of 10
Will most likely be disappointed with the late goal coming from the man he was marking. Fine margins often decide games and less than half a yard of space was all the Barnsley player needed to prod the ball into our goal. I was also a bit disappointed with his distribution, which was too often a long, aimless punt down field. This can be necessary when under pressure but often there were available passes nearer to him and he still launched it and rarely found a Town player with these long balls. It’s far better to go long than play a risky short pass but by opting to go long so often it invited more pressure as the ball usually went straight back to Barnsley. In fairness to him, he did well for his goal, so I’ve bumped him up from a five to a six out of ten.
Pipa – 6 out of 10
The way Barnsley launched their kickoff straight out of play on Pipa’s side revealed that they wanted to target this area of the pitch and a lot of Barnsley’s play was focused down Pipa’s side. He stood up reasonably well to this special attention but was less of an attacking threat than usual because of his additional defensive duties.
Jonathan Hogg – 7 out of 10
Another scrappy game that was well suited to Hogg’s special set of skills. Broke things up well and fought hard in the middle of the park. He also played one of the best passes I’ve seen all season from deep inside his own half, setting Fraizer Campbell clean through on goal. It’s a shame Campbell didn’t make more of one of the few moments of genuine quality all game, as the pass deserved a goal.
Lewis O’Brien – 6 out of 10
Managed to slalom through challenges and break forwards on several occasions. Those runs rarely turned into much but he did show an ability to drive us forward when he had the ball. His passing was a mixed bag once more, with some decent and others shonky.
Juninho Bacuna – 6 out of 10
Buzzed about in midfield and made a nuisance of himself but didn’t create a great deal going forward. Like against Watford he played with more discipline and didn’t mess about quite so much in possession though I distinctly recall a moment where he tried to juggle the ball in midfield and it fell to pieces.
Carel Eiting – 5 out of 10
The work he did in this game was generally good but once again there wasn’t enough of it. His assist for the goal was a lovely cross and capped off a neat training ground move. During the game he reverted to chasing shadows for long periods and couldn’t adjust to the frantic pace of the game. It’s a shame, because we needed a quality, ball-playing midfielder to grab this game by the scruff of the neck and exert some control of the game. Eiring has the talent to do this but doesn’t currently seem able to control the tempo of games and can’t bring order out of chaos. I’m convinced he can become this kind of player but he needs to be able to move and think more quickly and have the bravery to get stuck in at times too.
Isaac Mbenza – 5 out of 10
Looked like he’d had too many mince pies on Christmas day, a lethargic and sloppy performance after a series of fine recent displays. On several occasions he declined the opportunity to chase a ball from a teammate and looked like he was only willing to run after perfect passes and there were very few of those knocking about in this game. Both his hamstrings looked even more taped up than usual, so he may be carrying an injury and wingers tend to be hot and cold at the best of times, so hopefully this game was a one-off aberration and he’ll be back to his recent levels against Blackburn.
Frazier Campbell – 5 out of 10
Didn’t get loads of good service but equally didn’t make enough of the few chances that did come his way. Two fizzed in balls in the first half had him sliding in like Gazza in the Euro ’96 semi-final but, like Gazza, he wasn’t quite quick enough to get on the end to convert these good chances. There was also Hogg’s wonder pass that I mentioned earlier that he didn’t do enough with. A bit of competition and variety is needed in this positon, so I hope this is one of the positions we’ve identified to recruit for in January.
Substitutes
Alex Pritchard – 5 out of 10
Was about as ineffective as Eiting when he replaced him but ran about a bit more in the process. Looks like a shadow of the player we signed in the Premier League, who even then was a shadow of the player he was at Norwich and Brentford.
Adama Diakhaby – 5 out of 10
He had a few chances to take on his fullback and use his pace and seemed to forget his only notable attribute and just strolled about rather than . Even the most patient “there might be a player in there” defender of Diakhaby must be exhausted by his continued failure to perform.
I agree with your choice of the only 2 players worthy of a ‘7’ rating – Hogg & Schofield. Everyone else disappointed in some way although, as ever, some disappointed more than others. Eiting seems to ALWAYS disappoint these days. Pritchard did more in his 20mins that Eiting had done in his 70. Campbell and Mbenza offered very little. And both centre backs looked very shaky under pressure.
And what a daft winning goal to give away! We’d looked vulnerable under the long throw-in all afternoon, fortunate not to concede from one on a number of occasions, and what does Edmonds-Green do in the final seconds? Taps the ball out to give away a throw from exactly the same spot as a minute earlier. Brainless.
