Damned statistics don’t lie, but there is only one
TOWN’S loss to Arsenal on Saturday was a statistically strange one.
The Terriers put on one of their best displays in recent weeks, but still fell to a 2-1 defeat at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Despite the loss, head coach Jan Siewert was pleased with his team’s performance – and the match statistics provided by Opta show why. The German’s side bettered the Gunners in almost every department.
In attack, Town recorded more possession throughout the match – 54.6 per cent compared with Arsenal’s 45.4pc.
But it wasn’t simply a case of having no end product.
Siewert’s side also had more shots than the visitors, 15 to Arsenal’s nine, with more of those on target as well – six to Arsenal’s four. That attacking pressure yielded five corners for Town, whereas Arsenal did not manage a single one in 90 minutes.
Perhaps the most telling statistic is that Arsenal defenders were forced to make 28 clearances in the game – far out-hoofing Town’s players, who made just eight.
So what went wrong? Obviously, as the saying goes, there is only one statistic that matters.
Siewert said after the match that individual mistakes made by his young team resulted in Arsenal’s two goals and the loss of the match.
“When you look at it, we have young players on the pitch,” he explained.
“You look at TK (Terence Kongolo), you look at (Juninho) Bacuna, you look at Adama (Diakhaby), they are young players, so they make mistakes – you have to accept that.