Huddersfield Town made eleven changes to their starting lineup and a youthful Terriers team fell to a 3-2 defeat against an almost full-strength Plymouth. While there’s a debate to be had about the wisdom of fielding such a weakened team and another about the true value of the FA Cup to teams like Town, I enjoyed the match and was pleased to see our academy lads given a chance.
I usually give player ratings after Town games but I’ve decided to step away from that tradition for this particular game. It doesn’t feel fair to pass judgement on yesterday’s Town team with it featuring so many players at the start of their careers. Instead I’m going to just write a few sentences to summarise each player’s performance and I’ll leave the numbers out even though I’ll try and give a balanced summary of their game.
I don’t feel comfortable giving out poor ratings to players that aren’t seasoned pros yet as they need building up at this stage of their careers. Equally it would feel fake to give artificially inflated ratings to players just because they’re young. Plymouth didn’t go easy on our players just because they were mostly from our academy, so I’m not going to in my comments but I’m not going to label them with a score out of ten which doesn’t account for their inexperience.
Mistakes are inevitable when you’re taking your first few steps in men’s football but I thought that the youngsters who played yesterday, on the whole, gave a very good account of themselves. I’m hopeful we’ll see a lot more of them in the future even if a few might need a bit longer in the B Team before they’re fully ready.
Ben Hamer
Hamer made a couple of very good saves to keep us in the game. His positioning was excellent and he showed good reflexes when the balls came at him quickly from close range. It will have come as a boost to his confidence to wear the captain’s armband for the game, even if it was because only he and Vallejo were over 23 in the starting lineup. Despite his good game, I’m still hoping Schofield remains our first choice keeper for the rest of this season. We’ve got ourselves into a position where there should be less pressure in the second half of the season, so it’s a good chance to give Schofield a decent run of games and see if he can be a main keeper next season.
Aaron Rowe
His goal was absolutely lovely to watch, particularly when you consider he took it on his weaker foot. The Plymouth bench must have been furious that he was allowed to dribble so far in field but the curling finish was a joy to behold. I thought Rowe looked a lot better going forward than he did when defending but he did the wing-back job well and provided some width and penetration from the right-hand side. Like you’d expect from a converted winger, the defensive side of his game could do with some improvement but he seems better suited to be the Pipa-style of rightback we need than Duhaney.
Mustafa Olagunju
He looks physically ready for men’s football but he also showed some genuinely nice touches on the ball too. I like the fact he’s always looking for opportunities to drive forward when he’s on the ball, even if his method is to mostly just charge up field. He was a lucky boy to stay on the field as long as he did, after an ugly two-footed lunge saw him booked where many referees would have gone straight for the red. He made the most of that lucky break though, going on to be the top-tackler in the game with five successful tackles to his name.
Romoney Crichlow
Scored a lovely glancing header at the near post for the opener. He saw a lot of the ball and moved it around reasonably well. Had we not got Edmonds-Green playing well in the first team, it feels like we’d have seen more of Crichlow this season. As it stands though, his chances may be limited in the second-half of the season as more experienced defenders recover from injury and arrive through the transfer window. So it may be that he gets some experience out on loan. This performance showed that he’s comfortable at League One level if the opportunity is provided him.
Jaden Brown
Not quite as polished a player as Harry Toffolo, he still made the same kind of runs infield that we see from his leftback colleague, popping up in central areas and causing problems. I’ve seen some critical tweets about him but I thought he played pretty well and provided us good options down the left-hand side. He latched onto a great opportunity in the box at one stage but dithered on it while he tried to position the chance onto his left foot when it really needed to be blasted with his weaker foot instead.
Alex Vallejo
I thought we had signed a Spanish Chuckle Brother when I saw his first few touches (
hermanos de la risa according to Google Translate) but he grew into the game from there. The ball seemed to bounce off him and straight to the opposition in the first ten minutes but after that he settled down and did well in tight spaces. He’s not Hoggy, there isn’t the same snapping and snarling approach, but he’s strong on the ball and can move the ball well out of defence. While I don’t think he’s likely to become a Town folk hero, I think he could do a job of filling in if injuries strike in his area of the pitch.
Josh Austerfield
He usually plays just in front of defence but was positioned further upfield to make space for Vallejo. While I wouldn’t easily be able to point to a moment of brilliance, I thought he was a steady and assured presence in the middle of the park. His range of passing is impressive and he looks comfortable on the ball. After some excellent performances in the friendlies at the start of the season too, I hope he’s edging closer to being involved in the first team more in the future.
Demeaco Duhaney
Played as a “number 8” according to Carlos’ post-match comments and looked like a player that wasn’t familiar with the role they had been given. He had some nice moments where he got on the ball and dribbled through midfield but too often lost possession and was too easily brushed aside by his opponents. With the emergence of Rowe as a rival in the backup rightback slot, Duhaney’s role in the squad is under threat and this performance suggests he’s not likely to make the grade as a Championship-level midfielder. I think he’s a bit unlucky with the change in tactical approach this season, as he would have been better suited to the Cowley brother’s definition of a rightback, which emphasised defending first and overlapping more cautiously.
