Huddersfield Town player verdicts from final friendly of the summer
Huddersfield Town player verdicts from final friendly of the summer
Sheffield United visited the John Smith's Stadium to share a 1-1 draw in the last of the Terriers' pre-season games
Lee Nicholls: Impressive early stop to preserve Town’s lead, and followed that up with a few more in the rest of the first half. Got across so well to save a Sheffield United free kick but palmed it straight back into play for Anel Ahmedhodzic to tap home - a shame. Fabulous double stop in the 69th minute.
Tom Lees: Played one or two nice progressive balls into midfield. Calm and composed as ever with his defensive work.
Michal Helik: Up well to block a goalbound shot just after the hour with Town starting to look a bit stretched and leggy.
Brodie Spencer: Kept track of his man well, despite having to switch between a wing-back and a centre-forward depending on Mickel Miller’s position (not a criticism of Miller on this occasion, to be clear - just a function of how that defence shaped up). Won his individual battles well and picked his moments to go to ground. Beaten in a ground duel in the final seconds to allow United to cross, but Town survived it.
Lasse Sorensen: Sharp support work to put himself int he right position to exploit Rhys Healey pressuring a Blades defender as Town took a fourth-minute lead — good ball in too. Kept getting forward well throughout the game, but preserved the draw with a great block in injury time to stop a free header before it hit the net.
Antony Evans: Good busy performance, particularly in placing himself to pick up stray balls and loose touches to turn them into openings for Town. Felt he should have had a penalty 34 minutes in after getting put through on goal and getting hauled down. That briefly prompted an injury concern as he went off for treatment, but he immediately got into the thick of it again after returning to the field, putting a decent chance narrowly wide. Took an absolute battering but kept going.
Herbie Kane: Played as the deepest of the midfield three on the ball, in that deep-lying playmaker role. Had one early hiccup that granted Sheffield United a chance, but really good in tight spaces thereafter and used the ball really smartly. Got the crowd oohing with a couple of lovely balls out to the flanks for Sorensen. A dirty get as well, which we don’t mind.
Ben Wiles: Got his fourth goal of the summer, putting it in off the underside of the crossbar from Sorensen’s cross — a great finish. Played some dangerous passes in behind the opposition defence, and out to the flanks. Volleyed wide just after the Blades levelled things up. Particularly fabulous through ball for Koroma from which the forward felt he should have had a penalty. The end of a really good pre-season for the midfielder, who has been Town’s best player this summer (for as much as that’s worth). A concern to see him stay down clutching his leg after getting caught after making a tackle - hopefully OK after being immediately subbed off.
Mickel Miller: Showed his useful recovery pace on a few occasions and looked a threat up the left, though final ball let him down on this occasion (as did Sorensen’s, after his early assist).
Rhys Healey: Tenacious work off the ball to help create the opener, and did well to create another opening for Josh Koroma shortly after. Both busy and quiet at the same time second half, as he is in periods where Town are forced to defend a lot.
Josh Koroma: Unable to get that Healey-made chance out of his or the defenders’ feet to get a shot off, but the right instincts positionally. A lot of that in this game, actually; Town just couldn’t quite find him a lot of the time. Had a little flashpoint in the second half with Femi Seriki, but soon calmed down. Got through on the keeper before being brought down from behind, but the referee said no as this game was apparently played under prison rules. Still, the ref fell over 30 seconds later, so that was fun. Had little left to give by the end having worked really hard.
Substitutes
Matty Pearson (for Lees 70): Took over where Lees left off, as you’d expect. Centre-backs aren’t they.
Jaheim Headley (for Miller 70): Earned a rebuke from Spencer for what the centre-back saw as a positional lapse that Town were fortunate to get away with. Fine after that and made one late interception look so simple it made United look a bit daft for even trying it.
Danny Ward (for Healey 70): Came on with Town doing a lot of defending, but put in a shift.
David Kasumu (for Wiles 80): Actually took over Kane’s number 6 role, with Kane replacing Wiles on the left of the midfield three. Read the game well and nipped in with a couple of interceptions.
Unused substitutes: Chris Maxwell
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