Match Day Thread Huddersfield Town vs NCFC Sat, 12/9/20 - 15.00.

Joint top

 

Perhaps it’s time for Hugill to start as Pukki seems to have lost his scoring touch.
Huddersfield just avoided relegation last season and with the gift of a poor back pass I don’t think anybody can claim that NCFC have started the season with all the signs of a team ready to take on this league.

 

Lots of strikers wouldn't have been aware to intercept the suicide pass and most would have shot instead of laying it on a plate .

Pukki won us that game in my opinion

 

And good results elsewhere:

FT Birmingham City 1 - 0 Brentford
FT Wycombe Wanderers 0 - 1 Rotherham
FT Barnsley 0 - 1 Luton Town
FT Bournemouth 3 - 2 Blackburn Rovers
FT Bristol City 2 - 1 Coventry City
FT Cardiff City 0 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday
FT Derby County 0 - 2 Reading
FT Huddersfield Town 0 - 1 Norwich City
FT Millwall 0 - 0 Stoke City
FT Preston North End 0 - 1 Swansea City
FT Queens Park Rangers 2 - 0 Nottingham Forest

 

Totally agree. He made a clever move to wrongfoot the defender before sliding the assist across to Idah. Can't see many strikers being so cool under pressure. Full praise to DF for the substitutions as well. Great result.

 

My ratings:

Krul - 7 - didn’t have to do much, but was really dominant in the last ten minutes on a couple of lifted balls just when we need him to be.

Aarons - 6 - quiet game, but he was solid. Got caught out of position a couple of times, but he also used his pace well to defend.

Zimmermann - 8 - really showed what we missed. Dominant in the air. Narrowly headed it over and could have won a penalty on another header. Got done for pace at one moment, but did really well to get back in position.

Godfrey - 7 - also very solid. A couple of trademark runs surging forward, though they were wasted, and used his pace to cover Zimmermann too.

Quintilla - 8 - good defensively, seems to have an understanding with Hernandez as well. Doesn’t get forward so much but as Dunc said above, his set pieces were excellent. We looked a real threat from them.

Skipp - 8 - shielded the back four brilliantly, made a nuisance out of himself in midfield and the number of times he got fouled was testament to his central role in frustrating Huddersfield.

McLean - 6 - quietly solid in midfield and a lot of our play came through him. Didn’t manage any of his trademark pinpoint long passes, but worked hard.

Cantwell - 6 - danced, appealed, fouled, twirled, created. Pretty much everything you would expect from Cantwell now, but couldn’t quite get the final ball to count.

Hernandez - 7 - also had a trademark game, using his pace well and cutting inside a few times. Could have used the ball better and put teammates in, but was our main threat until Idah came on.

Dowell - 6 - looked very good at times. Like Cantwell, couldn’t quite get anything to work. Also created a couple of opportunities. A promising debut imo, without being stellar. I can see why Farke likes him.

Pukki - 7 - probably would have been marked a 5 if the game had ended at 75 minutes. Looked a different player once Idah came on and gave him a bit of space to run in. Excellent assist. Really should have scored. Still looks low on confidence.


Subs:

Idah - 7 - Well taken goal and made himself very difficult. Probably should have had another were it not for a heavy touch when Pukki put him through (again). Could be a real star as Farke chose him when he could have put on Hugill.

Placheta - 5 - tried hard, but didn’t really get the chance to show his pace. Looked slightly nervy, understandably, on his debut, but his presence seemed to make more space for Idah and Pukki in the middle.

Rupp - 5 - brief cameo, didn’t do much wrong.


Farke - 8 - also would have been a couple of notches down were it not for the double sub paying off. But then you just have to find a way. It was just what we needed - break the rotten run, win when we’re the favourites, clean sheet. Spot on. Anyone suggesting the players aren’t backing him are, I think, wrong (at least for the moment).

Motm - probably Skipp for me.

Though I thought Pritchard was the best player on the pitch.

 

The young 19 year old was lacking confidence playing for Ireland so hopefully it will kick-start his season

 

Agreed. He definitely needs a goal to find confidence. Also our play today, leaving him isolated, wasn’t the best for him. But when Idah came on he ended up being the match winner.

 

Scrappy win but a great result!

Krul- 7: Not a whole lot to do, but commanded his area a few times very well, late on

Aarons- 7: Looked much more comfortable at this level.

