Strong Doncaster Rovers side beat Town's Under-17s
- Positives at both ends of the field for the Young Terriers
- Ernaldo Krasniqi scored for the Young Terriers
- Coach George Danaher pleased with individual performances
Huddersfield Town Under-17s battled well against a strong Doncaster Rovers side but couldn’t come away with any points as they were beaten 4-1 at Cantley Park Training Ground on Saturday.
The home side took the lead in the opening four minutes, but Town responded soon after as Michael Stone was brought down by the opposition goalkeeper and Ernaldo Krasniqi was on hand to slot away the penalty.
Doncaster retook the lead going into half time, but the Young Terriers showed positive signs from the ‘fight zone’ phase they have been working on as they defended well against a wave of pressure.
The youngsters created more chances in the second half with substitute Etienne Camara hitting the post, but they couldn’t quite get back into the games as Doncaster added two more to their tally to run out 4-1 winners.
Academy Assistant Coach George Danaher was pleased with individual performances despite the result.
“I thought it was really good, there were loads of positives to take out of the game. We are a group and we are a team but also we look at individual performances,” he said.
“I think it’s good we were creating chances; something we have worked quite a lot on at training.
“Football’s won in both boxes, but in terms of performance and team performance, there were some fantastic moments for us that on another day might have changed the result.
“I’m not too concerned about the score line – I focus on how we played, and I thought the performance was excellent.
“One thing that really showed in the game was some very good individual performances and that’s what this programme’s about; it’s about developing individuals for the First Team.”
One standout performance was that of recent signing Camara, who came on as a substitute.
“Etienne has done really well,” Danaher commented.
“He’s settled in really well, both on and off the pitch and with the players and the staff.
“As with all our players, we’ll see how he takes on the information we give him in training and see day to day how he’s improving.”
The Young Terriers are back in action on Tuesday (14 December 2020) when they host Newcastle United at the John Smith’s Stadium in the FA Youth Cup.
“There has been a lot of work in the week about how we’re going to set up against Newcastle.
“I think it’ll be an exciting game for the players.
“I think it’s a game they can look forward to and hopefully perform on the night.”
Town’s Under-17 Team (4-3-3)
Michael Roxburgh; Shane Maroodza, Jahmari Lindsay, Josh Okpolokpo (c), Jeremy Stewart; Ernaldo Krasniqi (Etienne Camara, 60’), Michael Stone (Neo Eccleston, 60’) Sonny Whittingham; Darnel Baxter-Alleyne, Andre Edionhon, Evander Grubb
Unused Subs
Nicholas Bilokapic, Brodie Spencer
Scorer
Ernaldo Krasniqi (11’)
Final score
Doncaster Rovers 4-1 Huddersfield Town Under-17s
