I predicted a defeat last night, but deep down I did wonder if we were going to get one of those Imps’ games where we surprised everyone.
Let’s be really clear, Huddersfield are a side packed with talent. Starting with £2m Joe Taylor and £1.2m Alfie May up top, our ever-present from last season Sean Roughan at the back, with Lasse Sorensen on the other side (another cool £1m), we were up against it. Four players, £4.2m, the sort of spending that’s within touching distance of our overall wage budget (give or take a million). It was a big task. That’s without the likes of Marcus Harness, Ben Wiles and Murray Wallace, all brimming with Championship experience.
I don’t want to start playing the ‘poor us’ card as soon as we lose, but it will never not be a factor. I believe Wycombe, who beat us 3-2 a week or so ago, have double our budget. Double. We have to have that as some sort of perspective when looking over these games.
What is frustrating is that we’re not far off these teams. Last night, we were. Last night, Huddersfield controlled the game for the first 20 minutes, we threw a few punches, but we did so in vain. If they hadn’t scored (which they did), we would have been lucky. As it was, their goal was actually where luck came in, it was never a free kick in the first place, but luck seems to favour the brave, and what happened from the delivery to the goal was, frankly, a bit pants. I’d love to know who was marking Alfie May, completely unopposed to nod the ball back across the box. Let’s be honest, that’s just a textbook set piece and we should know better, because we use it often enough.
Rewinding, we probably didn’t deserve to go in level at half time. They had a solid penalty appeal not even acknowledged after just two minutes, Rob Street hauling down their man by dragging his arm back. I guess that means moaning about the free kick really isn’t all that justified.
They were better, as they should be, until around 20 minutes when we came into it. By then we’d lost James Collins to injury, and Freddie came on, probably a half-decent shout for Man of the Match. He did well, missed a couple of chances, one a horrible scuff, the other a great save by Nicholls. It’s odd, because at half time, given we’d been in the ascendancy, I genuinely felt we might still get something.
That slow start was down to them having a fast start, and one or two players just not getting into the rhythm of the game. I shouted Rob Street as starting, and he did, but he saw so little of the ball. He was involved in just 33 actions in 101 minutes of football. That’s only three more than his 48-minute first-half outing against Wycombe, and half as many as the Doncaster game.
He never got going, but he wasn’t the only one. Dexter Lembikisa and Dom Jefferies weren’t on it, the former probably appearing for the last time, and the latter still on his way back, so it can be forgiven. Hackett and Ring looked decent, but the latter came off seemingly limping, while Ivan Varfolomeev had a lot to do in the middle of the park, and in fairness, he probably stood out. Erik, Tom Bayliss and a couple of others took a while to get going, but once we did, those final 25 minutes were half decent.
Let’s get something out of the way as well, Michael Skubala does not have ‘the shackles on’ when we play. It drives me crazy that reasonable football fans who have played Sunday league, or watched the Imps for 50 years, can genuinely believe a manager says ‘boys, when you get down the line, just hold your runs and let’s not get the ball into the box’. Think about it, it’s utterly absurd. Players make choices, and the choice not to beat a man doesn’t come from the bench. Watch, next time a player checks inside and cuts back, I’ve seen Michael waving them forward.
Yeah, the notion of playing with the handbrake on drives me crazy. Ironic, as with the handbrake on, it shouldn’t drive me at all.
Still, the first goal killed the game. We could easily have let in a second, had it not been for a terrific double save from Jeacock. That moment came from our own lapse, Ivan playing Ryley Towler into danger. My issue last night was we were okay in spells, but then at times we looked disjointed. Mind you, we did put out a mix of first team and fringe players, so I guess it is to be expected.
Frankie Okonkwo had a decent chance to level, and while it might not have been entirely deserved, I did like that we kept going. His shot was blocked and then he fired over, but I felt there was something still there for us. Jack Moylan added some verve to the attack, looking to beat players, and fans love that. I don’t want us to beat a man every time we go forward, it’s gung ho, but it would be nice to see talented players, like Reeco and Erik, perhaps trying it a little more. Against Port Vale it’s not easy because they’re deep and all that, but last night? Huddersfield came to win.
Michael said we conceded the second because we’re chasing the game, and the corner is probably conceded because we’re taking risks, but the goal isn’t. Tendayi Darikwa and Ryley Towler are both beaten by Murray Wallace. It’s a simple challenge, and their man comes out better than ours.
It’s struck me as I write this that it feels really negative, and I remind myself of the gap between the sides. We brought on five subs, two free transfers, a loan, a homegrown player and Jack Moylan, for whom we paid a small fee. Huddersfield brought on three players with transfer fees believed to total around £3 million.
Ultimately, 2-0 was a fair result. That’s what xG said it should be (0.45 v 2.5). That’s what the eye test said it should be. It shouldn’t even hurt, it’s a trophy few really care about. The attendance proved that, and the benefit isn’t in the fan experience, but the run out for some of those players on the edge.
What is disappointing is there are very few positives to take from the night. Ben House on crutches in the fan zone. James Collins injured. Out of the cup on a wet, miserable night, and the sort of start to December that fans feared.
The big test is now in a week’s time when we need to get at Barnsley and grab another three points. Do that and this game will soon be forgotten.