We were poor for long spells yesterday but I’d say Barnsley were too and they’re on a similar league position as us.
I’ve found it really hard to judge what kind of team Town are this season. We swing from looking great to hopeless from game to game, and sometimes even within the same game. Which is suppose means we’re hopelessly inconsistent. Which at least is better than being consistently rubbish.
I simply cannot agree with your “Prichard did more in his 20 mins” comment. Eiting did very little but did play a big part in our goal. Pritchard did sweet nothing. I am seriously considering researching how many games Pritchard has played, and of those how many he started but did not finish (becasue he is 💩), how many he finished but did not start (because he was too 💩 to start in a 💩 team), how many he started on the bench and did not appear from it (becasue he is too 💩), and how many he has missed becuase he had a sicknote from his mum because he is soft as 💩.
Something tells me you’re not part of the Alex Pritchard fan club Ian! Hard to disagree with your points. We signed him for big money to be our creative force and his goals and assists at Town have been pathetic so far. I’m still hopeful he could turn it round like Mbenza has but his frequent injuries and bad habits make me sceptical this will happen.
P.s. I’m not a prude and don’t mind swearing but the news aggregator site the blog is linked to uses a swear filter, so I have to edit out swear words I’m afraid.
By the way, was Oggy watching the same match? He seemed to be finding it exciting! It was a match devoid of any quality, lots of aerial balls on a windy day (?), neither side able to string a few passes together, although Barnsley slightly better than Town. The second half was like watching a match of amateurs playing on the local municipal pitch. Dreadful. That was nowhere near close to ‘elite sport’ being kept going in the pandemic to raise all our spirits.
It felt like a League Two game at times. The ball got stuck in midfield and it was very bitty.
The pitch and the wind definitely didn’t help but both teams were determined to not give an inch and that was the main issue. The battle for control was intriguing at times but there wasn’t much quality at all.
Felt like we were mugged at the bank door, we knew what to expect with the long throw merchant and should. have dealt with it, we all know who has to have their bus fares in Jan. 31pts by New yr. was as much as. could be hoped for, Eiting must have nightmares. about some of the idiots he has to play with. have got faith in Carlos & Co. just need their own players. UTT.
Thanks for your comment David. It was a sucker punch to concede so late but we created the circumstances that allowed it to happen.
I’m not so optimistic we’ll see much turnover of players in January. It would be good to ship out some do the underperformers but I can’t see us finding many willing takers. Carlos keeps giving game time to these perennial underachievers too, so it’s hard to argue they’re surplus if they keep getting picked.
It might not be until the summer, but I’m genuinely excited to see what Carlos can do with a team of players specifically recruited to this style of football. I’m hoping this year will be about laying the foundations and next year we can have a good go and competing at the top end of the league.
I have been intersted to read an artice to say that Huddersfield may be keen to get rid of this player and that player in January, but one that bemused me was Schindler. How a professional sports journalist thinks we can sell an injured player is beyond me – mind you we did get rid of Kongolo (that looks like money well spent by Fulham). Talking of money well spent – Karlan Grant!!!!! I thought West Brom were taking the mickey when they messed around all summer, but who is laughing now????
5 for Diakhaby? Same score as far better players?
He was only on for a few minutes though. It would probably have been fairer to score him N/A. In my view he deserves a poor score because he was brought on to turn the game in our favour and didn’t. At the same time he wasn’t awful, just ineffective. Five feels about right.
Strange system if you can go for a bit and do nowt (and have never done owt) but get the same score as someone who has run around all day but made a few mistakes.
I think you’ve been generous again, I think there were a few fours out there, but nothing wrong with your comments.
Our penalty area defending returned to the pre-Sarr days but unfortunately he was there this time!
Campbell should have scored two goals, which would have secured a useful win, but as it was, we returned to scoring first and conceding two – not a good habit. Barnsley played well in my opinion and deserved the win.
Barnsley’s game is more territorial than position it’s like a Rugby Union hybrid not attractive but against Town effective. Kick the ball into touch in the opposing teams area or long throw ins is their speciality. Get the ball bouncing about like in a pin ball machine you needed a couple of flippers in goal not Schofield. If this is the future of football think I will have to stop watching. With regard to Paul Ogden he is more neutral than the Italians in world war 2. Who would believe he’s supposed to be the commentator for Town. He probably supports Man Utd he gets me as that sort of guy!
Did anyone else see the foul throw for their second goal
It did look a bit dodgy Ian. With VAR it might not have been given but I don’t think many fans of Championship clubs are in a hurry to get VAR at our level. Whether it was or want a foul throw, we still should have defended the ball coming in better than we did.