Huddersfield Town played a surprisingly good Rochdale team in the first round of the Carabao Cup today. A one nil defeat was all Town deserved in a lacklustre performance that saw them crash out of the league cup in the first round yet again.
The match was Carlos Corberán’s first competitive game and there were small glimmers of the new approach the Spaniard is trying to cultivate at Town but the performance fell a long way short of where we need to be.
Here are my thoughts on how each player did in the game for Town.
Ben Hamer – 4 out of 10
I really wanted to be able to be positive about Hamer today and there were some decent things to say about him. He looked more confident in possession and has some nice little passes. This good work was entirely undone by dithering about whether to come off his line or not for the cross that led to Rochdale’s goal. If he had gone for the cross with 100% conviction he would have been certain to either get a punch to the ball or win a foul and see off the danger. Instead he shuffled forward, lost his nerve, shuffled back and was helpless to stop the match-winning header.
Aaron Rowe – 6 out of 10
Not nearly as dynamic or attacking as in the friendly games. He had some nice moments with the ball at his feet but it was usually in an area of the pitch where it didn’t cause Rochdale much harm.
Christopher Schindler – 4 out of 10
Looked rusty and was mostly to blame for the goal, letting his man get a run on him and falling over. I can understand the desire to play him in this game after missing both friendlies but I’m not sure he was ready for competitive football.
Romoney Crichlow – 6 out of 10
A mixed game for the youngster. Some of his passing was a little bit sloppy but at other times he looked composed on the ball and read the game well. Like the whole team, capable of better than he showed today.
Harry Toffolo – 6 out of 10
Like Rowe on the other wing, didn’t make the penetrating runs needed to add width to the attack. Looked okay otherwise without being spectacular. Had a few chances to score headers on corners but didn’t connect with the ball properly.
Jonathan Hogg – 4 out of 10
Like Schindler, looked very rusty and struggled to get into the game. It’s not fair to judge him on this performance after he’s missed most of the already brief preseason due to his hip injury. However, I’m worried that his distribution isn’t good enough for this new system.
Alex Pritchard – 3 out of 10
So frustrating to watch. Constantly showed for the ball and then did nothing with it. Ran down blind alleys, passed the ball to the opposition and created almost nothing. I was hoping to see him grasp this fresh start but reverted back to the tepid and toothless football of last season. I’m possibly being harsh in singling him out but he’s one of our best paid players but doesn’t do enough to earn it.
Ben Jackson – 6 out of 10
Quiet for spells in the game but when he got on the ball he showed off his impressive passing skills. It’s lovely to watch him stroke 30 yard passes with perfect accuracy. I’m looking forward to seeing more of him but he may need easing in to Championship football gently rather getting chucked in at the deep end.
Josh Koroma – 6 out of 10
Was our most creative player, which isn’t saying a great deal. He had a very good spell in the first half where Rochdale couldn’t cope with his pace and skill. Faded as the match went on and was wasteful with his shooting opportunities. It’s good to see him having a crack from outside the box but not when he’s leaning back and not in control of the ball.
Danny Ward – 4 out of 10
Didn’t get much service, in his defence, but also did not make much of an impact. He might look better with more Town players around him as he was isolated and ineffective for most of the game.
Juninho Bacuna – 5 out of 10
Missed an excellent opportunity to open the scoring late in the first half when he skied the ball that Koroma cut back to him. It’s a shame his composure let him down but it’s encouraging to see him getting into scoring positions. He was technically on the left wing but drifted around and tried, in vain, to make things happen. Like Pritchard, most of the things he tried didn’t come off and struggled to create opportunities against a League One team.
Substitutes
Adama Diakhaby (6 out of 10) – Did better than expected and got on the ball regularly when we were chasing the game. His final ball let him down but at least he looked interested.
Isaac Mbenza (6 out of 10) – Tested the goalkeeper with a shot that may have been a misplaced cross at the end of the game. Played lots of other balls into the box too but rarely with any intention behind them.
Jacob Austerfield (7 out of 10) – Only a brief cameo but looks a class act and really suits the role of deep-lying ballplayer in front of the defence. Hogg played today because he needed to build match fitness but I’d prefer Austerfield to him based on current form.
Team and performance as a whole very very disappointing, if this is the way forward we are in for a frustrating season, I can see this as six years in a row negative goal difference and a good bet for relegation.
I’m trying to stay optimistic but it’s getting quite hard with the state of the squad currently. If we sign a few players in the next week it might start to feel a bit less bleak.
The last time the season started like this Siewert was in charge but not for much longer. Grant is almost certainly gone either way Mounie never really fits the bill and if all we have to show in a striker is Ward then we are in trouble. I hope Hodgkinson has a recovery plan because we won’t survive another season with this squad.
I think it’d fairly likely we’ll at best be bottom 6 with the current squad. We’ll have to see what happens but without investment it’s hard to be optimistic.
could have Messi playing for us, but if we can’t defend a Lg1 corner god help us next week. UTT
Seems fairly certain our only goal scorer, and Mounie, are leaving this week. What will tell us the true nature of the mess Hoyle has left us with is whether we replace them with proven quality, or promising youngsters.
I hope they’re ready to move quickly on the incoming deals once the departing players are out the door. Otherwise fans are going to be very restless.