Zimmermann- 7: Solid as a rock without being troubled too many times. Didn't give Huddersfield a sniff really.

Godfrey- 7: see Zimmermann

Quintilla- 7: Looks like a good replacement for Lewis. Defended well and has a great delivery from set pieces!

Mclean- 7: Decent shift without setting the world alight. Helped out at the back when needed and looked tidy on the ball. Great block with his bollocks towards the end... body on the line for the team!

Skipp- 7: much the same as Mclean. Did his job without too many issues. Again, looks neat on the ball and did the simple things right.

Hernandez- 7: Sharpe in the first half and had a couple of good efforts. Same old Hernandez in terms of end product, but kept their defence very busy.

Cantwell- 7: Some great turns on the ball to get us on the attack. No real killer passes to speak of, but looks like he had a couple of gears to go to still.

Dowell- 7: Linked play well, but similarly to Cantwell, couldn't find that killer pass. Again, more to come from him, I feel.

Pukki- 8: Played really well. Held the ball up well, made some really intelligent runs (as he always does), but looks so void of confidence. Cut back for the goal when most strikers would have shot (it worked and Im not complaining btw, just making the point) and tried to slide Idah in again later when he had the whole goal to aim at. Needs to start having a go again to get back in the goals. However, his overall workrate and general play is why he gets an 8.

Idah- 7: Got the tap in winner and looks like he will do well this year. Not much time on the pitch.

Lots of 7s I know. Hard to give anyone in a team that won with a clean sheet lower than that, but as I said at the start it was a pretty scrappy game, won by a mistake by them.

OTBC!! Onwards and upwards!

 

We hadn't won since February 28th , lady luck has been beating us senseless for most of the season but the footballing gods through us a banana today and we are off to a winning start.

The clean sheet is also very satisfying, with Gibson breathing down the necks of Godfrey and Zimmermann and Hugill chomping at the bit the competition for places looks healthy.

Last season it was pick 2 blokes that can play Central defence now we have options .

Scrappy game but we came home with the spoils , only 1 away win last season so that's another monkey off their backs.

 

Worth also saying that another ref might easily have given us two pens without much criticism. I don’t think they were clear cut, but they were at least arguable. That would have been a very different game.

 

Perfect result. It got the monkey of twelve consecutive defeats off our back, while keeping us realistic about how difficult this season is going to be. An easy 4-0 win would have tempted us all to think we were going to piss this league.

 

The Aarons one was a stonewaller for me. Ball had gone and he was absolutely clattered. VAR would have taken about 3seconds on that... and then given a throw in or something lol

 

VAR never takes three seconds on any decision. It takes three minutes, while someone goes away and finds out which team is the bigger club and then decides in their favour.

Yes, refs are fallible, but at least once we scored I could celebrate without worrying about a bloody VAR decision cancelling the goal. For me, the biggest plus by far of getting relegated is that we don't have to put up with that techno-**** for at least one season.

 

And the winning streak begins!! we are no longer offically the worse performing football team in all the top few national leagues of the world!

 

I’d say 75%, based on how refs seem to ref penalty claims.

Anywhere else on the pitch it was 100% a foul, but because he knocked ball away for some reason that makes it less likely to be given

EDIT: Farke claims that the ref apologised for both penalty decisions, which is very unusual

 

That's just what I did until I realized "hey it's goal!".

I also liked Skipp today. He looked dependable with good positioning.

 

OK, if you insist, I'll have another go next week.

 

I liked this from Paddy's 'pointers':

"This was not the polished, smooth Norwich we might see deep into the Championship season. But it was the battle-hardened, streetwise variety. And for an opening weekend assignment with so many questions to answer it was reassuringly effective."

With 12 new players added, there were questions about how the team would gel on the pitch. Dowell took little time to settle and worked hard both with and without the ball, as did Skipp who looked streetwise and skilful throughout. After the departure of Jamal Lewis though, doubts about how Quintilla would fill the void were soon dispelled as he turned in a solid and skilful debut, with the added bonus of beautifully flighted corners that looked dangerous throughout. These three already looked at home in a team showing a new confidence and resilience as the season begins. Then there are the subs and the strength still on the bench at the end, as well as those who weren't included on this occasion. Wins build confidence that can be carried forward from here.