Match Report: Oldham 0-0 Huddersfield

Huddersfield Town travelled across the border to face rivals Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park in the clubs fifth pre-season friendly. With the terriers not picking up a victory in any of their previous friendlies they desperately needed to put on a decent performance as well as start to hit some good form before their clash against Preston in the first round of the Capital One Cup.
Simon Grayson had expressed his disappointment in how his team had performed against Crewe Alexandra mid-week and it was clear from his squad selection that he wanted to win this friendly tie. Jordan Rhodes however was not in the starting XI but was on the bench for the terriers.
The game started off very scrappy with a fair few challenges being made by both teams and it had to be stopped just three minutes in when former Huddersfield striker Robbie Simpson made a very hard & unfair challenge on Clarke. Play resumed minutes later after the skipper had received on field treatment and it was the terriers who nearly opened their account when Danny Ward's cross was deflected goal wards but it was tipped over the bar by Cisak.
Huddersfield immediately threatened again through Kallum Higginbotham as he smashed a volley towards the top corner but an amazing save from Cisak denied the terriers from taking the lead. Ward once again nearly scored a freak goal as his long range effort was deflected just past the post as ten minutes came up on the clock.
Smithies received his first action of the game as he was made to save a drive from Oldham's Taylor which was well held by the Huddersfield keeper. The home side were starting to look dangerous after Huddersfield's early dominance and some great midfield build up play from Oldham allowed Grounds to fire in a cross into the box. Brilliant positioning from Peter Clarke allowed the skipper to clear the danger and give his team a few moments of reprieve before Oldham came back at them.
The game started to flare up once again as both sides sent in hard tackles midway through the first half but it was Oldham who got the next goalscoring opportunity. A well fought corner ball was drifted into the terriers box which Tarkowski latched on to with his head but he failed to hit the target and the game remained goalless. The game simmered down as half time beckoned and under the glorious sun it was Cisak who kept Oldham level once again. Cisak cleared the ball upfield for Oldham but it was picked up by Keith Southern who looked to punish the goalkeeper. He passed to Clayton who in turn played Danny Ward in but Cisak denied the winger once again with a fine save. The referee shortly after blew his whistle to signify half time and both teams jogged in still locked with each other.
Grayson employed three substitutes at half time as Rhodes, Scannell & Norwood came on to replace Spencer, Southern & Higginbotham. The start of the second half nearly brought with it the games first goal as Jack Hunt broke down the wing and curled a cross into the box. Rhodes was just inches away from heading home but he failed to make any contact on the ball and seemed to have been pushed from behind by an Oldham defender. Huddersfield continued to put the pressure on the home side through a Clayton free kick and multiple Danny Ward crosses but none of them could be found by a Town player in the box.
Oldham came the closest to taking the lead in the 57th minute and it was ex Huddersfield striker Robbie Simpson who nearly put them in front. M'Changama flicked in a beautiful cross from out wide and Simpson managed to get a glancing header on it that only just went wide of the upright. Smithies was well beaten in the goals as it looked to drop in but fortunately it went wide for a goal kick to the terriers. Smithies was tested just moments later from a long range drive at goal by Croft but he stepped up to the challenge and saved/held well.
Oldham started to mix things up a bit when they brought on 'trialist A + B' but it was the terriers who looked dangerous especially when Rhodes beat the off side trap. He latched on to a long clearence from Alex Smithies and tried to play Novak in but his strike partner wasn't quick enough to get on to the end of his cross. Two minutes later it was Lee Croft who was behind the terriers defence this time but he shot straight at Smithies and another chance went begging. The game ebbed and flowed between both teams but the best they could both do was create half chances that had no finishing efforts to trouble both sets of goalkeepers.
Huddersfield started a fast counter attack 13 minutes from time but Novak played the ball in too soon for the on rushing Rhodes who agonisingly couldn't keep the counter attack going. Rhodes had looked a level above the majority of players on the pitch and some good link up play involving himself saw a Ward cross cleared off the Oldham line by Grounds. Ward then got another chance to nick the game near the end as Scannell burst down the wing and passed to Woods who's cross was found by Ward but he lashed his effort wide of the goal.
The final whistle soon went after and a well fought friendly came to a stalement end. 0-0 the final score which means that the terriers are still without a pre-season victory under Simon Grayson.

