Huddersfield Town player ratings from victory over Mansfield
Ruben Roosken and Ben Wiles set each other up for well-taken second-half goals, rendering Mansfield's late response in vain in a 2-1 win
Lee Nicholls - 6
Barely had a save to make bar Mansfield’s late goal, where he didn’t look to have much chance of making a stop.
Lasse Sorensen - 7
Made his first start for Jon Worthington. Could have made more of some good balls from Radinio Balker if he had been more switched on and making his runs earlier rather than waiting for the pass. Did his job well defensively, however, in particular blocking a goalbound Matthew Craig effort from a corner. Got the rub of the green a bit as he took on his man on the way to Town making it 1-0, with a loose ball coming back to his feet - but that’s what you get sometimes when you’re willing to have a go.
Radinio Balker - 7
Decent if imperfect in his hour on the pitch. Stepped forward well and generally solid with his defensive duties, but wasn’t quite able to link up with Sorensen as effectively as he would have liked through a combination of belated runs from the full-back and mis-hit passes form Balker.
Matty Pearson - 7
Dependable centre-back showing. Got onto the end of a few set pieces but unable to get his efforts on target.
Josh Ruffels - 6
Again had a more conservative role than the full-back on the other flank. Kept his cool well under pressure. Shifted over to centre-back after Balker’s exit. Generally good outing but lost his man on Mansfield’s late goal.
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David Kasumu - 8
Really capable showing in the 4-2-3-1, doing an excellent job of protecting the back line and responding to Mansfield’s counter-attacks.
Joe Hodge - 7
Restored to the line-up. Showed some nice touches and made some timely challenges.
Tawanda Chirewa - 5
Another making his first start of this caretaker spell. Looked a bit lost for the first 20 minutes or so, but looked better after getting through that. Unable to find the final touch on a couple of promising Town counter-attacks, running the ball into defenders and losing it on each occasion — but also provided one or two dangerous crosses that just needed a finish.
Ben Wiles - 8
Worked really hard on and off the ball and committed to his duels, especially in the opening stages of the game. Grew a bit frustrated for a spell after the break as Mansfield resorted to kicking him down whenever he got the ball, but kept going and deserved his assist for Ruben Roosken’s goal, receiving Sorensen’s cutback and quickly squaring for Roosken to finish. Scored his first goal since February with a clever run to the back post to receive the ball back from Roosken for 2-0.
Ruben Roosken - 8
The fourth and final change to the side that started against Lincoln. Struggled for space in the first half but increasingly able to find pockets for himself, especially after Miller’s introduction, and finished off his goal calmly and accurately. Kept his composure really well again to wait for two defenders to commit themselves before finding Wiles’ run to the back post for 2-0.
Joe Taylor - 4
Largely left to try and feed off scraps again, but unable to do much even with what little he got.
Substitutes
Dion Charles (for Taylor 60) - Received a smattering of boos form the Town fans on his introduction to the pitch, but quickly earned some applause with his ability to muscle past defenders get get Town on the front foot. A lot of the right ideas with the ball but just couldn’t quite get it to come off. The ideal forward to help Town through injury time. 6
Callum Marshall (for Chirewa 61) - Relatively quiet game but did help Town dig in to see out the victory. 5
Mickel Miller (for Balker 61) - Made his long-awaited return from injury, taking over from Ruffels at left-back. Looked extremely keen to make an impact and looked a threat. 7
Jonathan Hogg (for Hodge 74) - Came on between his side’s first and second goals. Did his job late on to help Town over the line. 6
Antony Evans (for Wiles 85) - n/a
Unused substitutes: Jacob Chapman, Ollie Turton.
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