Midfielder reviews Watford victory
- Ben Midgley discusses wearing the Captain’s armband
- Young Terrier delighted with team’s progression
- Midfielder on B Team’s ‘professional’ performance
Huddersfield Town’s B Team midfielder Ben Midgley expressed his pride in wearing the Captain’s armband during the Young Terriers’ 0-3 Premier League Cup win over Watford.
The 19-year-old deputised as Captain after Ben Jackson was loaned out to League One Doncaster Rovers for the rest of the season.
Having been the skipper of some of the younger age groups, Midgley explained what it means to represent his boyhood club in this way.
“I have grown up watching the First Team and I see them every day.
“That’s where I want to be, and wearing that Captain’s armband is an honour.
“I’d love it to be for the First Team one day.
“My dad has taken me to games since I was a little kid and I hope I am making him proud.
“You see Jonathan Hogg and what he does for the badge – that’s something that I look up to.
“The passion he has is phenomenal and that is something I want to put into my game.
“I just keep the lads going, but they don’t really need encouraging because they believe in themselves and are ready to play for the rest of the team.
“When a game is scruffy, then you need to pull it by the scruff of the neck and, as a Captain, you just need to lead the lads and I felt I did that.
“I know every single one of them and I have good relationships with them, and it is so much easier when you have that relationship there.
“You may need to pull them aside if they’re lacking in concentration and I feel like I can do that with every single one of them.”
Reflecting on the game, Midgley believes his side put in a good display after showing great patience to break down a resolute Hornets backline.
“I thought it was a great performance; it was professional from us.”
“We only needed a point to go through, but we knew that we weren’t just going for a point, we came here for three and that’s what we got.
“We knew that because we beat them 6-0 last time, they would come out wanting to prove a point.
“In training, we worked on breaking down the deep block, which is what they were in.
“It was a bit frustrating in the first half because we weren’t creating loads of chances as it was hard to break them down, but, in the end, we got the first goal and that set the tempo for the rest of the game.”
The win saw the B Team progress into the knockout stages of the Premier League Cup with a game to spare, something that Midgley stressed as important to show what the Young Terriers are capable of.
“It is a great feeling.
“That was the aim after going through a knockout game to get into the group stages.
“We’ve proved our point and we have shown the tournament what we’re all about with the 6-0 win and progressing with one game to spare.
“Everyone as a team has, collectively, worked hard for it and qualifying with one game to spare is just brilliant.
“We didn’t know what to expect coming into the tournament, but we have given it everything and it has worked out and we’re all buzzing in the changing room.
“Hopefully, we can kick on and try to win the tournament now.”
