Young Terriers showcased work in training
- Huddersfield Town’s Under-17s faced Scunthorpe United
- Goals from Charles Nduwuisi-Ondo and Michael Stone
- Assistant Coach Oran Thompson pleased with side’s performance
Huddersfield Town’s U17s continued to apply their work in training onto the pitch when they travelled to play Scunthorpe United on Saturday morning.
The Young Terriers started the game brightly, taking the lead inside 14 minutes as an in-swinging corner was met by the head of Charles Nduwuisi-Ondo who smartly headed home to open the scoring.
Nduwuisi-Ondo went close to doubling the lead on two occasions, but unfortunately saw both his efforts come off the crossbar.
However, the youngsters pressure paid on in the 28th minute as Town bagged another goal. A jinking run from the edge of the box saw Michael Stone find himself with some space where he was able to smash an effort hard and low to double the lead.
Scunthorpe United hit back immediately to conceding twice as they got in down the left-hand side and the ball was side-footed home with power, leaving Michael Roxburgh helpless.
Town took their lead into the break, but Scunthorpe came back for out with a vengeance in the second half, scoring almost immediately to put themselves back on level terms.
The hosts completed their comeback in the 55th minute when they converted a penalty. Town pushed hard for an equaliser for the remainder of the game, but it just wouldn’t quite fall for them as they left North Lincolnshire with their heads held high, despite the defeat.
Speaking to htafc.com post-match, Academy Assistant Coach Oran Thompson was pleased with what he saw from the players.
“It was a really positive game.
“Coming away to a pitch where it is tough to play, I thought we adapted well.
“We were very positive in the first half, we won our duels, competed against a physical side and created some good chances.”
Having only played Scunthorpe two weeks, Thompson admitted it helped them prepare for the reverse fixture.
“Having already played them a few weeks ago, we saw that we could exploit them in wide areas and knew they would be compact and organised.
“I thought we got down the sides well and created some chances from crosses which was good to see.”
Despite losing a two-goal lead, Thompson was positive about what they can take from the game moving forward.
“It’s definitely a game that the boys can learn from.
“In the second half we knew what was going to happen and we knew we were going to be under pressure going uphill on the pitch, but I thought there was definitely lots to take from for development for the boys.
“We can definitely take a lot on how to get through those ten-minute periods where you’re getting put under pressure.”
The Under-17s are on the road again next Saturday (27 March 2021), when they travel to face Grimsby Town.
“We’ll prepare for next Saturday as we do every game – we’ll review this game and take the points from it that we can improve on.
“Looking ahead to Grimsby, it’s going to be another physical test where we can hopefully try and deal with bits of pressure more and create more chances.”
Town’s Under-17 Team (3-4-3)
Michael Roxburgh; Josh Okpolokpo (c), Ernaldo Krasniqi, David Adewoju; Neo Eccleston (Michael Aileman, 70’), Michael Stone (Brodie Spencer, 55’), Sonny Whittingham (Stefan Jones, 55’), Donay O’Brien-Brady; Evander Grubb (Dylan Helliwell, 70’), Charles Nduwuisi-Ondo, Darnel Baxter-Alleyne (Cian Philpott, 51’).
Scorers
Charles Nduwuisi-Ondo (14’), Michael Stone (28’)
Final Score
Scunthorpe United 3-2 Huddersfield Town U17s
