Huddersfield Town beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0 on Tuesday night in a game where they had to cling on for dear life in the early stages before growing into the game in the second half and coming out on top. Our first half struggles were partly down to Doncaster being unexpectedly superb but we also had a lot of issues with getting out of our own half at times too. The strength of Town’s bench made the difference in the end, with Wiles making the breakthrough and Taylor sealing the win after both came on halfway through the second half.
Here are my thoughts on each individual performance…
Owen Goodman – 6 out of 10
Made a howler by passing directly to their man which was mercifully not punished. Resorted to long, hopeless punts downfield too often that Alfie May had no chance of winning, which is an ironic criticism after I’ve previously disliked how much he’s passed short. He did make some regulation saves to keep Donny out and came away with a clean sheet.
Lynden Gooch – 7 out of 10
Lost a few battles in the early stages of the game but, like Town, improved as the game went on. Made a lot of runs into space down the right when we went forward. He showed his versatility too by taking over from Murray Wallace on the left in the later stages. I like watching him play, as he’s fully committed to everything he does and looks fired up all the time. Another likeable new addition to the squad that also can play a bit.
Josh Feeney – 8 out of 10
Made a number of crucial blocks which kept us in the game and was cool under pressure when Doncaster pressed him. His passing was crisp, he made his tackles stick and he was alert to danger in the box. When he’s stood next to Joe Low, he seems to have the physique of a skinny teenager but he can still hold his own when he needs to get into a physical battle. I think Whatmough will struggle to get back into the side now.
Joe Low – 7 out of 10
My favourite moment of his was when he squashed Billy Sharp and then fell on top of him. A foul but a useful one, as it must have felt like a rhino had toppled over onto him. Also his provocation of Sharp later, where he pushed him away, should have seen Sharp sent off for his reaction. There were other moments when Low’s physicality helped him get the better of the various Doncaster attackers, particularly their sub striker who tried and failed to get the better of Low.
Murray Wallace – 5 out of 10
Made three basic mistakes in the first ten minutes, giving possession away far too easily and struggling to get his passes where they were meant to go. He also picked up a harsh booking for lightly pulling their winger back, which was only necessary because he knew he was beaten for pace. Spent the rest of his game far too reluctant to advance up the field and making sure he wasn’t caught one on one, but that meant he backtracked too much and needed Roosken to drop back to bail him out. Murray Wallace seems like a really nice guy and he played well against Leicester in the cup but looked out of his comfort zone in this game.
Ryan Ledson – 6 out of 10
Made a superbly timed last-man tackle that would have either been a goal or a red card if he didn’t get the timing spot on. Busy without the ball and supported play when we got into their half but I’d like to see him taking the ball from the defenders more and trying to take up the pitch.
Herbie Kane – 8 out of 10
Withstood a lot of pressure in the first half when Doncaster really squeezed us with their pressing. Often had to try and thread the eye of a needle with his passing in that opening spell and didn’t always get it perfect. His influence grew in the second half and he really helped us with his passing range. When Herbie Kane plays well he tends to make everyone else around him look good too, the second half was one of those times.
Harness – 8 out of 10
All over the pitch and always linking up play with passes, runs and flicks. Could have scored a spectacular goal when he teed himself up but his vollied shot was too close to the keeper. Produced the pass of the evening when he slid Ben Wiles in for the opening goal which was the moment of quality we needed to win the game.
Leo Castledine – 7 out for 10
Kept Town in the game with his lung-busting run back to make a tackle against their player who was clear through on goal otherwise. Otherwise, I thought he was lively and took up some good positions but he wasn’t able to create as much in the final third as I would have liked.
Ruben Roosken – 7 out for 10
I’ve already mentioned that I thought he suffered from having Wallace behind him but still had a decent game. He’s one of the best players in the squad at carrying the ball up field and his pace gives us penetration down his flank.
Alfie May – 5 out for 10
Had a total of nine touches and two passes in his 68 minutes on the field. Though the way we played didn’t suit him and we didn’t give him the service he needed to thrive. Lumping balls up for him to compete for headers against defenders that are nearly a foot taller than him is a complete waste of time and May’s talent.
Substitutes
Joe Taylor – 7 out for 10 – Looked like he went down quite easily for the penalty but I don’t mind that so much when it’s our player doing it. He converted the penalty nicely and was a bit more involved in the game than May was.
Lasse Sorensen – 6 out for 10 – Got up and down the right flank, providing an outlet when we were seeing out the game.
Ben Wiles – 8 out of 10 – The best response to being dropped: scoring the crucial goal. Did well to keep his composure after being pulled from behind by a defender just before he shot.
