Huddersfield Town player ratings as late collapse at Preston results in heavy defeat
Huddersfield Town player ratings as late collapse at Preston results in heavy defeat
The Terriers showed good resiliency throughout the first half and went into the last ten minutes level before a Milutin Osmajic hat-trick from the bench blew Town away
Lee Nicholls - 7
Had to be alert to a few balls over the top of the Town defence but dealt with them all appropriately and well. Strong on crosses and played a couple of useful early balls forward. Little he could do on the goals.
Brodie Spencer - 7
Absolutely unbeatable in the air as Preston peppered the box with crosses throughout the first half, and proved just as formidable on the floor. Generally had a brilliant game for 80 minutes but looked leggy in his efforts to stop Milutin Osmajic getting through to score Preston’s third and fourth.
Matty Pearson - 7
Looked really sharp and read the game consistently well to stop attacks early, but will be disappointed that Osmajic got in front of him to put Preston ahead.
Michal Helik - 6
Decently solid in general but got his positioning slightly wrong to stop the first cross before Preston’s second goal.
Ben Jackson - 4
Kept his place after receiving Andre Breitenreiter’s backing against criticism at the weekend. Broadly fine after some early moments of inattention and had a good spell in the second half, but again lacking in urgency to get to Duane Holmes quickly enough to block his cross as Preston took the lead.
David Kasumu - 4
Had a bit of a ding-dong battle with Duane Holmes, with both men getting booked for cynical fouls in the first half (not necessarily on each other). Put himself about well to win challenges but prone to giving it away thereafter. Often bypassed in attack in favour of width or directness.
Alex Matos - 4
Not sure what he was thinking as he made a comfortable interception just outside the Town box but tried to carry it back towards his own goal. Penalty decision itself debatable, but never should have put himself in that position — a real learning experience for the youngster. Worked hard to try and atone for the error before being taken off.
Sorba Thomas - 5
Clever dinked pass for Wiles to start to Town attack for their goal but was unable to keep going that throughout the game.
Ben Wiles - 5
Operated at number 10 with Jack Rudoni still out with a hamstring injury. Lovely little touch on for Delano Burgzorg in the move from which Town went ahead, before getting into the box to have two efforts blocked prior to Josh Koroma’s successful finish. Carried the ball really well first half as Town looked to play on the counter, with Preston resorting to tactical fouls on more than one occasion. Briefly dropped back into central midfield late on to accommodate Rhys Healey at 10, and taken off with the scores still level.
Josh Koroma - 7
Brilliant first and second touch to get the ball under control and see off a sliding tackle before finishing to the far bottom corner to give Town the lead just before half time. Did his part defensively too.
Delano Burgzorg - 7
Nominally the lone centre-forward, but was practically given a free role: playing off the shoulder of the last man on minute, drifting out to the wing, the next, dropping in at number 10 another. Had probably his best 45 minutes in a Town shirt first half, supplementing his refusal to be knocked off the ball with some smarter, more selfless work on the ball, and played a massive part in Josh Koroma’s opener. Quieter in the second half.
Substitutes
Rhys Healey (for Matos 69) - Took over Wiles’ role in attacking midfield, which did little to help an ailing Town side. 5
Danny Ward (for Burgzorg 76) - Unable to have an impact on the game as Preston kept picking Town off on the counter, as with the rest of the late subs. n/a
Pat Jones (for Koroma 76) - n/a
Bojan Radulovic (for Wiles 87) - n/a
Unused substitutes: Chris Maxwell, Tom Edwards, Jaheim Headley, Ollie Turton, Tom Iorpenda.
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