Matty Daly
I felt like Daly was trying a bit too hard at times yesterday to play a killer pass when a simple one would have done. His pass completion rate of 68% was poor not because his passing was bad but because he was taking too many risks when trying to move the ball forward. After being on the fringes of the first team for so long, it’s understandable that he wants to impress when finally given a chance but he looks like he needs a run of games before he’ll settle a bit more on the pitch and play more naturally.
Pat Jones
Put in a beauty of a corner for Crichlow to glance in for Town’s opener. Also managed to do well in the funny half-winger, half-striker role that we persisted with in this game despite having enough wingers available to play a proper 4-3-3. His pace gets him into good positions but he also showed a bit of nous when attacking defenders and frequently got the better of them. At just 17, he’s a bit raw and a bit lightweight but it’s crazy to think what kind of player he’ll be at 21 if he’s this good as a teenager. With careful management I can see him becoming a future star for Town.
Kieran Phillips
Nearly scored in the opening minutes when he applied an instinctive finish to a cut back that fell just behind him. His shot forced an excellent save from the keeper but unfortunately that was his only shot of the match, as he the service he received never again met the quality of that early cutback. There was still lots to like about his performance as he grafted and linked play up nicely. I’m not sure he’s ready to start games in the Championship just yet but I’d like to see him given more chances from the bench.
Substitutes
None of the substitutes had enough time to really impact the game. Aarons had the longest run out, at 20 minutes, but wasn’t able to do much. Bright looked, well, bright, as he buzzed about when we were chasing the game.
I thought the substitutes were poorly managed though as we made them at a time in the game when we were trying to put pressure on to get an equaliser but the sheer number that were made, too late and too close together, meant we looked disjointed and made it very easy for Plymouth to see out the game. This isn’t a criticism of the subs themselves but of the decision to leave it late and then make all those changes close together. It suggested to me that winning the game was far from a priority regardless of the lipservice given to the cup in the post-match interview.
I’ve so much to say but no time at the moment to say it all! I’ll return later.
Let me just say this – you do sound rather like one of those extremely liberal educationalists who prefer non-competitive sports days for fear of a child realising that they’re not actually a good runner!
I enjoyed the game, the best of the football came from Town. Well done lads. No argument with the team selection, we aren’t going to win the Cup, and given the paucity of our first team squad they needed protecting. Onward and upwards.
you see the bigger pitchure glenn thank goodness
Participation medals all round!
Another good and honest assessment which I agree with entirely. It was good to see the “fringe” players given a chance but thought they were often outmuscled, passing was shoddy and highlighted the fact that we are lacking strength in depth. I felt at times it was men against boys. It was probably a case of too much inexperience at the same time, similarly to the last match of last season.
I am not sure that Duhaney is good enough and although Rowe scored a brilliant goal he poor defensively, particularly for their last goal.
I see your point. By being played in the men’s team they are put under a spotlight that draws both praise and criticism and they have to get used to that.
But I feel more comfortable putting the boot into some waster that’s drawing tens of thousands of pounds a week rather than a young lad who’s only on a few hundred.
Can’t say I agree with very much of your assessment. Vallejo was the best player we had and I thought Hamer looked stiff and could have done better with the goals. The main point is that it is so sad that Corberan thought so little of the FA cup to put out such a poor team and even worse substitutes. He also gives very little thought to the supporters who look forward to getting big teams in the cup. Then there is the money a good cup run could have earned. He is proving to be a good coach but not a good manager. Bournemouth was the first example of that when it appeared he wrote off the match with his team selection before it was even played. At the moment he is operating in a cocoon of silence in an empty ground. It will be interesting to see how he performs when the fans return and he gets instant criticism or acclaim first hand.
john don’t you know about our injury situation a lot need to wise up to the pro game I’m afraid
You never make 11 changes unless you have already decided to lose. Really bad management and disrespect to the game, the cup and the fans.
I don’t disagree with you, John, although maybe not go quite as far as “already decided to lose”. Carlos probably thought that his young lads would give Plymouth a run for their money but I doubt he minded too much if they came up short. And that’s the issue – I mind and I guess a lot of other fans mind too. It could be a pre-season friendly and I don’t want to see my team lose. And in the FA Cup I absolutely expect us to be committed to it. It’s a dangerous game that Carlos seems to play occasionally – “we’ll sacrifice this match in order to win the next”. Don’t get me wrong, if Carlos manages to pick a fully fit and reenergised team next Saturday and we beat Watford, this weekend will be quickly erased from my memory.
