Jon Worthington reviews Central League Cup tie
- Town’s B Team Coach on Salford City victory
- Worthy pleased with exposure to a tough opponent for his side
- B Team play Fleetwood on Wednesday 10th February 2021
Huddersfield Town B Team Coach Jon Worthington had a number of reasons to be pleased after his side progressed to the Semi-Finals of the Central League Cup following victory over a strong Salford City side.
Worthy’s side required a victory to progress to the Semi-Finals of the competition, and in their way stood a strong Salford City side featuring the likes of First Teamers Bruno Andrade, Ash Hunter and Robbie Gotts.
The hosts dominated the ball heavily throughout the 90 minutes, however the Terriers dug deep, putting a great defensive display thanks to the efforts of Jacob Chapman, Nassim Kherbouche and Ilounga Pata, and scoring from two excellently crafted counter-attack goals from Pat Jones and Alex Pritchard in the first half.
Worthy was pleased with the side’s performance against the League Two side, highlighting how good an opportunity it was as Town’s B Team players aim to bridge the gap from the Academy to the First Team.
“The performance and result were really positive. The lads applied themselves excellently, I thought they were first class. With a mix of senior and younger players the blend was good, and they should be really pleased with themselves.
“It felt great when we first saw the team sheet, we were pleased because it gives them a real challenge. Their players are playing regularly in the league and that’s what we want our lads to get exposure against, and on the day, they were all very good.”
Another aspect of the game he was pleased with was his side’s work at both ends of the field, highlighting how their organisation and rigidity allowed them to deal with intense pressure, build out from the back, and take two chances clinically.
“Our defensive structure was really good; we were organised and that gave us a great platform to build on. We dealt with their pressure very well at times and then showed our real strengths in our attacking threat going forwards.
“The goals were also really good. It is stuff that is consistently worked on throughout the Academy and First Team. Against Salford we were clinical, and I thought at times we played some excellent football on a difficult surface.”
The game also marked another chance for some of the Young Terriers such as Pat Jones, Luke Daley, Brodie Spencer and David Adewoju to step up into the B Team. Worthy commented on how the Academy is becoming better at transitioning players through the groups.
“Once again it was great exposure, great experience for some of the younger lads too coming on in the second half, and that is what it is about. We want to give players these opportunities, as it benefits everyone.
“Players are getting similar messages through the week no matter which training group they are with, so then it becomes a smoother transition whether it’s up from the U17s to the U19s, the U19s to the B Team or up to the First Team. It enables them to step up and show what some did here against Salford.”
