Head Coach reviews the 1-1 stalemate
- David Wagner reviews 1-1 draw with Birmingham City- Head Coach believes his team deserved more
- Wagner discusses Kyle Dempsey's deployment at right back
Huddersfield Town Head Coach David Wagner believes a point is the least his side deserved in today’s 1-1 draw against Birmingham City.
It took an 82nd minute strike from Joel Lynch to ensure a share of the spoils for the Terriers after midfielder David Cotterill’s earlier free kick.
“In one way the players are disappointed because of the result, but on the other side they – and everybody – can be proud of the working attitude, fighting spirit and aggressiveness,” David explained post-match.
“We asked the players to show that, because we don’t want any ‘beach games’ between now and the end of the season. We want to be focused, concentrate, play for points and try to give our best.
“I think that, more or less over the whole time, we did very well.
“They had one chance and it led to the goal. In ball possession, we had a good balance; we avoided nearly all of their counter-attacks. Our reactive pressure was good and we created our moments.
“However, we had a lot of problems with our finishing. Their ‘keeper only really had to save one shot, which was the last one from Karim. All the other shots were not on the goal or got blocked; we didn’t hit the goal enough and it was too easy for their goalkeeper today.
“Our finishing wasn’t the best and we have to blame ourselves for that. Apart from this, I was very happy with this performance. We only got one point, but we fully deserved it.”
The Blues made things difficult for the Terriers all afternoon, getting good numbers behind the ball to deny Town’s attackers space.
David continued: “I think one of the keys to creating chances again an opponent that sits so deep is to move the ball quickly, move well and stay patient enough to take a few passes more and wait for the gaps. I thought the players did this well.
“Even when we were 1-0 behind, they did not lose control. In my opinion, we were much stronger than our opponent in the last 10 minutes and that’s because of our fitness. We were aggressive in these moments.”
The away side took the lead through Cotterill’s powerful free-kick that left goalkeeper Jed Steer rooted to the spot.
“To be honest I haven’t seen the goal on video or spoken to Jed yet, but I think he saw the ball very late. It was a great strike and he didn’t have much time to react,” David explained.
“Sometimes you have to praise the opponent for a great strike rather than blame yourself.
“Without this free kick, they had nothing from the game. Our defending today was very strong. They are one of the best counter-attacking sides in the league, so this was very good.”
David praised centre back Lynch for his goal; a first in seven months for the defender.
“This came from another shot that maybe wasn’t the best, but in the end he (Sean Scannell) got an assist!
“Lynch was very quick in his head to score his first goal since we’ve worked together. Again, we totally deserved this moment in my opinion.”
Wagner reserved his final words for Kyle Dempsey, who played the full 90 minutes at right back.
“Kyle has been back for two or three weeks and right back is the position where I think he has the best opportunity to help our team in the future. For this, we have to give him the chance to perform.
“He’s played this position a couple of times in the past, but we wanted to see him again. We have to know if we needed another right back for the new season or whether we had him in our squad.
“I think he did well today. He was focused, strong one-on-one defending and good in ball possession with his passing. I was totally satisfied with his performance today and he may get some other chances in the next few weeks.
“From what I’ve seen of him in games and in training, I think he has a good chance to be the competitor.”
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