Single mistake sees dominant Town beaten
HUDDERSFIELD Town dominated possession against Newcastle United but suffered a fourth successive defeat in the Premier League.
They went down 1-0 to a Salomon Rondon goal at the John Smith’s Stadium despite having 74 per cent of the ball and creating 15 shots against eight.
It was a Town team without injured midfielders Aaron Mooy, Danny Williams and Abdelhamid Sabiri, along with club captain Tommy Smith, and, despite the defeat, head coach David Wagner called on everyone to believe in the survival project as Town prepare to host Southampton next Sunday.
Here are five things we learned from the 90 minutes against Newcastle...
■LAPSES IN CONCENTRATION PROVE VERY COSTLY AT
THIS LEVEL castle United to the list.
Town were on the front foot for the vast majority of the game against Newcastle but switched off just once – and it cost them a fourth defeat in a row.
There seemed little danger in the 55th minute as keeper Martin Dubravka played the ball out to Jamaal Lascelles and then it was swept out to Fabian Schar on the Newcastle right.
But as he sent a long pass up the wing to Ayoze
Perez, Christopher
Schindler was dragged across and Terence
Kongolo had been pulled in to trying to press and had lost the run of
Javier Manquillo.
He had acres of space which Zanka then tried to fill, leaving
Rondon on his own to finish. Flo Hadergjonaj had been mindful of Christian Atsu on his shoulder, so couldn’t get across to make life more difficult for the Venezuelan striker.
Five passes from keeper to goal and a reminder that Town simply cannot afford to switch off at any stage.
■JUNINHO BACUNA LOOKS PROMISING IN THE MIDFIELD THIS was a first Premier League start for the new dad from the Netherlands – and a very encouraging first impression he made.
The 21-year-old had the misfortune of marking his first game for the club with a spectacular own goal in the Carabao Cup defeat at Stoke City, but David Wagner said back then he had every faith in the ability the former Groningen Williams sidelined for eight and 10 weeks respectively, Wagner turned to Bacuna against Newcastle, playing him alongside Philip Billing and Jonathan Hogg.
And he was rewarded with an industrious display.
Bacuna is not afraid to track back and put in a tackle, he won his share of ball in the centre and he was confident on the ball, pushing forward when he could.
There is more to come from him, so watch this space.
■TOWN NEED THE LIFT OF A GOAL AND A LEAD
IT becomes a real frustration when the team are doing lots of things correctly but then simply can’t find the net.
Town have suffered from the problem for a while now, leading to calls from many supporters and observers for a goalscorer to be brought in during the January transfer window.
The finger has been pointed at strikers Laurent Depoitre and Steve Mounie because neither has managed to score a goal so far this campaign.
But it was evident again in the Newcastle game that Town need to flood the box more with bodies when the crosses are coming in, so that Alex Pritchard and the striker have support in the area where it matters most.
Often aiming for just one man in the box is unlikely to deliver much reward - and my how Town could do with the lift of a goal and a lead right now. Let’s hope it comes against Southampton, because that would lift the spirits of all concerned.
■PHILIP BILLING UNDERLINES HIS EMERGING QUALITY