Town beaten on the road
- Harrogate Town 1-0 Huddersfield Town
- Terriers narrowly beaten away from home
- Town’s second friendly of the day at Doncaster gets under way at 3pm
Huddersfield Town were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Harrogate Town at The EnviroVent Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Terriers’ second pre-season friendly of the summer.
A spectacular 30-yard strike from Lewis Richards was the difference in North Yorkshire, as Town got more much-needed minutes into their legs.
The friendly saw David Kasumu and Connor Mahoney take to the field for the first time in Town colours, and it was also pleasing to see B Team trio Jaheim Headley, Matty Daly, and Josh Austerfield start for loan club Harrogate.
The early stages of the game saw the Terriers control the possession, shifting the ball between the back four and goalkeeper Jacob Chapman, as they looked to break down a compact Harrogate.
The game’s first effort on goal came on 16 minutes after Jordan Rhodes was hacked down on the edge of the area by Harrogate’s starting trialist. Mahoney took charge of the free-kick, whipping the ball around the wall with pace, but his attempt flew just wide of the near upright.
Town’s patient, intricate build-up play continued on 20 minutes, as Rarmani Edmonds-Green executed an inch-perfect diagonal ball towards Aaron Rowe, whose flick-on fell to Josh Ruffels. The left back took the ball into his stride before drilling a cross into the centre, where Kyle Ferguson managed to slice the ball away to safety.
Despite Town’s dominance, it was the home side that took the lead with their first chance of the game. Richards picked up possession from deep and, with no options in front of him, he dispatched a rasping effort from around 30 yards that nestled into the far bottom corner.
Momentum then changed hands as Harrogate missed the chance to double their lead 10 minutes later, as a sumptuous corner delivery from George Thomson was narrowly missed by both Ferguson and Warren Burrell at the back post.
The Sulphurites once again got in behind the Town backline, as they ended the first half the stronger side. Alex Pattison ghosted in to occupy the space behind Ruffels, before running onto a threaded through-ball from Thomson, but his subsequent cross was well defended by Will Boyle, who side-footed the ball behind for a corner that came to nothing.
Town’s first sight at goal in the second period came 10 minutes after the restart. Rowe carried the ball infield from the left, weaving his way between several players before he took aim at goal, with the effort deflecting wide off the leg of Richards. The following corner met the head of Boyle, but his tame header was scooped up by Pete Jameson.
On the hour mark, the home side almost made it 2-0 through a familiar face. A smart through-ball down the left was met by the run of Daly, who carried the ball into the area, but he curled his effort into the side-netting.
Head Coach Danny Schofield then made several changes, as a number of B Team players gained some valuable minutes in the First Team.
Harrogate continued the press for another, and when the ball fell to Jack Muldoon just inside the area, the winger failed to find Luke Armstrong in the centre, as David Adewoju made a vital clearance.
Town almost found a leveller on 82 minutes after a quickly taken free-kick from Myles Bright found Brahima Diarra at the back post, but the former Harrogate loanee could only side-foot his volley into the stand.
It was brilliant to see a total of 518 Town supporters at The EnviroVent Stadium this afternoon - thank you for your support!
Town’s Line-Up (4-4-2)
Jacob Chapman (Nicholas Bilokapic, 46’); Brodie Spencer, Rarmani Edmonds-Green (David Adewoju, 60’), Will Boyle (Loick Ayina, 60’), Josh Ruffels (Shane Maroodza, 60’); Aaron Rowe (Neo Eccleston, 60’), David Kasumu (Scott High, 46’), Etienne Camara, Connor Mahoney (Rolando Aarons, 46’ (Brahima Diarra, 54’)), Jordan Rhodes (C) (Myles Bright, 60’), Kieran Phillips (Ben Midgley, 60’)
Unused Subs
Josh Mazfari; Ben Jackson, Ernaldo Krasniqi