Clarke Retains Armband For Championship Campaign

The defender has today been confirmed to remain the captain for Huddersfield Town for the fourth consecutive season. It has been rumoured that the skipper would be stripped of his title after promotion was gained into the Championship but Grayson has confirmed today that this is not going to be the case.

Clarke is a natural leader and has shown this in every game and regardless of the occasion, he will always put his heart & passion into playing for the terriers. The 30 year old received high praise from Grayson when he spoke about the skipper;

"Peter is a good player and a good leader. He's done the job for a while now and he has the respect of the other players, so there is no need to change anything."

So that confirms another small part of how Huddersfield are going to line-up when they open up the Championship against Cardiff City on August 17th. The question is, who will line up next to the skipper in the heart of defence?
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Southern Glad To Be Back Playing

Keith Southern made his very first appearence since signing for the terriers in the 1-0 defeat against Crewe Alexandra. The result may not have been. Good and neither was the performance but this didn't dampen Southerns delight at playing football once again;

"I only met the lads a couple of days ago and this is my first game of pre-season, so I haven't played for a couple of months. I enjoyed it. It wasn't the performance or the result that the Gaffer was looking for, but from a personal point of view it was nice to get some minutes under my belt."

Southern nearly scored on his debut for Huddersfield but his glancing header unfortunately went the wrong side of the post in a game which saw the terriers struggle to create any clear cut chances;

"The players have welcomed me into the group. There are a lot of young boys in the team and they are a really good bunch, so I'm looking forward to working with them. I've played in many pre-seasons and in some we've won all our games but then gone on to lose the first three League games! Equally I've played in sides that don't win at all in pre-season, but then start the competitive games on fire so the results can be a little bit false at times."

"The pitch was a little bit sticky and I don't think it helped the lads' passing game that they wanted to play, but personally it was all about getting minutes on the pitch. I should have scored though!"

"There are some really good players here – everyone can see that. When we put passes together and got the ball moving, which wasn't as often as we would have liked at Crewe, you could still see the talent of the players. It's about nurturing that talent and I think we'll get better over the next two weeks, definitely."




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Grayson Brushes Aside Rhodes Transfer Rumours

The Jordan Rhodes transfer saga stepped up another level last night when the Daily Mail reported that the club had accepted an offer from Blackburn Rovers in the region of £6m for the Scottish striker. Simon Grayson insisted that the only way in which the striker will be leaving the club is if somebody pays 'big bucks' to do so;

"Our stance hasn't changed. Everybody knows the level of importance Jordan Rhodes has to this club and everyone knows the value we place on him. If anyone is to buy him it is going to cost them a lot of money. Of course, this situation is nothing new. Players like Jordan are valuable commodities and there will probably be speculation until the transfer window closes."

Seems like Grayson knows exactly what the situation is with his top goalscorer and although the club are willing to sell the 40 goal hitman they shall not be forced into anything.

Grayson Unhappy With Performance Against Crewe

Simon Grayson's team suffered yet another pre-season loss against Crewe last night and the manager was not happy with how his team performed. The terriers fell behind from a Dugdale goal early in the first half and never got themselves back into the game. Keith Southern made his debut and it was his glancing header which was the best chance of the entire game for the visitors.

Grayson expressed his disappointment when he spoke to the official site after the game last night;

"I'm disappointed tonight, but it's important not to get carried away with a good performance like we had on Saturday or an average performance like tonight. There were aspects of the game that we knew we could have done better tonight; we started the game poorly, our ball retention was poor and our movement wasn't as good as on Saturday but these are the sort of things you expect in pre-season and it's up to us to iron them out as we go along."

"We hardly worked their goalkeeper all night and that's unlike us given the players we have in our team. However, some players have played 60, 70 and 90 minutes and everything is still building up with an eye on a few weeks' time. We are a work in progress and that's why we shouldn't get too carried away with results. However, the players know we have to do better – there is no question about that. We do have an honest bunch of players who will work hard on the training ground for however long it takes to get things right." 

