Support the Club’s youngsters
In the absence of First Team football this Saturday, why not come down to Canalside Sports Complex and support the Club’s Under-18s when they take on Crystal Palace (11am).
Frankie Bunn’s and Tony Carss’ youngsters are performing superbly in the U18 Professional Development League 2 North and are currently top of the league having recorded nine wins from their opening 11 matches.
They have enjoyed victories over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday (5-2) and Leeds United (4-1), while they recently beat Brighton and Hove Albion at Canalside 4-1!
This weekend, however, they head into a match on the back of a defeat for the first time after losing to Swansea City last weekend.
Jake Charles had put the Terriers ahead, only for the Swans to hit back with two goals from set-pieces – click HERE to read the match report.
Academy Manager Mark Lillis is expecting a reaction when Town’s youngsters take on Palace:
“It was disappointing to lose, but the long journey back from Wales gave the staff time to watch the game back and assess what went wrong,” he told htafc.com. “We are trying to develop footballers and it is important they understand what went wrong.
“As coaches we expressed our disappointment and as players they were equally honest. We have educated them all week to hopefully eradicate the mistakes, which should help them bounce back with a victory.
“Hopefully we will have a few supporters turn up and we can get back to winning ways.”
Saturday’s opponents Crystal Palace have won just three times this year, but one of their victories was a 5-4 success over Swansea.
“We looked at the two conceded goals from set-pieces with the players on the bus, calling them down in twos and threes. We need to tell the players the truth and the lads who turned their backs in the wall need to put their hands up. The only way that they will develop is by being honest and telling them where they went wrong. We have experienced coaches in myself, Tony, Frankie, Nick Colgan and Dave Hanson who can all offer opinions.”
Crystal Palace plays in the south division of the league and Lillis and his staff have worked hard to acquire footage of them in action.
“We have done OK; our analyst Emyr Humphreys has good contacts in the game and has been able to get us some footage to analyse. Saturday is about our response, though, and how Huddersfield Town performs. Palace will provide a tough test, but hopefully having understood what went wrong at Swansea, we will bounce back.”
Fans attending the game will be able to enjoy hot breakfasts from the Canalside kitchen.
The kitchen is open between 9.30-11am and will serve bacon (£2) and sausage sandwiches (£2.25) with eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes as extras.
Town’s Development Squad were scheduled to face Manchester City in a behind closed doors match on Thursday; however, the Citizens have cancelled the game.
