Dean Whitehead delighted with what Town’s U19s got out of the Invitational Festival
- Town’s U19s competed against Newcastle United and FC Toyko in the Invitational Festival
- Dean Whitehead praised the character and attitude of his Young Terriers
- Deano: “The players have been brilliant”
Huddersfield Town Under-19 Coach Dean Whitehead praised his young players for their performance in the Invitational Festival.
The Young Terriers came close to winning the tournament in the North East, with only penalties denying them the overall win.
The round-robin competition saw Town’s U19s face both FC Tokyo and Newcastle United in matches that lasted 60 minutes.
“I think the competition was brilliant,” admitted Deano.
“The youngsters were put under different circumstances playing shorter back-to-back games.
“It tested their character, resilience, attitude, concentration, and all the things we ask them to do; they really had to focus.”
Not only did the different circumstances affect the players, but it also reaped the benefits of the bespoke games programme as the Young Terriers were tested against a side from Japan and England in the space of a few hours.
“We like to play all sorts of different teams from all over the world,” said Whitehead.
“We had another different test against a Japanese team and then played Newcastle. We adapted to the different styles well and I think you could see that from the way we performed in both the games.”
In the final game of the tournament, Dean Whitehead’s side came back from 4-2 down to draw 4-4 before ultimately being beaten on penalties.
However, the U19 Coach explained how proud he was of his team.
“The players showed that they understand our style, identity.
“They understand that even if we are behind, then we still keep playing our football and moving teams around.
“If I’m honest, for pretty much the whole game we were on top of them. We gifted some goals away, but young players will make mistakes. We will learn from them but also have to look at the positives.
“To lose four goals the way we did, two early ones, and then to come back again and have a chance to win was fantastic.
“The players have been brilliant, worked hard and represented the Club excellently both on and off the pitch.”
You can watch highlights from the matches below on #HTTV!
Town’s Under-19 side is back in action tomorrow (Tuesday 26 March 2019) as the Young Terriers face Sunderland at the Academy of Light.
The match will be played behind-closed-doors and will kick-off at 1pm.
