Young U18s side defeat by Hull
- Leigh Bromby names a young side for Hull City game
- A hat-trick from Ahmed Salam and goals from Keane Lewis Potter, Jacob Greaves and Mason Wilson Rhiney earned the win for the visitors.
- Ben Mills scores Huddersfield’s only goal of the game.
Leigh Bromby’s Under-18 side were defeated in their Professional Development League game against Hull City on Saturday morning. The Town side included only one player over the age of 17, with four players making their first appearance at this age category.
It took the ‘Young Terriers’ a while to grow into the game and this became evident in the opening stages. Hull were pressing in dangerous areas and restricting the home side to very little possession. However, the visitors could not find a way to goal.
After an initial busy 10 minutes, Huddersfield grew into the game and began to see more of the ball. In the 14th minute, Town had a penalty appeal waved away as Micah Obiero went down in the box with the referee deeming the infringement to have not warranted a penalty.
Hull were continuing to pin Huddersfield back and any chance was likely to come on the counterattack. The Town’s left back Ben Jackson was looking lively and attacking in a positive manner. A great dribble from inside his own half resulted in him arriving in the Hull box but his drilled cross was unable to find a teammate.
In the 20th minute, the game had its first goal. Ahmed Salam rose well to meet a corner and ‘keeper Luke Mewitt was powerless to stop the ball on its way into the net.
Salam was proving to be Hull’s most dangerous player down the right flank and the home side struggled to contain him. A free kick was conceded for a foul on Salam by Luke Mewitt claimed the resultant cross well.
After scoring the first, Salam provided the second. The winger burst down the right flank before firing a ball back across goal. Keane Lewis Potter arrived at the right time to finish into the net and double Hull’s lead in the 27th minute.
Despite being two goals down, the young Huddersfield side were determined to play football their way and looked to create chances by playing out from the back. However, a very good press from Hull made it difficult for the Town to keep possession for very long.
Huddersfield were beginning to create more chances and in particular through Ben Jackson. His probing runs down the left flank was causing problems for the Hull defence and Jackson was unlucky not to see his drilled cross find a teammate.
With the home side building momentum, it was harsh that Hull were to score their third goal a few minutes later. With six minutes to go until half time, Mewitt produced a great save from a long range effort but the ball landed directly on the feet of Salam. The Hull number 11 slotted the ball into the net to give his side a 3-0 lead at the break.
The second half began and it quickly saw Salam complete his hat-trick. With the home side still trying to get into the game, Salam broke clear from the defensive line to put himself in a one-on-one situation with the Town keeper. He took the ball round Mewitt before rolling it into the net in the 47th minute to score his third of the afternoon.
Despite the deficit, Huddersfield did not look downbeat and again set about building from the back.
Full back Djinho Molonga-Itshary was putting in a good shift in the second period and would have been unlucky to score an own goal just before the hour mark. His goalmouth clearance collided with a team-mate and then ricocheted off the post but the home side did eventually clear.
The second half was a more even contest and Town got a deserved goal in the 62nd minute. A long range effort cannoned off the crossbar and Ben Mills was in the right place to finish and put one on the score board for Town.
The young home side was tiring as the game continued and the more mature legs of Hull were all to punish them. Quick-fire goals in the 74th and 78th minute from Jacob Greaves and Mason Wilson Rhiney completed the game’s scoring as it finished 6-1 to the visitors.
Town’s Starting Line-Up:
Luke Mewitt; Ben Jackson, Tom Bamford, Saul Milovanovic, Djinho Molonga-Itshary; Dahomey Raymond, Seth Meeson; Ben Mills, Remi Thompson, Arash Ahrami (Tom Bell, 43’); Micah Obiero (Harrison Davison-Hale, 59’)
Unused Subs:
Danny Confrey
