Danny Schofield reviews Scunthorpe United draw
- Danny Schofield on draw at Scunthorpe
- Town’s First Team Coach praised youngsters desire
- Schofield discussed B Team’s season so far
First Team Assistant Coach Danny Schofield praised the way the Huddersfield Town’s B Team retained and circulated possession as the Young Terriers recovered a two-goal deficit to draw against Scunthorpe United Under-23s.
Town seemed to have done everything but score in a dominant first-half display which saw them ship two counterattacks as they went into the break.
The visitors fought back in the second period, turning ball retention into clear-cut opportunities, scoring through Aaron Rowe and Kian Harratt to earn a draw in the Central League Cup.
“I think we dominated possession of the ball throughout the game,” Schofield explained.
“I think the contrast between the first and the second half was that we didn’t create as many chances and we weren’t as clinical, but I think that was down to the intensity of our movement and energy in the second half.”
“We believed a lot more and we had better balance behind the ball in the second half, so when we were attacking, we stopped their counter-attacks early because both of the goals we conceded were counter-attacks in the first half.
“I think we were smoother in our passing and there was a lot of coaching concepts from our training in there like moving in behind, pass and go and double passing.
“When players are executing those with good intensity and good technical capabilities, then space arrives where we can create chances and that is what we did in the second half.”
In the B Team’s previous fixture against Blackburn Rovers, Schofield expressed his disappointment that his side were unable to react to going behind.
However, on Wednesday afternoon, Town responded well when they conceded, increasing the pressure on the Iron when they scored their goals, playing some great football to get back into the game.
“There are certain fundamentals that footballers need to have to be successful and that is why I was quite emotional after the game against Blackburn because I didn’t see a great deal of that,” continued Schofield.
“Today I saw a lot of character, I saw a lot of players wanting to fight, I saw a lot of players having desire.
“Sometimes it can be challenging and difficult because football creates adversity, which is challenging for football players. We need to provide them with the mindset of this is what it is, and these are what the demands are, so the character shown today was really pleasing.
“We have some really good players and our focus is to expose them to it as much as possible, and demand as much as possible from them to a level where they can make the step up to the First Team.”
The draw brought an end to action in 2020 for the B Team, who have had a great ending to the year, seeing several players make the step up into the First Team on a regular basis; something Schofield was quick to comment on.
“I think 2020 has been really positive. Everything has aligned at this Club from the First Team right the way through to the B Team, the Under-19s, and the Under-17s, so there is a clear structure.
“Everybody is clear of the philosophy in the way of playing, and I think that can only grow and improve going into 2021.”
