Chris comments on the draw at the John Smith’s Stadium
- Chris Powell reviews draw with Nottingham Forest
- Manager felt his side deserved more
- Chris reserves special praise for Martin Cranie
Huddersfield Town Manager Chris Powell thought his side was well worth the point it gained late into tonight’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest.
“Maybe over the balance of play we deserved more than a point. Looking at the stats on crosses and shots, maybe we should have won,” Chris commented after the final whistle.
“On the back of some real confidence, we started off the game really well and took the game to Forest – then we got rocked by their one and only shot of the first half, which the lad took well.
“We had to gather ourselves again, but I thought we probed and tried to get in there in the second half. We got some good balls in the box, but it looked like the game might run away from us.
“I made some subs and I felt they made a good impact, plus we changed the shape to pose a different problem to Forest. We knew we would be open to a counter.
“Once Forest got their noses in front they sat deep and took the pressure. However, were starting to know that we don’t have to force it; we still probed, got it wide and got the ball in dangerous areas to ask questions of them. Forest defended manfully, but Emyr popped up again.”
On goalscorer Huws, who now has four in just three starts, Chris commented:
“I’ve always known about Emyr’s shooting prowess. If anyone saw his ‘Goal of the Season’ contender for Birmingham at Middlesbrough, which came from about 45 yards out, they will too.
“We must remember he is still working his way back, so it’s great he got 90 minutes tonight. He had a few tackles that he had to win and a couple of battles to come out of, which are good for his mind-set.”
As much as Huws got the headlines again, Powell was keen to point out another vital contribution at the other end:
“Emyr will get the plaudits, but Martin Cranie’s body earned us the point. Had he not stopped that shot on the line, we would have been two goals down and that would have been ‘game over’.
“In some respects, that moment in the game earned us the point. We all thought Chris Burke was offside, but one of the gentleman from Sky has told me he was on. I thought Jed made a good decision not to take him out. One of my mantras is to carry on until the ball is dead and he certainly took heed of that.
“We went up the other end and scored a deflected goal, but a deserved one.”
Nottingham Forest appeared to have a specific game plan to combat Ishmael Miller on the night, with a defensive midfielder brought into the side to negate his threat.
Chris commented: “He takes a lot of buffering up there and doesn’t always get the fouls from the officials. Maybe he was a bit jaded, but equally Forest will have seen how he terrorised people in our last two games and how we build from him. Mancienne came in to screen him, whilst the centre backs got tight.
“Ish can run too, so there are times where he will have to stretch the game instead of being that focal point. He can run in behind and get past people, so he has to mix his game up.
“He’s been good for us. I want him to nick a goal, which I think he deserves with the effort he’s been putting in. He’s making the shirt his own.”
Chris also reserved praise for the Town fans in attendance on the evening:
“Our fans were with us all night, which I think is important. We’re seeing shoots of a team that has settled down. The new players have helped to galvanise the squad and I think our fans, like all fans, have been encouraged by the new faces through the door.
“We’ve settled on a playing style that is getting the best out of a number of players.”
Although Chris was targeting a third successive win tonight, he agreed that the draw keeps Town’s ball rolling:
“This keeps our run going. It isn’t our third successive win and I still want a clean sheet, but that’s a Manager’s lot for you.”
