Month: November 2025

Treble Trouble

Calamitously poor defending from Huddersfield Town overshadowed some encouraging positives in a hugely frustrating performance against AFC Wimbledon.

Sadly for manager Grant, most attention will focus on his decision to bring back Goodman in goal ahead of the experienced and more competent Nicholls, who has been markedly improved since regaining the keeper’s jersey. Errors in successive games have contributed to the loss of three, possibly more, points.

This will overshadow a rare and successful half-time intervention that produced a more convincing attacking display, with Gooch moving to right-back and Wiles – who always seems to deliver from the bench – replacing Sorensen.

The Dane may have been punished for a blind pass into the middle of the park which indirectly led to Wimbledon opening the scoring. It was massively against the run of play but portentous in its execution, as several opportunities to either stifle the attack or pick up runners were ignored.

In a first half where Town largely flattered to deceive -creating too little despite plenty of progressive possession – a counterpunch was not exactly unforeseeable. With Balker outmuscled, Roosken out of position and making no effort to recover, and a general failure of anticipation as the ball was played in, a well-executed Wimbledon attack was generously assisted by the hosts.

Town hit the bar with a glancing Ledson header, and Charles should have done better when a superb ball from Gooch, cleverly dummied by Ashia, found him unmarked in the area – only for him to shoot straight at the advancing keeper rather than show composure and take it around him.

On his full league debut, Ashia ran directly at the Wimbledon defence and carried the team up the pitch effectively at times, though his decision-making still needs refinement. Throughout, however, he was involved in most of Town’s more convincing moments of play and, after many complaints about teams playing backwards too often, his forward intent is surely to be encouraged.

The youngster inadvertently assisted Town’s equaliser very early in the second half—swinging and missing at a clearance that squirted fortuitously through to the influential Castledine, who placed an excellent shot into the corner.

Such an early strike should have set the hosts up for a comfortable victory against a side who had scored from their only genuine first-half attack. But Grant’s goalkeeper decision – one that many viewed with puzzlement – came back to bite him for the second game in a row.

Almost immediately after the relief of drawing level, Balker committed a poorly judged foul, climbing all over his opponent for reasons best known to himself. The position of the free-kick didn’t appear especially dangerous.

Sedona struck a well-placed but not particularly powerful shot to Goodman’s right, but instead of turning the ball away for a corner or even holding it, Goodman spilled it into the path of Orsi – to the evident and righteous fury of both Gooch and Ledson.

The error surely ends Goodman’s brief reclamation of the No. 1 spot, and it is arguable that aiding the development of a Crystal Palace loanee at the expense of Chapman is now too detrimental. If contractually possible, he should be returned to Selhurst Park in January.

To Town’s credit, the setback didn’t halt their momentum. Both flanks, aided by a strong Wiles performance in midfield (one ludicrously bad misplaced pass aside), repeatedly tested the visitors. Ashia’s contributions became more incisive, while Gooch, Castledine and Wiles combined cleverly on the opposite side.

After another good Castledine effort struck the outside of the post, a run and cross by Ashia was narrowly missed by Radulovic in the centre before being collected by Gooch, who dinked a perfect ball for Wiles to head home Town’s second equaliser.

Surely now Town would capitalise? They were clearly the better side, with better players, and had all the momentum.

Sadly, more defensive frailty undermined that notion. A cheap free-kick was conceded by Roosken, and from the delivery Johnson towered over Balker – having had a run on him – to score Wimbledon’s third and maintain their astonishingly high conversion rate.

In normal circumstances, Town’s third and final recovery from going behind would be lauded. But the nature of the concessions meant the crowd were in no mood for forgiveness for a team making far too much of a habit of letting them down.

Nevertheless, the attacking verve of the second half deserves recognition. After being booked for tripping over the ball in the box – interpreted as simulation by an otherwise competent referee – Ashia delivered another excellent cross after a probing run, which Radulovic should have buried. Fortunately, Bishop in the Wimbledon goal could only parry the header, and substitute Alfie May pounced to finally add to his meagre season tally.

Another flap at a corner by Goodman in the final moments of injury time threatened further calamity, but a point was the least Town’s performance deserved.