I can’t believe what I’m reading! I guess it depends what you were expecting. If you’re happy to watch a match in a totally denigrated competition which is no more than an opportunity for a team of ‘young hopefuls’ to flex their muscles but nobody seems to care whether they win or lose despite it supposedly being a ‘cup match’, well fair enough. But if, like me, you are appalled by the way the FA Cup is now treated and what you naively hope for is a competitive ‘blood & guts’ match where the result in a knock-out competition of the greatest pedigree is everything, well maybe you can understand why I’m not in the camp saying “well done, boys, you did great” or “I’m not going to criticise your performance because you might be too fragile to take it” or “no matter that you lost, it’s only the FA Cup which nobody cares about anymore.”
Yes I’m cross. I get doubly cross when I hear this afternoon the hype of the “amazing giant killing act” of Crawley Town beating Leeds Utd 3-0 and in some way comparing it to giant killings back in the 60s 70s & 80s. It’s absurd! Nobody really believes it any more. Nobody thinks that was a Leeds team that bore any similarity to their Premier League side. Giant killings were exciting because you only got them occasionally; now you get a few every round!
I’ll just be glad to put this fiasco behind me and get back to a Championship match where we’re watching men, not boys, go into a proper battle and where the result matters. I think I can safely say there won’t be a single player who featured yesterday in next week’s starting XI. If any of us have wondered why Carlos has seemed reluctant to ‘use his bench’, we need wonder no more.
you are right about the media saying this match etc was a giant killing act when as you say both town leeds etc played the academy lads.
Enjoyed the game and pleased that we won.
But would have rather have played against a Town first team – win or lose.
Seems an increasing trend for particularly (but not exclusively) overseas managers to disrespect the FA Cup.
Plymouth more than deserved their win.
I fear the problems facing the future of the FA Cup are well beyond a few foreign managers disrespecting the competition. The problems started back in the 90s with the advent of the Premier League. The riches in the Premier League far outweighed a cup run. Some clubs became so affluent that they could afford to field a 2nd XI still strong enough to beat most lower division clubs. And the hope of getting into the top flight and all that money has permeated down to Championships teams except, as we saw yesterday, their 2nd XIs aren’t all that strong. Hence we’re seeing more & more supposed ‘shocks’ every year.
And it’s even more farcical when you have the BBC, unable to afford screening any live football (apart from women’s), able to afford screening a denigrated competition that few people seem to care about, and what does the Beeb naturally do? It hypes it up with all news bulletins talking of ‘big shocks’ and ‘acts of giant killing’. It almost classifies as fake news!
I don’t have an answer to this. I had hoped that this year, particularly as Town is sitting fairly safely in mid-table, that we would put out a competitive team and have a bit of a cup run. Instead we played a team packed full of juniors where it would have been more of a shock had we won!!
I hope Plymouth have a good cup run and show us what we’ve missed out on.
Well said Simon, that is the “magic” of the FA Cup these days, glad to be back to proper football on sat.
and Town DO have one or two young players who could make it to the first 11.UTT.
Sorry, but I am going to disagree with you over Rowe and Duhaney, and probably be unpopular in doing so.
Rowe – his goal aside – was shocking. Loose in possession, poor in the tackle and lacking in positional sense he is never going to be anything other than a filler, a make-weight squad member.
Duhaney – where do I start? Not good enough anywhere on the pitch and would struggle to make a L2 side based on what I’ve seen from him over the last couple of years.
Look again at Plymouth’s third goal. As the winger makes his way down touch and along the dead ball line – who is allowing him access with no tackles or even getting close enough to block either the run or the pass? You guessed it – our very own Chuckle Brothers.
And you wonder why Argyle targeted our right hand side – all three goals came from openings there, all where Duhaney and the non-covering Rowe should have been making important challenges, but didn’t.
Both of these lads need to go out on loan and get regular football, but I fear that they won’t because anybody who watches them will have already realised that they aren’t good enough.
Like I said, an unpopular opinion… 😒
Not unpopular with me, Roger. Rowe’s wonderstrike was, I’m afraid, a one-off that belied the rest of his performance. And as for Duhaney, I was struggling to understand what position he was supposed to be playing!
Exactly.
And you can add Brown to that and most of the others. These players are years away from being fit for the 1st team – which is why Carlos keeps playing the same (how ever tired!) set of players. No-one else is a good enough replacement.
I agree again, John. These players are no longer kids. When you get a 16yr-old scoring for Spurs as happened yesterday, certainly players of 18/19/20 should be showing their talent if it’s there. There’s the occasional late developer (e.g. Ian Wright) but they’re the exception rather than the rule. Duhaney is 22, Brown is 22 this month, Rowe is 20 – all have had First Team experience and all have, so far, come up short. I do sincerely hope that Carlos and his coaching team can bring these players up to the required standard but I have my doubts.
So much for giving players a week off. The news seems to be even more injuries! Might get embarrassing at Watford tomorrow.
I can’t see us playing a team any stronger than the one that played against Bournemouth tomorrow with all these injuries. Hopefully the injury situation will prompt us to dip into the transfer market some more.