Dean Whitehead gives his thoughts on a good performance from the Young Terriers
- Huddersfield Town Under-17s played a friendly on Saturday
- Young Terriers perform well against the Palma Foundation
- Coach Dean Whitehead praises the response of Town’s youngsters
Town’s Under-17 side made good use of a break in the normal fixture programme with a good performance in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday morning.
With the scheduled Youth Alliance League fixture against Burton Albion cancelled due to the Brewers’ involvement in the FA Youth Cup, Dean Whitehead led his youngsters against an age-equivalent team from the London-based Palma Foundation, who previously gave Mark Hudson’s side a good test at Under-19 level.
The Young Terriers performed very well on the day, with goals from Andrew Ijiwole, Kian Harratt and a Darnell Mintus (pictured above) brace sealing a 4-0 victory at PPG Canalside.
“The players did really well on Saturday,” Whitehead told htafc.com on Monday.
“For the last seven days, we’ve worked on the basics of the way we want to play; reactive pressure, playing our football on the pitch and working together in our partnerships on the pitch, such as the full back and the winger.
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️😃@442Dean's #htafc Under-17 side knocked four past the London-based Palma Foundation in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday!
— HTAFC Academy (@htafcacademy) October 22, 2018
Check out four very different goals from @darnell_mintus (2), Andrew Ijiwole & @KianHarratt #YoungTerriers (DTS) pic.twitter.com/0MhG6qgEJw
“We played some good football on the morning, which stemmed from the midfield trio of Jaheim Headley, Tom Bell and Josh Austerfield; they ran the game, really.
“Our wingers, Andrew Ijiwole and Darnell Mintus, were a threat all game too and deserved their goals.
“Credit to Kian Harratt too. He’s a goal-scorer and could have got four or five on the day in truth, but he got his goal again.”
‘Deano’ continued:
“It is hard for this age group, who have the challenge of playing against older players week-in and week-out in the Youth Alliance. We see progress all the time, but it can be hard for 16-year-olds to recognise that when you’re getting beaten – sometimes heavily.
“This win and performance will give the players confidence in the work we’re doing and the messages we’re giving. It shows that these methods bring success, given time and hard work.”
The Under-17s now have no fixture until the friendly against i2i Football Academy on Saturday 3 November, so Dean explained what is in store for his young players for the next fortnight.
“We’ll continue to put the hours in on what we’ve working on, but we’ll also inject a bit more fun into training. They’ve taken on a lot of information since the start of the season and we might give them half a breather on that front!
“It is likely that a few of these lads will be involved against Selby Town in the West Riding County Cup for Mark Hudson’s side on Wednesday too, so they need to be ready.”
Don't forget that you can watch Town's Under-19s take on Selby Town's First Team in the West Riding County Cup at Liversedge FC on Wednesday in person or live, for free, on #HTTV!
Town’s team vs Palma Foundation (4-1-4-1)
Gabriel Rosario; Sam Sharrock-Peplow, Mustapha Olagunju (Nassim Kherbouche, 80’), Tom Bamford (Seth Meeson, 46’), George Alfieri (Mohammed Diaby, 60’); Tom Bell (c); Andrew Ijiwole (Remi Thompson, 65’), Jaheim Headley (Taylor Annakin, 70’), Josh Austerfield, Darnell Mintus; Kian Harratt
