Town B Team finish all square with Bolton to secure an away point
- Bolton Wanderers 3-3 Huddersfield Town B
- Goals from Sturridge and Bakre earn B Team a point
- Young Terriers are unbeaten in their Central League Cup campaign
Huddersfield Town’s B Team came from behind to clinch a point against Bolton Wanderers in their second Central League Cup game.
Despite starting strong, Town had work to do after the break, resulting in a lively second half performance that saw the Young Terriers earn themselves a point away from home. With players unavailable through either international duty, First Team training or injury, the result and performance was especially impressive due to the age and inexperience of the side as a whole.
That said, the game didn't start to plan as Bolton took advantage of an early chance to take the lead within six minutes as Bryan collected the ball on the wing, worked his way into the area and fired his shot past Michael Acquah.
Town’s first real chance came in the 14th minute when Charles Ondo crossed to DJ Sturridge who worked his way cleverly past the defence before being outrun by the ball.
This was closely followed by a stunning strike from captain Ben Midgley which was heading straight for the top left corner, before being tipped onto the bar and over by the Bolton ‘keeper. The resulting corner caused a hurried scramble in the box before being cleared away by the home side.
Both teams upped the tempo just before the end of the opening half, but it was Sturridge who managed to dance his way around the defence before slipping a clean strike past the ‘keeper and into the bottom left-hand corner for the equaliser.
On the other end of the pitch, an untimely slip from Ondo allowed the home team to sweep the ball away and into the box before narrowly missing the target. However, Bolton capitalised from the consequent corner just one minute later, allowing Matheson to fire a low cross into the box and Yoro to tap it in at the far post before half time.
Town had plenty of defensive work to do towards the start of the second half, with both Ondo and Midgley denying the opposition clear-cut chances. Nevertheless, Jon Worthington’s side were quick to get back level, with Sturridge claiming his second goal of the game in the 49th minute. Cian Philpott placed his cross to perfection, picking out Sturridge in the box and allowing the goalscorer to neatly slot the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
Under-19 defender Anthony Gregory replaced Archie Sheppard for the final half-hour, helping keep the B Team back line strong.
Worthington’s team took the lead in the 66th minute with yet another goal for 17-year-old Hazeem Bakre. A great cross from Stephan Padrao found Sturridge who was unable to find a way through himself, but he played a short ball to Bakre who chipped it over the ‘keeper and into the back of the net.
As the final whistle crept closer, the home side switched up their approach to test Town’s defence, whilst Worthington opted to replace Sturridge with Oliver Calland. Bakre continued to work hard to try and put the game to bed, however Bolton remained intent to equalise.
After some excellent goal line defending from the Terriers, the home team failed to convert a chance in the 80th minute and again saw their shot fly just over the bar two minutes later.
Ultimately it was Bolton who made the extra minutes count as Hogan fired his shot into the bottom right corner to claw back a point for his team in the 93rd minute.
Town had an opportunity to regain the lead from two corners in the closing moments, but both were defended well to deny the Young Terriers from leaving with all three points.
The draw leaves Town unbeaten in their Central League Cup campaign so far, with Salford City next up at the Millers Oils High Performance Complex on Wednesday 25 October.
Town’s team (3-5-2)
Michael Acquah; Archie Sheppard (Anthony Gregory, 63’), David Adewoju, Charles Ondo; Helliwell, Cian Philpott, Ben Midgley (c), Myles Bright, Stephan Padrao; Hazeem Baker, DJ Sturridge (Oliver Calland, 72’)
Unused substitutes
Francis Hurl, Aaron Ojungu, Freddie Fletcher
Town goals
DJ Sturridge (28’, 49’), Hazeem Bakre (66’)
Town booking
Charles Ondo (13’)
