Huddersfield Town 1-0 Wigan Athletic Player Ratings
Matt Shaw, Podcast Tribal Chief.
Twitter: @TTCMatt
Duff goes full Gary Kasparov as Town win the chess match against The Latics.
Matt’s ratings
Players are rated on a scale of 1-10 with 6 being used as an average to passable performance. TRIGGER WARNING! half marks will also be used if a player is between scores.
Jacob Chapman -6- Maybe slightly fortunate his first half save wasn’t punished by Asamoah, largely redundant afterwards but used the ball well with his feet as always.
Ollie Turton-8- MAN OF THE MATCH - Maybe should be renamed to “The Ginger Beckham” after the way he whipped the ball into the goal. A return to orthodox full backs brought out the best of Turton. Solid, sensible and supporting.
Tom Lees -7- He and Helik gave me heart palpitations in the first half by stepping so far out to press. 2nd half it was Lees turn to step out and he performed the duty well.
Michal Helik -6.5- Palpitations aside, he was steady away.
Nigel Lonwijk -6- Had a rough start to the game in an unfamiliar left back role but grew in confidence and stature as the game progressed.
Ben Wiles -6.5- Shifted to a right midfield role who would then underlap behind the strikers ala Adam Clayton 10 years ago or Dean Gorre 25 years ago. Wiles was in and out of the game, but at the heart of most of Town’s attacks.
Herbie Kane -6.5- Kane put in a good defensive show that perhaps slipped under the radar. Perhaps quieter than usual on the ball but that’s testament to how congested Wigan made the middle of the park.
David Kasumu -7.5- Went man for man on dangerman Aasgaard and did such a good job that he was moved to another position. Triggered the midfield press and created Town’s winning goal.
Josh Koroma -6- Looked livlier than in recent weeks and was asked to play several positions throughout. Used well to stretch Wigan down the left but his end product was not at its best.
Callum Marshall -5- Seemed to struggle to get into the flow of the game and found it hard against Wigan’s congested central regions to make his runs effective. Did use the ball well on a couple of occasions to create opportunities.
Danny Ward -6.5- On the pod we’ve bemoaned the lack of a ‘line leader’ throughout this season, but Wardy’s performance was as good as we’ve had yet in that respect. This Danny Ward needs to turn up more often than the other. Faded in the 2nd half through lack of recent minutes.
Josh Ruffels -6.5- Came on in a tactical shuffle after the goal and was fine at left wingback.
Freddie Ladapo -4- Another poor outing despite blocking the passing lane to Smith well. As poor as he was, the crowd reaction was worse. No player last night in blue and white stripes deserved to be mocked, made a scapegoat or a figure of fun. They’re footballers, but they’re people as well. It’s been slim pickings for us as a fanbase for years, it’s been tedious, dull and frustrating, so I get it. But let’s not make one person the lightning rod for all of that.
Jonathan Hogg -NA- The right sub at the right time again.