Dion Charles – 6 out of 10 – Not on long but out himself about as usual.
Just to correct you (and McCann) on the penalty decision; it was clear-cut on the telly; the defender had lost Taylor and so took a strong hold of Taylor’s shirt.
Standout performance for me was Harness. He was everywhere. He is critical I feel to this season. Let’s hope he stays fit.
The penalty looked dodgy on the highlights.
There was only one angle that showed the shirt pull properly and the rest it looks like arms tussling and Taylor throwing himself to the ground. Even the angle that shows the pull doesn’t look like it’s enough to justify Taylor going down like he’s been hit by a sniper on the Kilner Bank.
I hadn’t seen a replay at the point I wrote my player ratings article, so was basing my opinion on the real-time view I had of the incident from my seat (I call this the “Arsene Wenger defence”). Having now seen the replay, it was the right decision as there’s a clear tug on his shirt. The ref deserves some plaudits because it wasn’t easy to see and Taylor definitely wasn’t trying his best to stay on his feet.
If Marcus Harness needs a nickname, I’d call him The Knitter because he knits everything together nicely in the final third. He’s a clever player that makes subtle runs and little passes that improve our attacks whenever he’s involved. I’d agree that he’s a key man, when he’s at his best he dictates our attacking play and brings everyone else into the game.
Goodman should get extra points for his tactical time out – sorry injury
That’s a fair point. Because I’m a complete idiot, I was genuinely concerned he had hurt himself when he initially went down. Nicholls popping out to warm up was pure theatre, as Goodman has form for this kind of play acting. When it’s our keepers doing it, it doesn’t feel nearly as despicable.
No argument with those players scores and assessments. Your predictions in earlier posts about paying the price of playing the ball out from the back, badly almost came to fruition. With diminutive forwards the alternative is to go long and give the ball back to the opposition generally but at least in a safer area of the pitch! I have to hide behind the settee sometimes watching defenders receive the ball short whilst being pressed by the opposition and being undecided what to do next. We do get it right sometimes and when Roughan plays the link up with Roosen is good down the left. I watched some of the Exeter Mansfield game on Saturday and in fairness it made last nights game look like PSG v Barcelona in quality of play. Big test on Saturday but never easy to assess the levels of teams this early in the season. Keep up the good work TS you are busy providing food for thought and we appreciate it.
Thanks for your kind words David, it’s much appreciated. Against Doncaster we seemed to dabble in both booting it up for a tiny striker to compete in the air with a giant centre back as well as playing it short to marked men. When good teams are pressed high, they resist it and find a way to pass through. Then you’ve got a lot of space and relatively few defenders because the rest have pushed up. Though that only works when you can actually get through the press, which Town completely failed to do. While Grant is in charge (hopefully a long time) I think passing out from the back will remain a feature of our play.
I’m relieved by what you’ve said about Mansfield and Exeter as the four teams we’ve played in the league so far have all looked like decent sides. I don’t know if we’ve had a very tricky starting run of fixtures or if the standard of the whole league is really high. As much as I enjoy watching a competitive game, I’d like the odd easy win here and there too.
Looks like we went to the same game.
Player ratings on two other blogs were nothing like what I saw.
Passing poor in first half, but great that we hung on in there and had much more quality in second.
More graft than craft last night. True northern football.
Thanks Jay, but I wouldn’t expect you to agree with my scores all that often. I think boiling players performances down into a mark out of ten really highlights in a measurable way how differently everyone sees the game from everyone else. If a player does ten things, and I only remember three or four, then someone else who remembers the other bits is likely to think completely differently. Then when you realise each player does hundreds of different things in every game, it makes it almost impossible to have the same opinion. I enjoy writing about the players performances a lot more than dishing out the scores but it would be less interesting to not put a number to each performance.
I liked the character we showed last night too. If the effort is there on the pitch, I’m more than willing to forgive imperfect execution.
I think Gooch and Wallace were maybe played because Low & Feeney are relatively inexperienced. Grant is still sorting out which combinations work and trying to use the squad so it won’t always work. Like you I really like Feeney. Reads the game well and looks comfortable even under pressure. We may have another Levi Colwill there.
With Feeney, I was immediately expecting to see him as too raw and lightweight based on the fact he looks so young but he looks completely at ease. Colwill had a similar comfort on the ball that made it look like he was seeing the game in slow motion and able to react to everything before anyone else. I’d guess if Feeney is hoping to make It into Villa’s first team, League One should feel easy for him. I hope he keeps his place and we get to see more of him.
It’s an interesting point about the balance of ages, characters, abilities in the back line. Wallace does add maturity and experience even if he does lack pace. Thankfully, Joe Low doesn’t seem nearly as slow as I expected him to be given his size. But Feeney looks more mobile still and I think he’s a more natural fit for the way Grant wants to play than Whatmough.
