Match Report: Dominant City in damp draw

[Olé]

After two straight defeats and a feeling that Liam Manning's football wasn't earning the rewards that it deserved, City came out with purpose and easily dominated a struggling Huddersfield side with crisp pass and move play around the Terriers box. But it was yet another defensive mistake that gifted the hosts an unlikely opener completely against the run of play and while City finally levelled from the restart, torrential rain and gusting wind made the game increasingly disjointed.

It was one way traffic in the first twenty with  Mark Sykes the pick of the attacking threat, repeatedly able to get in behind the defence from the right. But City wasted half a dozen openings before George Tanner, on halfway to cover his sides' own corner, unforgivably gave it away to David Kasumu to race clear in a 2 on 1 to tee up Delano Burgzorg. After half time Andi Weimann did the same for an easy Tommy Conway's leveller but the wild weather dampened hopes of a late winner.

Manning's selection looked surprising and started with 3 at the back including Tanner, with Sykes and Sam Bell as wing backs. It was instantly effective at providing bodies in and around the Huddersfield box, as Jason Knight won a first minute aerial ball and put Sykes clean into the box whose close range shot was parried away to Matty James who recycled carefully - but Knight's next cross was cut out. Within a minute Conway went clear through but saw his shot beaten away.

City looked in complete control and finding it comfortable passing and probing against a poor looking Terriers side. Inside the quarter hour a throw in and combination on the right put Sykes clean in again from Joe Williams sliderule ball, but his shot deflected behind. A minute later Sykes executed a slick give and go out on the right touchline, Knight's crafting the beautiful 1-2 which sent his Irish teammate roaring in behind two defenders only to fire straight across the face of goal.

Sublime one touch passing in the same right channel on 17 saw Tanner, Knight and Sykes combine methodically for Weimann to slice open the defence again and force a corner, from which Rob Dickie controlled a deep ball beyond the far post, turning a defender and forcing another corner, stinging the keeper's hands. Out of nothing City's propensity for a mistake saw Max O'Leary clear routinely but  into Danny Ward, the ball rebounding swiftly back past him, but only into the side netting.

At the midway point of the half Bell showed poise having been released out on the left, skipping past markers before turning inside and laying back to James whose goalbound effort was heading into the top corner only to be deflected wide. From the resulting flag kick City got it all wrong, players all shifted to the near post but Williams ball was deep, easily cleared and when Tanner recovered on halfway his return ball was intercepted by Kasumu to go clear for Burgzorg's opener.

Having gone behind improbably in a fixture that City were dominating, Bell did again go clear through but l summing up their play, he squared it across the box behind no less than 3 different City runners. With rain coming down even more heavily the visitors started to look more laboured as well as nervous at the back, against Terriers who couldn't believe their luck and were steadily growing into the game. Before the break Williams fed Sykes whose cross was pushed off the bar. 

City were out early and very eagerly for the second half, a full three minutes before their hosts despite the monsoon like conditions. It paid immediate dividends as Dickie went off on a run out of the defence before picking a defence splitting pass that sprung Weimann clear in the left channel for the easy square for Conway to bury. The away side was now pushing to go ahead and from a corner Sykes lasered a rising shot just over the top corner. 

In the driving rain, the game became more and more scrappy with two injury stoppages to home players and with 50mph winds now whipping wildly into the exposed stadium. Manning opted to switch to four at the back but took off City's biggest threat in Sykes, Cam Pring slotting in at left back. Soon after Anis Mehmeti and Taylor Gardner-Hickman entered in place of Weimann and Williams, but the away side were becoming more and more disjointed on the heavy, sodden pitch.

Next James played Bell in on the right who cut back and saw his cross half cleared to where Mehmeti had a low shot blocked. Five minutes later Conway charged clear before laying it off to Mehmeti who turned a marker and forced the keeper down quickly to push wide at his near post. Up at the other end a rare moment of slick Terriers interplay from a right wing throw in saw Matthew Pearson cross into Josh Koroma, whose bicycle kick deflected off Zak Vyner but O'Leary held. 

