“Unacceptable” – Player ratings for Huddersfield Town’s disastrous defeat to Bradford City

Huddersfield Town suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat against local rivals, Bradford City. After a positive start to the game, Town’s defence had a collective meltdown for three soft goals before half time. While Town pulled one back after making a raft of changes and getting on the front foot, the game was never really a contest after Bradford scored their third. 

The defeat felt like a collective failure as much as any significant individual being to blame, even though there were plenty of individuals to blame too. 

Nicholls – 5 out of 10

I’d have liked to have seen him do a bit better with at least one of their goals, particularly the third, where he waited too long to commit to a save. Some of his passing out from the back put us under too much pressure and let Bradford force us into uncomfortable areas. 

Sorensen – 5 out of 10

Made some good runs down the flank in the later stages and played more like a winger. That papers over the cracks of his defensive contribution, where he struggled to respond to danger and was frequently not where he needed to be. Failed to come across for the first goal and lost track of his man for the second too. I also get quite annoyed with how little he cares about where his headers go, he repeatedly puts us under pressure by nodding the ball straight to the opposition.

Low – 5 out of 10

Looks a bit lost at times and was flumoxed by some of Bradford’s clever movement. Had a tendency to go looking to make tackles in midfield by stepping out of defence but he missed challenges in these situations and left us exposed. Also got caught between two ideas for the opening goal, as he neither went to the ball or the runner. 

Wallace – 4 out of 10

Was completely out of position for the first goal because he followed his man into midfield, which led to the situation where the rest of the defence failed to shift over to fill in the gap he created and neither Kane or Ledson picked up on the excess of Bradford players in the box. Wallace was far too careless with his distribution and looked nervy at times. Failed to provide the leadership and steadying presence that we needed at the back. 

Roughan – 4 out of 10

A lot of Bradford’s better play came down his flank and he struggled to cope. Also provided very little going forward and his passing was poor. Spent far too much time bouncing on his toes, failing to jockey opponents, rather than actually tackling them or at least getting tight enough to  stop them having their way with him at every opportunity. A four might be a bit generous.

Ledson – 4 out of 10

Another anonymous performance in a sequence of them. The only time I noticed him was when he was getting something wrong. He looked like he was trying too hard with his passing but didn’t seem to be tying hard enough when it came to winning the midfield battle and protecting his defence.. 

Kane – 4 out of 10

Town had plenty of corners in the first half but we failed to make the most of these opportunities because of Kane’s erratic deliveries. In a game like this, where fine margins can change the balance of the game, hitting the first man with so many corners is unacceptable. Kane’s general play also looked laboured and his passing was often more about getting rid of the ball rather than thoughtfully progressing our play. Was guilty of a really shoddy, leg dangle that you couldn’t even call an attempted tackle in the build up to the third goal. Looked like he’d picked up a knock when he was subbed off for Kasumu. 

Harness – 4 out of 10

Harness was another player who had an off day. He couldn’t get anything going when he was on the ball and frequently ran into trouble. Promising situations too often broke down after Harness became involved. After some impressive early outings, his last few games have seen a noticeable drop in quality.

Castledine – 6 out of 10

Probably the best of a bad bunch, he at least showed some energy and desire even if he didn’t quite have the final ball to make a real difference in the game. Hampered by the players around him struggling and looked better when Alves came on at half time. 

Roosken – 4 out of 10

A lacklustre display without flair or passion. Again. Hard to know how he keeps getting picked with performances that continue to disappoint. 

Taylor – 5 out of 10

Worked hard off the ball and had a few moments but struggled to carve out meaningful opportunities for himself and received very little service. The one time he was played a decent through ball he managed to get a shot off that deflected off the defender and looped onto the crossbar. After conceding so many deflected goals, it felt like we were owed a bit of luck there that we didn’t get. Looked frustrated as the game went on but I still disagree with the decision to bring him off for Radulovic. 

Substitutes 

Will Alves – 6 out of 10

Added a spark of creativity after he was brought on at half time. He was quiet for spells but looked a threat when he was able to get on the ball in dangerous areas. He had an opportunity to play a colleague through on goal but didn’t put enough on his pass and the chance went begging. I don’t know whether he’s the kind of player that needs to be given a free role, to allow him to roam about and use his talent where he can or if he needs keeping on a tight leash, so he’s sticking rigidly to the system he’s playing in. 

Bojan Radulovic – 6 out of 10

In a game where we desperately needed goals to come back from 3-0 down, taking Taylor off in a straight swap with Bojan Radulovic felt a bit like waving the white flag. It’s not Bojan’s fault he was put on though and I was actually quite impressed with his effort and application. He was the one that kept the ball alive to set up Zepi Redmond’s tap in, so he did get an assist for his efforts. While he’s nothing like the potent goal threat that Taylor and May are, he’s decent at holding the ball up and presents more of a physical challenge to defences.

Alfie May – 5 out of 10

When he came on with Bojan, it seemed we were going to play two strikers for the closing stages but May ended up playing Marcus Harness’ role tucked in behind the main striker. A seemingly odd decision, as I’d like to see our most dangerous players playing as close to the goal as possible. He managed to get involved in the game in patches but struggled to make a sustained contribution.

David Kasumu –  6 out of 10

Added some energy to our midfield and was a part of the change in momentum that saw Town finish the game looking much more competitive. 

Zepiqueno Redmond – 6 out of 10

The second week in a row that a debutant has scored a tap-in with his first touch. There wasn’t much work for him to do to put the ball in the net but he looked lively and showed some quality with his little touches.