Head Coach spoke to media at full-time at Kenilworth Road after Luton Town draw
- Huddersfield Town vs Luton Town
- Monday 16 May 2020, 7.45pm kick-off
- Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final
In lieu of his usual press conference, Head Coach Carlos Corberán spoke to the media at full-time of Town’s 1-1 first leg draw at Kenilworth Road against Luton Town in our Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final.
Discussing the first leg draw, Carlos went into dept about the shapes of each side and how each half was a completely different type of game.
“If I analyse the result I will tell you that probably it is the fair result. If I analyse the performance of the team, I was thinking that Luton were the better team than us in the first half and we were better than them in the second half.
“It’s a positive step but I imagine they are going to adapt their shape and the things they were doing today because in the last minutes of the second half they were adapting, and we need to find again solutions to develop the ideas we were showing in the second half tonight.
“I think that every player was growing with the game. Sometimes the emotion of the first minutes of a special game can affect the level and especially the confidence of the player. Sometimes to defend you don’t need the confidence because to defend you need more the will and the determination of the player, and it’s too high when you’re playing a play-off game, but these things can affect the confidence and the calm you need to attack better.
“For me the position of the team in the first half did not allow us to attack and in some possibilities we were losing simple balls, and we changed to be the total opposite in the second half.”
Speaking more on the tactical changes that turned the second half in Town’s favour, our Head Coach highlighted the influence of Man of the Match Duane Holmes and goalscorer Danel Sinani.
“I think the fact we put Holmes on the right side allowed him to grow more and counter-attack more with the ball.
“As soon as you put together Holmes, Pipa and even Sinani – who was switching side too to attack – you start to accumulate players together that know how to play football and change the feeling of the game.
“I think Sinani was fighting a lot and he was smelling a lot where the ball could go from the second ball. He was focused on every flick-on of the ball from every challenge by Danny Ward and he was focused on making runs for the counter-attacks. For me he was performing really well today.
“They were clearly changing the game, but it’s true that during the last minutes Luton changed to a 4-4-2 diamond to stop our four players in the middle and balance the situation more in the middle of the pitch. That’s why I told you we need to be looking for a solution for what is probably going to happen in the next game.”
Giving some insight into his squad, there was an update on both Ollie Turton and Levi Colwill.
"It's too early to know about Turton. Let's see what the injury is and how many days he needs to recover. Levi Colwill is fine but he couldn't make the full week of training because he felt unwell at the start of the week.
Having seen the welcome return of Sorba Thomas, Corberán admitted he was encouraged by how Sorba handled the minutes he was given late on.
"It's a very positive step because Sorba showed a very positive level.
“It was a demanding game but we were expecting that. If you play a play-off and you don't expect a demanding game, you are totally wrong.
"Now we are going to have another demanding game at home where the pitch is a little bit bigger and we have our own fans but I expect the demands and the challenges to produce another equal and balanced game.”
Asked if he would be telling his side that the tie was still all to play for and how they would be handling the quick turnaround, Carlos said that his players know the significance of Monday’s match already.
"They know. They know we have 90 minutes where we need to beat Luton to continue in the Play-Offs.
"Tonight it was important that if we couldn't win we didn't lose and go into the home leg with the possibility that if we win the game we'll progress.
"Over the weekend we'll recover. I don't need to, I'm fine but the players have to deal with the travel - we won't get back until around 2.30 in the morning.
"We'll start the process of recovering well, then tomorrow prepare for the next game.”
Tickets are still available for Town’s final home game of the 2021/22 season as we face Luton Town in the second leg of our Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi-Final on Monday 16 May at 7.45pm. CLICK HERE to guarantee your place at the John Smith’s Stadium!