Young Terriers defeated comprehensively – but Bromby not totally unhappy!
- Town’s Under-17s defeated by Preston North End in Youth Alliance Cup
- Despite result, Academy Manager Leigh Bromby not totally unhappy
- Bromby wants to keep confidence high this week
Huddersfield Town’s Under-17 side suffered at the hands of an impressive Preston North End in the Youth Alliance Cup at PPG Canalside on Saturday, but Academy Manager Leigh Bromby wasn’t totally displeased with what he saw.
The Lilywhites punished almost every error made by the Young Terriers on the day and fully deserved their comprehensive victory, with Town’s youngsters caught playing out from the back on a few occasions.
Town’s task against an impressive opponent was not made easier by the absence through injury of defenders Tom Bamford, Mustapha Olagunju and George Alfieri, as well as midfielder Seth Meeson, but Bromby offered no excuses when reviewing the game with htafc.com.
“It sounds ridiculous after a 7-0 defeat, but this is exactly the kind of test that we want for our new young players.
“Credit to Preston and their players; they’re a very good team. They were older than us and posed a great challenge for our players, which proved to be too much for us at this stage in their embryonic development. In the end, it felt like every mistake was punished.
“I will never criticise the players if they stick to our identity and try to do the right things and, although we made lots of mistakes in the game, that was the case.
“From a coach’s perspective, there was more to like about this performance than from the game at Hartlepool earlier this season, for example. To see such a young team, again including two 15-year-old trialists, stick to the plan in the face of this was encouraging.
“We just have to ensure that the players learn quickly from days like this.”
Leigh is understandably keen to look forward, with the Under-17s back in Youth Alliance League action at Bradford City on Saturday.
“Our challenge now is to keep confidence as high as possible, which understandably takes a hit when 16-year-olds concede a defeat like this. They need to take heart from their recent development and performances and not forget the good results against Burnley’s Under-17s and Notts County’s Under-18 side in the two preceding matches.
“We’re in the final week of our latest six-week training period, which has included so much hard work. This week we’ll review what the players have done well and what they need to improve on, both as a team and individually.”
Another plus has been the inclusion of 16-year-old midfielders Tom Bell and Jaheim Headley on the Under-19 trip to Portugal, as Leigh explained.
“They are two players who have performed well so far, and they deserve this chance. The emphasis changes with Mark Hudson’s group, so they’ll get new experiences; we still concentrate on development, but there is more of a mindset towards getting the results to match performances.”
Town’s team vs Preston North End (4-2-3-1)
Giosue Bellagambi; Sam Sharrock-Peplow, Nassim Kherbouche, Taylor Annakin, Mohammed Diaby; Tom Bell (Andrew Ijiwole, 46’), Josh Austerfield (c); Jaheim Headley (Andre Edionhon, 46’), Myles Bright, Darnell Mintus (Remi Thompson, 56’); Kian Harratt
Final score
Huddersfield Town U17s 0-7 Preston North End
