Pressing, physicality and purpose: How Huddersfield Town got back to winning ways

It's only two wins, but there have been some notable differences in the Terriers' game over the past couple of weeks since Lee Grant's switch to a 4-4-2

Return of the press

One of the features of Town’s game throughout the summer and on the opening-day victory over Leyton Orient was the intensity of their high press — something that faded away as the season went on.

There may be reasons for that, whether tactical or fitness-related, perhaps due to the number of games in August and September. Whatever the cause, the intensity dropped off, and fans were sad to see it go.

Against Mansfield, though, it was back in full force. Town swarmed all over Mansfield high up the pitch to win the ball back as soon as possible. One instance of this approach, in the second half, led directly to Dion Charles’ disallowed goal.

Against Plymouth, Town took a slightly different tack. They used the high press at times, particularly to disrupt Argyle’s attempts to play short goal-kicks, forcing Conor Hazard to kick it long, which he doesn’t do well.

Though we call it a 4-4-2 (and it is a 4-4-2 in most phases of play, as we’ll see in a bit), Town lined up in more of a 4-1-3-2 when they were in the opposition third on Saturday.

On the whole, Town’s strategy was to play a mid-block and squeeze the space in the middle of the pitch, rather than try to win the ball closer to goal. You could see that Town’s front line wouldn’t engage with the Pilgrims’ goalkeeper. They even stood off the centre-backs, waiting for them to pass the ball into the middle.

This is when Town would pounce. They repeatedly lulled Plymouth into a false sense of security by marking their man from five yards, only to break into a sprint as soon as the ball was headed their way and try to make an immediate tackle.

There is a risk with both strategies that if the press gets beaten, the defence can end up exposed. But on the whole, the back four have been up to the task of winning their individual battles.

Both pressing systems worked to excellent effect. Town launched several swift attacks after winning their challenges — and the form of the attacks was a bit different to what we’ve seen previously, too.

Better battling and more purposeful long balls