Day One Champions Trophy
- Town draw’s its first game against Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Hudson’s side come from behind to win against Sassuolo in the second game
- Saturday saw the first two of the four games
Mark Hudson’s U19 side remained unbeaten after its first day at the U19 Champions Trophy in Düsseldorf. The first game saw the Young Terriers 0-0 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach before coming from behind to secure a 2-1 win against Sassuolo meant Hudson’s side finished the day second in the Group 1 table.
The first game of the day was against the German side Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday morning. The game, which consisted of two 25 minute halves, was limited to few chances but the academy side could be pleased with getting off the mark.
Both teams were looking to play a possession based style of football and it was the Germans who were achieving that in the early stages. This was Borussia’s second game of the tournament having beaten Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-1 on Thursday.
With Borussia keeping hold of the ball, Town was looking to play on the break and Olly Dyson was particularly involved. He won possession high up the field before playing in an overlapping Jordan Williams on the right wing. Williams made it to the penalty box was pushed off the ball in a challenge. The referee was not interested though and pointed for the goal kick.
Six minutes later and Micah Obiero had a chance. Some smart movement allowed him to latch onto a loose Borussia pass and he ran towards goal. The German 'keeper was quick to come and meet him and although he got the ball, he caught a fair amount of Obiero as well. Despite the protests of the Young Terriers the referee waved the appeals away.
Just before the half-time break coming at the 25 minute mark, Dyson had another chance to run with the ball. This time it was down the right flank but he was stopped before anything could come of it.
The referee blew the half-time whistle with neither side managing a shot on target as of yet.
With the game nearing its conclusion, Hudson brought on some fresh legs. Aaron Rowe, Ben Jackson and Ben Mills all came on in the place of Micah Obiero, Mason O’Malley and Matty Daly.
The last chance of the game fell to Town as Scott High was fouled outside of the Borussia box. High took the free-kick himself but could only find the first man.
The final whistle blew with the score at a stalemate and gave Town its first point of the tournament. The team are in Group 1 alongside Borussia, Fortuna Düsseldorf, US Sassuolo and Legia Warschau. The point temporarily put Town into third place as they prepared for the the Sassuolo fixture on Saturday afternoon.
Mark Hudson made just one change for the Sassuolo game as Aaron Rowe came in for Olly Dyson. Looking for its first goal of the tournament, Town started very brightly. Micah Obiero produced a great run with smart footwork to make space in the box. Moments before he was about to pull the trigger, the defender managed to poke the ball away. Aaron Rowe latched onto the loose ball but could only fire his shot high above the goal.
Minutes later and Obiero was involved again, looking to flick the ball over the defence but the Italian side read it well.
It was then Sassuolo’s turn to attack. A driven effort went just wide of Luke Mewitt’s left post and some smart defending was needed from Rarmani Edmonds-Green to prevent a second chance shortly after.
The game was nearing the break but there was just time for Sassuolo to take the lead. A ball over the top of Town’s defence found Cristian Tzvetkov who buried his shot low into the bottom right hand corner of the goal in the 25th minute.
The goal proved to be the last kick of the half as the referee’s whistle blew at 1-0 to the Italians.
Town pressed hard in the early periods of the second half as the team went searching for the equaliser. A run on the right flank from Dom Tear earned Town a corner and Mason O’Malley’s delivery required a palm away from the keeper. Town recovered the ball and it eventually found its way back to Dom Tear but he couldn’t control the bouncing ball inside the six yard box.
However, in the 35th minute substitute Olly Dyson levelled the scores and set Town up for a final push in the last 10 minutes, getting in front of a defender to divert left back Mason O'Malley's cross past the goalkeeper.
Mark Hudson rang the changes with Ben Jackson entering the pitch alongside new signing Jake Barrett who joined the Club from Manchester United earlier today (Saturday 31 March).
It was looking certain Town was heading towards its second draw of the day but some smart work from Matty Daly and Micah Obiero gave the side a chance from the penalty spot. Obiero received a great pass from Daly before being tugged down by a defender. The referee showed no hesitation in pointing towards the spot and Daly stepped up to finish.
Town took the lead in the 49th minute and Sassuolo was unable to mount a comeback of its own.
The game finished 2-1 and pushed Town up into second place of the Group 1 table. A day unbeaten means Mark Hudson’s team trail only Borussia Mönchengladbach who have played one game more.
Town will now compete against Fortuna Düsseldorf and Legia Warschau on Sunday (1 April) as it looks to progress to Monday’s Semi-Final.
Town’s Starting Line-Up vs Borussia Mönchengladbach (4-2-3-1):
Luke Mewitt; Jordan Williams, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Romoney Crichlow-Noble, Mason O’Malley (Ben Jackson 38’); Scott High, Isaac Marriott; Dom Tear, Matty Daly (Ben Mills 43’), Olly Dyson; Micah Obiero (Aaron Rowe 36’)
Unused subs:
Harrison Davison-Hale, Sam Gibson, Oran Thompson, Dahomey Raymond
Town’s Starting Line-Up vs Sassuolo (4-2-3-1):
Luke Mewitt; Jordan Williams (Jake Barrett 37’), Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Romoney Crichlow-Noble, Mason O’Malley; Scott High, Isaac Marriott; Dom Tear (Ben Jackson 44’), Matty Daly, Aaron Rowe (Olly Dyson 37’); Micah Obiero
Unused subs:
Harrison Davison-Hale, Sam Gibson, Oran Thompson, Ben Mills, Dahomey Raymond
