High time as Scott finally makes mark
TWENTY-ONE games had passed since Scott High last appeared in the Huddersfield Town starting line-up, the longest gap between starts of any player this season bar Jordan Rhodes’ 26-game wait through his lay-off with a back injury and goalkeeper Ryan Schofield’s 25 games between appearing against Fulham in August and playing against Burnley in the FA Cup in January.
In High’s case, there had been no injury to speak of.
The midfielder’s starts have generally only come when there have been key absences elsewhere in the squad: he got a run at the start of the season when Lewis O’Brien was out through Covid and Danel Sinani was still working his way to full fitness having joined later in the transfer window than many of Town’s summer signings. Another chance came for High between late November and the turn of the new year, when Jonathan Hogg was out with a knee injury.
This time, it was injuries in wide positions that necessitated High’s involvement. With Danel Sinani, Josh Koroma and Sorba Thomas all ruled out of the trip to Coventry and Tino Anjorin seemingly not yet quite ready to start games, Carlos Corberan moved Lewis O’Brien out to the left-wing with Duane Holmes playing off the right.
Rather than move Hogg out of the back three, the Middlesbrough Mascherano was played between Tom Lees and the returning Levi Colwill, with Corberan explaining after the game that he felt playing Hogg and Jon Russell together would leave the side short of energy and mobility in central midfield in a game where those traits were paramount.
High certainly brings that. The enthusiastic youngster looked on a mission to prove his worth once again, knowing that this chance to prove himself before the playoffs may not come around again.
There is a bit of a misconception among Town fans that High is a tidy but unadventurous midfielder; certain corners of the fanbase will tell you he plays too many backwards and sideways passes, a perception that has somehow stuck despite failing to live up to the reality.
The most notable fault in his game against Coventry, just as in a couple of other previous performances, has been his decisionmaking under pressure in his own half – an understandable shortcoming for a young player still learning his trade in the Championship.
But we saw the positive side of High’s game against Coventry too. The midfielder thrives on picking the ball up in the opposition half with players ahead of him that he can look to either play off with snappy exchanges or play in with incision.
Town struggled to play out of their own half in the first 30-40 minutes at Coventry, but when they did get out it was invariably High or Holmes who were on hand to try and make something happen.
High played 11 passes inside the opposition half over the first half, the most of any Town player if we exclude two corners taken by Holmes.
Eight of those passes went forwards; just three went backwards, and one of them was because he was about six yards from the opposition byline.
High’s reward for those efforts was his first Championship assist: a simple pass to Harry Toffolo followed by a smart run out wide to help open up space for the left-back to cut inside. We doubt anybody expected Toffolo to shoot from that position, let alone score, but High had done his job to aid it nonetheless.
The midfielder was heavily involved again in the move that led to the penalty from which they doubled the lead.
Mirroring what we have seen from O’Brien up the left wing this season, High received the ball out wide in his own half, played off the superb Tino Anjorin to keep going up the right and receive the pass back, then put in a dangerous cross that Danny Ward couldn’t quite reach but which Michael Rose nearly put into his own goal.
Ben Wilson saved, then brought down O’Brien for the penalty.
By the end of the game, Lee Nicholls was the only Town player who had more touches than High (64); none of his team-mates had played more passes (53); and only Hogg had a higher pass completion rate (87.8%). Those couple of bits of
The enthusiastic youngster looked on a mission to prove his worth once again