Huddersfield Town

The young Terriers held their own against a strong Rams outfit for around an hour before a conceded penalty changed the outlook of the tie.

“I’m disappointed with the scoreline, because I thought we contested the game very well for an hour,” Steve told htafc.com.

“They watered the pitch before the game and it made for a very fast game, but I thought we defended the slope really well in the first half – limiting Derby to next to nothing. At half time I described the game as an ‘arm wrestle’.

“I thought we would be able to be a little bit more innovative and creative heading down the slope in the second half, but it remained an arm wrestle until we gave away a needless set piece around our 18 yard box that gave the home team the advantage. That goal left us chasing – and it was hard to do so against a good team. 

“It was another game for First Team players to top up their fitness to aid the Manager’s selection process, but I’m a little bit disappointed we didn’t create a little bit more. 

“We have to learn from it. We finished the game with three 18 year olds in the backline and we have to take something from it. It’s a learning process, but the fact that one error has pretty much cost us the game today is hard to swallow. We’ll move on quickly though.”

Under-18 skipper Joe Wright conceded the set-piece, but Steve was quick to point out that mistakes are there to learn from.

“It’s a shame; even though Joe was our youngest player, he was arguably our best. In terms of the game he’s come through it well, but he’s got to learn it’s a cutthroat business and he has to stay on his feet in the 18 yard box.” 

The Development Squad is back in action on Friday when Sheffield Wednesday visit Canalside Sports Complex for a 12pm kick-off and Eyre explained his team will be ready:

“We’ve all known about the quick turnaround to Friday’s game and the players have been prepared for it. We’ll look after them for the rest of the day now and on Friday we’ll go again.”