The weather was now rendering the match a lottery, randomly gusting winds playing havoc with aerial balls, while sheeting rain made the pitch heavy and unpredictable. Harry Cornick replaced Bell and before the game drifted into injury time Mehmeti fired over with an early snap shot out on the left and a worked move from the right created room for spare man James to curl a low shot just wide from a similar position to his late goals at Hull and Millwall previously.

But Manning's side have not been known for all out assault finishes in his first matches at City, and robbed of their passing conviction by the conditions, they looked increasingly unlikely to finish with a flourish and lacking a more direct Plan B. Injury time was largely a non event and the match fizzled out in a damp draw against poor hosts, supporters on all sides by and large happy just to get to the pub and dry out - the visitors new boss now at five points from his first five games.

 

O'Leary 6

Tanner 4

Vyner 6

Dickie 7

Williams 6

James 8

Knight 7

Sykes 8

Bell 6

Weimann 6

Conway 5

 

Pring 5

Gardner-Hickman 5

Mehmeti 5

Cornick 5

[joe jordans teeth]

Conway 5 and Bell 6,not sure about that at all 

[bcfc01]

Thanks.

As always, an honest and unbiased appraisal of the game.

As always, disagree with the player scores especially Tanner.

[Dr Balls]

33 minutes ago, Olé said:

After two straight defeats and a feeling that Liam Manning's football wasn't earning the rewards that it deserved, City came out with purpose and easily dominated a struggling Huddersfield side with crisp pass and move play around the Terriers box. But it was yet another defensive mistake that gifted the hosts an unlikely opener completely against the run of play and while City finally levelled from the restart, torrential rain and gusting wind made the game increasingly disjointed.

It was one way traffic in the first twenty with  Mark Sykes the pick of the attacking threat, repeatedly able to get in behind the defence from the right. But City wasted half a dozen openings before George Tanner, on halfway to cover his sides' own corner, unforgivably gave it away to David Kasumu to race clear in a 2 on 1 to tee up Delano Burgzorg. After half time Andi Weimann did the same for an easy Tommy Conway's leveller but the wild weather dampened hopes of a late winner.

Manning's selection looked surprising and started with 3 at the back including Tanner, with Sykes and Sam Bell as wing backs. It was instantly effective at providing bodies in and around the Huddersfield box, as Jason Knight won a first minute aerial ball and put Sykes clean into the box whose close range shot was parried away to Matty James who recycled carefully - but Knight's next cross was cut out. Within a minute Conway went clear through but saw his shot beaten away.

City looked in complete control and finding it comfortable passing and probing against a poor looking Terriers side. Inside the quarter hour a throw in and combination on the right put Sykes clean in again from Joe Williams sliderule ball, but his shot deflected behind. A minute later Sykes executed a slick give and go out on the right touchline, Knight's crafting the beautiful 1-2 which sent his Irish teammate roaring in behind two defenders only to fire straight across the face of goal.

Sublime one touch passing in the same right channel on 17 saw Tanner, Knight and Sykes combine methodically for Weimann to slice open the defence again and force a corner, from which Rob Dickie controlled a deep ball beyond the far post, turning a defender and forcing another corner, stinging the keeper's hands. Out of nothing City's propensity for a mistake saw Max O'Leary clear routinely but  into Danny Ward, the ball rebounding swiftly back past him, but only into the side netting.

At the midway point of the half Bell showed poise having been released out on the left, skipping past markers before turning inside and laying back to James whose goalbound effort was heading into the top corner only to be deflected wide. From the resulting flag kick City got it all wrong, players all shifted to the near post but Williams ball was deep, easily cleared and when Tanner recovered on halfway his return ball was intercepted by Kasumu to go clear for Burgzorg's opener.

Having gone behind improbably in a fixture that City were dominating, Bell did again go clear through but l summing up their play, he squared it across the box behind no less than 3 different City runners. With rain coming down even more heavily the visitors started to look more laboured as well as nervous at the back, against Terriers who couldn't believe their luck and were steadily growing into the game. Before the break Williams fed Sykes whose cross was pushed off the bar. 