The proverbial game of two halves. T
hey couldn’t score in the first due to incompetence and resolute defending; Castledine, Ledson and Feeney in particular. There were again so many indicators of last season; all the ricochets and deflections went to the opposition, coupled with the startlingly poor passing meant a miraculous clean sheet was achieved.
The second period was a far more comfortable view as a result, culminating in a deserved victory which might not have happened without the initial defensive heroics.
Recent evidence suggest that Nicholls would be an upgrade on Goodwin
I think Goodwin is settling, same as quite a few of the squad. I think he will prove his worth as the season progresses.
I think goalkeepers are really tricky to judge because it’s a completely different job to the other roles on the pitch. Goodman made some decent saves against Doncaster and showed some gamesmanship when he went down feigning injury to break up play. But when he passed it straight to their man he could have easily cost us a goal with more clinical finishing. Goodman’s stats at Wimbledon last season were impressive and better than both Nicholls and Chapman (though at a lower level and in a completely different team).
The main positive from the first half was that we at least pulled off those last-ditch blocks and tackles but it’s alarming how many we needed to stay in the game. And the second half was better but didn’t have the same fluency or zip about it that our earlier performances did this season.
Goodman v Nicholls will be an ongoing debate while Nicholls remains at the club. It looks like Grant has decided to back Goodman, so I’d expect him to keep his position unless he has a major dip in form. But Nicholls is a great keeper for this level of football, so there’ll always be pressure on Goodman because of that.
Game of two halves . I really Like Feeney , composed and very comfortable on the ball . Leo , Chelsea loan man , gave a brilliant chase and tackled on the Doncaster man, to perfection. For me Harness was MoM for Huddersfield. Nearly scored a wonderful goal , end of the first half. Gave a Brazilian like pass to set Wiles up , for the first goal Wiles finish was first rate. Wallace not quick enough, liability at times . Goodman,
Will become better in time. For me you have to go with Nicoholls has Towns No1. He was excellent pre season. Know doubt the majority of Town fans agree , we still require a brute of a centre forward, plus another winger , to break teams down like Doncaster and better.
UTT-⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🤞
All good points, though I don’t think Nicholls is likely to come in apart from in the cup games. It seems like a waste of a quality keeper but Goodman is more able to follow the playing out from the back style Grant favours.
Hopefully we’ll see Town go out and fill these obvious gaps in the squad. Even better if they can fund them by shifting out some of the deadwood. Though currently there is very little being said in the rumour mill and it’s rare that transfers come completely out of the blue. It may be that we’re waiting until the deadline to try to pick up a bargain. Because that’s never gone wrong for us in the past!
Clean sheets! 3 out of four league games ! Not deserved – opponents missing several open goals, but a good habit. From a clean sheet the only way is up!
They have scored six out of nine league goals in the second half – and sometimes quite late – suggests some resilience and ability to remain focussed to the end.
Although ‘the system’ in defence or attack is still not entirely settled, a consensus seems to be emerging on here around
first pick? Gooch, Low, Ledson, Feeney, Roosken Harness, Castledine
second? Kane, Wiles Sorensen
backups? Ashia, Kasumu,
unresolved – how to get the best out of May……Taylor/Charles
and ‘commands his area’ kamikaze Goodman vs ‘shot stopper Nichols.
,
I think your post shows how things are still settling down at Town and we’ve not settled in to the new season yet. The fact that we’re so clearly in transition but have still got the wins, goals and clean sheets that we have is very encouraging. Though there have been some warning signs that we’ve got vulnerabilities that other teams can readily exploit.
The point you raise about late goals is very interesting. I’ve always thought that scoring late in matches is often down to fitness as much as character or skill. Being able to keep running in the dying stages always gives you an advantage. And tired players become mentally tired too, leading to mistakes that cost goals. My impression is that Town’s squad is very fit this season and that’s a part of why we’re scoring more in the latter stages. Though I’ve also made the point in the article going live tomorrow morning that the quality of our bench is helping us finish strong.
Quality of the bench is imperative to any aspiring team looking to be promoted. Interesting fact up to press, fitness looks to have been addressed finally . Can’t remember a Town team looking this fit , for
Years.
I remember the 2017/2018 season. Looking at Crystal Palace’s bench when they came to Huddersfield. Each player was a current international. I knew we were in big trouble that afternoon.
If you looked at Towns bench against Doncaster’s . A number of the bench are good enough to play in the lower end championship . This fact will hopefully serve Town well this season.
UTT – 🙏⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️