Minutes and goals in our first senior friendly!
- Bodmin Town 0-9 Huddersfield Town
- Important minutes in first friendly for Neil Warnock’s side
- Three players score braces in big win over local team
Town’s pre-season fixture schedule got under way in Cornwall on Monday evening, with Neil Warnock’s Terriers putting nine past non-league hosts Bodmin Town!
Having trained in the morning, the men in blue and white looked sharp on their first outing ahead of the new season, knocking nine past the opposition without reply and getting important minutes under their belts in the process.
From the 22 players that Warnock has brought on tour, 19 got their first time on the pitch. Jonathan Hogg, Danny Ward, and Yuta Nakayama all trained in the morning, but did not feature in the game that was played in very wet conditions.
Three players – Josh Koroma, Kian Harratt and Pat Jones – netted braces and it could have been more were it not for the impressive Bodmin Town goalkeeper, who made several eye-catching stops to deny the likes of Jack Rudoni and David Kasumu.
The game, like the week, will give Warnock the chance to properly assess many of our younger players, and many looked right at home alongside their senior colleagues tonight.
Koroma picked up where he left off last season and looked like a man determined to grab a first half hat-trick. He opened the scoring in the eighth minute, collecting a pass from Rudoni and spinning goalwards before firing past the custodian.
Tyreece Simpson netted the second, collecting Koroma’s header to break clear and poke the ball past the advancing goalie.
Josh Ruffels scored the goal of the night just before the half hour. He collected a square pass, took one touch and unleashed a piledriver that flew into the top corner in spectacular fashion.
Koroma’s second followed soon after from the penalty spot. He sent the ‘keeper the wrong way after the last defender had an unsightly hack at Rudoni, who was running clear onto Brodie Spencer’s long pass forward.
Warnock made five changes during the interval, but the goals kept coming. One sub, Kian Harratt, netted the first of his two goals just seven minutes into the half, picking up a clever, disguised reverse pass from Kasumu before shooting underneath the goalkeeper.
His second was the first of three in as many minutes as the final quarter hour approached. Kian showed why he has always been a consistent source of goals at Academy level, knowing exactly where to be to sweep home a loose ball as it dropped inside the area.
Kian’s strike partner, Kyle Hudlin, scored a very good goal almost immediately upon the restart. He collected a pass and turned neatly onto his right foot before bending his shot around the diving ‘keeper and inside the far post from around 20 yards out.
Welsh winger Pat Jones netted another in the 77th minute. He bent his infield run behind the defence perfectly to collect Harratt’s forward pass in an onside position, where he comprehensively beat the goalkeeper.
Jones capped the game with a ninth goal as the final whistle approached. He made it look easy, driving forward before passing left to Jaheim Headley and continuing to latch onto the cross and tap home at close range.
Our next game takes place on Wednesday, when we travel to Tavistock for another 7pm start.
Town’s first half team (4-3-3)
Lee Nicholls; Brodie Spencer, Michał Helik (c), Matty Pearson, Josh Ruffels; Jack Rudoni, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, David Kasumu; Sorba Thomas, Tyreece Simpson, Josh Koroma
Town’s second half team (4-4-2)
Nicholas Bilokapic; Loick Ayina, Rarmani Edmonds-Green (c), Jaheim Headley; Sorba Thomas (Ben Jackson, 62’), David Kasumu, Jack Rudoni (Josh Austerfield, 76’), Josh Koroma (Pat Jones, 62’); Kyle Hudlin, Kian Harratt
Goals
Josh Koroma (8’, 33’), Tyreece Simpson (13’), Josh Ruffels (27’), Kian Harratt (52’, 75’), Kyle Hudlin (76’), Pat Jones (77’, 87’)
Tonight was our first game in our brand new 2023/24 home kit! CLICK HERE to get your own via HTAFC Shop now.