"It's nothing we can't rectify. We know that our players can normally handle the ball better and move better too. Crewe are a good footballing team and it was another good test for us. We've worked hard on Monday and Tuesday and sometimes you don't quite have that sharpness in games when you do that"

On a more positive note Grayson stated that he was impressed with the debut of new signing Keith Southern who was substituted in the second half for Huddersfield;

"I'm not going to be all 'doom and gloom' – there were some good things to come out of the game. I thought Keith Southern affected things well – he showed his tackling, energy and nearly scored a goal after getting into the box, so I was delighted with that."

Match Report: Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town travelled to Gresty Road to play Crewe Alexandra in their fourth pre-season friendly. Early team news confirmed the speculation that Keith Southern had joined up with the squad and would indeed make his debut as he was named in the starting XI. Alongside him was Oliver Norwood as Simon Grayson named a very strong side that lined up in a standard 4-4-2 formation.

The match started with the home side controlling possession as Huddersfield were penned back into their own half with Peter Clarke blocking the first shot of the game from Crewe's Pogba. Crewe were out to impressive the home crowd and just as Huddersfield started to come back into the game, through a lively Sean Scannell, the home side took the lead. The terriers were giving away dangerous free kicks in their own half and were punished as Westwood swung one into the box where Clarke was surprisingly shrugged off by Adam Dugdale who volleyed the ball into the net.

Huddersfield immediately went for the equaliser from the restart but Scannell's effort was blocked over the bar after a Danny Ward corner. Minutes later the visitors broke from a Crew corner through the ever impressive Scannell but his flat cross couldn't find Jordan Rhodes in the box and the breakaway goal was off the agenda. The game slowed down as Huddersfield started to obtain more of the possession and as half time approached a Jack Hunt cross was met by Rhodes but his shot was cleared off the line by goalscorer Dugdale and Crewe kept hold of their one goal advantage.

Three minutes before half time Danny Ward got the better of full back Davis and pressed forward only to see his low cross unmet by Rhodes who was agonisingly close to latching onto it in front of goal. The referee soon after blew for half time and Huddersfield went into the dressing room one goal down.

Huddersfield emerged for the second half unchanged but the first chance fell to Crewe Alexandra. Brendon Daniels slotted a great through ball past Jack Hunt who was beaten by Pogba but he failed to punish the terriers by shooting wide with a very tame effort. Fifteen minutes into the second half Simon Grayson made his first substitutions of the game by bringing on Clayton, Woods, Bennett & Oscar Gobern for Norwood, Dixon, Smithies & Ward.

A change of formation soon followed as Huddersfield formed a 4-3-3 to attempt to put more players upfront to grab an equaliser and Southern nearly provided one. Clayton had just been on the field 8 minutes but it was his excellent cross which was found by Southern's glancing header. The Town faithful thought they had got the equaliser but unfortunately it just went past the wrong side of the post. More subs followed by Grayson and Kay nearly made an immediate impact after he managed to get his head on a Clayton free kick but the attempt went well wide of the target.

Time was now ticking down and Huddersfield started to commit more men forward, searching for a late equaliser. Alan Lee was close to threading through winger Kallum Higginbotham but it was intercepted by a solid Crew defence and moments later the referee blew for full time at Gresty Road to finish a strongly competed friendly; Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Huddersfield Town.

Norwood Ready For Crewe Alexandra

Oliver Norwood is ready to step up to the mark and make himself known in today's pre-season clash against Crewe Alexandra. Norwood declined a new contract from premiership outfit Manchester United in favour of joining the terriers and fighting for first team football;

"We're ready to step things up. Training has been tough, but that's what you expect in pre-season, and it's important to lay the foundations for what's to come. So far it's been all about fitness really, but going forward from here, we'll be looking at more specific tactical stuff, and with the Cup game at Preston coming up, there's a real buzz about the lads."

Norwood signed a three year contract with Huddersfield Town which will see him remain at the club until the age of 24 and the youngster is relishing the opportunity to play in the Championship with the terriers;

"I know people don't really remember the results of friendlies, but you want to win every game you play, and that will be the same at Crewe. We've played some good stuff in patches, and at two up, we looked well set to beat Hibs, but we gave away a couple of poor goals. We know we still have things to work on, and we'll be doing our utmost to make sure we're ready for the season."

Norwood has featured in all three pre-season friendlies so far and is set to be in the line-up for today's game against Crewe.
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