Defender looks at reasons behind home loss
- Martin Cranie reviews loss to Derby County
- Defender feels HTAFC must take its chances
- Ex-Barnsley man looks ahead to Burnley
Huddersfield Town defender Martin Cranie feels the side must take its chances when they come against teams in the Sky Bet Championship.
Speaking after Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Derby County, Martin explained:
“Everyone is a bit down. After the result on Tuesday and the good point we got last Saturday, everyone came into the game quite positive but we played against a good team and didn’t manage to pick up anything.
“We all know Derby is a big team that has spent a lot of money this year and wants to be in the Premier League. They have a lot of big names at this level and we knew it would be a tough test; one in which we’d have to be at our best to get something from the game. I’d probably say this is the best team we’ve come up against yet in how they keep the ball and try to penetrate you.
“I don’t think we’re far off at all, but we’re just lacking a bit of quality in the final third at times. We’re getting chances, but we’re not putting them away. I think the goals will come and we have to stick at what we’re doing.
“I don’t think we were bad. We didn’t have a lot of the ball at times, which we expected against them. As I said, we just have to take our chances.”
The two goals conceded came after two successive clean sheets and Martin felt this was the side’s biggest defensive test of the last three fixtures:
“We’ve tightened up a bit defensively recently and their first goal comes from a mishit shot that goes straight to their player; there’s not much you can do about that. Fair play on the second goal; the lad has hit it well and it’s a good finish.
“Jed pulled off a couple of great saves for us when they did get through. We pushed towards the end of the game, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Now Cranie is keen to look ahead, with the Terriers back in action at Burnley on Saturday.
He concluded: “We take each game as it comes. We’ve got Burnley next; a team that has just come down from the Premier League with a strong squad. We need everyone to be at it to get anything out of the game.
“We’ll have a look at the Derby game over the next couple of games, then put it to bed and get ready for Saturday.
“We’ve worked hard over the last week to get the two results. The older boys who have played in this league for years know what it’s about and that the games come thick and fast, so it’s no surprise.”