City were out early and very eagerly for the second half, a full three minutes before their hosts despite the monsoon like conditions. It paid immediate dividends as Dickie went off on a run out of the defence before picking a defence splitting pass that sprung Weimann clear in the left channel for the easy square for Conway to bury. The away side was now pushing to go ahead and from a corner Sykes lasered a rising shot just over the top corner. 

In the driving rain, the game became more and more scrappy with two injury stoppages to home players and with 50mph winds now whipping wildly into the exposed stadium. Manning opted to switch to four at the back but took off City's biggest threat in Sykes, Cam Pring slotting in at left back. Soon after Anis Mehmeti and Taylor Gardner-Hickman entered in place of Weimann and Williams, but the away side were becoming more and more disjointed on the heavy, sodden pitch.

Next James played Bell in on the right who cut back and saw his cross half cleared to where Mehmeti had a low shot blocked. Five minutes later Conway charged clear before laying it off to Mehmeti who turned a marker and forced the keeper down quickly to push wide at his near post. Up at the other end a rare moment of slick Terriers interplay from a right wing throw in saw Matthew Pearson cross into Josh Koroma, whose bicycle kick deflected off Zak Vyner but O'Leary held. 

The weather was now rendering the match a lottery, randomly gusting winds playing havoc with aerial balls, while sheeting rain made the pitch heavy and unpredictable. Harry Cornick replaced Bell and before the game drifted into injury time Mehmeti fired over with an early snap shot out on the left and a worked move from the right created room for spare man James to curl a low shot just wide from a similar position to his late goals at Hull and Millwall previously.

But Manning's side have not been known for all out assault finishes in his first matches at City, and robbed of their passing conviction by the conditions, they looked increasingly unlikely to finish with a flourish and lacking a more direct Plan B. Injury time was largely a non event and the match fizzled out in a damp draw against poor hosts, supporters on all sides by and large happy just to get to the pub and dry out - the visitors new boss now at five points from his first five games.

 

O'Leary 6

Tanner 4

Vyner 6

Dickie 7

Williams 6

James 8

Knight 7

Sykes 8

Bell 6

Weimann 6

Conway 5

 

Pring 5

Gardner-Hickman 5

Mehmeti 5

Cornick 5

Thanks Rob, I have been missing these recently. Always good to have one of your reports from games away from AG - both detailed and insightful.

[wheretheheartis]

Williams 6 and Bell 6?? Williams by far one of our better players imho

[One Team]

Good write up as always Rob.

Edited December 9, 2023 by One Team

[italian dave]

Good summary, Rob.

Have to say that I really enjoyed the game. Despite the conditions, it was a good game to watch and I thought we played some decent football too.

We said on the way up that the breakfast would probably be the best bit of the day (as often is the case!), but not so today!

I’d echo @joe jordans teethcomment on the Bell/Conway scores - other way round at least for me. But agree otherwise. 

[And Its Smith]

Great write up Rob. Always good to hear your view not least because you were actually there.

[bexhill reds]

9 hours ago, wheretheheartis said:

Williams 6 and Bell 6?? Williams by far one of our better players imho

Agreed thought Williams was as good as James, they compliment each other well. Decent midfield performances often go under the radar as they are not always headline grabbing. Williams is never going to ping a ball about like TGH, but get in and amongst it in a physical midfield game then he’d be first on the team sheet.

[Red-Robbo]

Thanks for the report. For reasons I won't bore people with, I could neither watch or listen to this one, so this fan perspective is much more valuable than the OS report or stuff on other media.

BTW what sort of name is Delano Burgzorg!!! Sounds like a minor character from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[One Team]

Great write up Rob. Just watched the highlights and thought we looked pretty good. Tanner’s mistake was awful, but that pass from Dickie that led to the goal was sublime. 

A point away is always decent but looks like we should’ve won it. 

[nick jones of hereford]

Reading Ole’s match reports is always something I look forward to. Thanks ! 

[fisherrich]

Good read that Report. Thanks.
A game that should have been won. We are what we are - a mid table Championship side.