However, Goodman’s error casts a long shadow over the match, with Grant’s decision-making under further scrutiny and, perhaps, now sitting at the top of Chris Markham’s inbox following the long overdue appointment of a Sporting Director.

The positives shouldn’t be overlooked – particularly Gooch, Castledine and Ashia – as there is undoubtedly talent in this squad, which is competing in an unusually substandard league. But harnessing that talent into consistency remains elusive for Grant.

An Excellent Stag Do

For 30 minutes, Huddersfield Town excelled in murky Nottinghamshire, obliterating Mansfield Town by scoring three times in 15 minutes—and they could quite easily have doubled that tally with a genuinely thrilling display.

Continuing with two strikers, a high and aggressive press, and playing out from the back with menacing purpose, the Terriers followed up an encouraging performance against a very poor Plymouth side with a clear step up in quality against opposition of a far higher standard.

Lee Grant appears to have stumbled upon a team and a formation that works, built on partnerships throughout the side who, finally, appear to be more than the sum of their parts—though the renaissance is still young and faces stern challenges in the near future.

With a league as unpredictable as League One is proving to be this time around, Town’s poor form of just a few weeks ago has caused less damage to their prospects than it perhaps deserved, and a huge opportunity is now opening up for them.

At least three of yesterday’s substitutes would walk into any side in this division, and that depth is likely to expand in the coming weeks. Grant must use it more judiciously than previously, turning it into an advantage rather than confusion.

Of the players who shone through the November gloom at Field Mill, Radulovic, Charles, and Balker were all surplus to requirements until stepping up very recently, but they were key to a thoroughly satisfying afternoon.

The front two combined superbly, with Radulovic performing more intelligently than ever before and rarely erring, while Charles’ undeniable energy translated into one of the most effective striker performances from anyone this season, as his drought now looks firmly behind him.

With the blossoming partnership of Ledson and Harness, a left side considerably improved by Miller teaming up with Roosken, and the hugely impressive Balker slotting in alongside the potential of Feeney, it felt like watching a team rather than sporadically performing individuals.

A few minutes of early home pressure were easily quelled before the Stags were eviscerated in a devastating spell of quite sublime play which few, if any, divisional rivals could have resisted.

Any thoughts the home side had of imposing themselves dissolved in the fifth minute when Balker strolled unchallenged for a third of the pitch, executed a drag-back to foil the first challenge, and fired a ball into Charles, who fed Roosken on the left. The Dutchman held the ball before laying it into the path of Miller, who delivered a perfect back-post cross for Radulovic to head past a despairing Roberts in the Stags’ goal.

Almost immediately after the opener, Harness robbed a home player and fed Ledson who, in turn, found Wiles, who quickly moved the ball on to Charles. He set up Miller for a shot that was comfortably saved, but the visitors were cranking up their dynamism and a second goal was only minutes away.

Harness again won a midfield battle, again playing the ball to Ledson, who yet again found Wiles. This time Radulovic met the next pass before laying the ball into Charles’ path, and he beat the keeper from around the penalty spot.

The carnage wasn’t over for the shell-shocked hosts, as a great curling ball from Radulovic found Sørensen with acres of space to run into. The Dane’s shot took a deflection that deceived Roberts, but the scintillating visitors fully deserved to be three up.

Indeed, had Miller converted at the end of yet another superb move which he himself started with a scything run up the pitch, had Balker kept a header down from an excellent corner, and had Charles stayed onside to tap in a keeper spill, the scoreline would have been extraordinary.

A spectacular speculative effort by Charles is also worthy of recall.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 60 minutes that followed such carnage were prosaic in comparison, but it is in that first half-hour where the hopes for Town’s season lie. Exhilarating dynamism thrilled an away support who were not to witness a goal at closer quarters in the second half, but who left entirely satisfied by the promise on display.

It was slightly disappointing to concede a preventable goal midway through the second half, when the otherwise excellent Feeney misjudged a ball and allowed Will Evans to give Mansfield brief hope. It lasted only a few minutes before Goodman picked up an obviously fake injury (the man had one save to make in the whole game) to facilitate a tactical break. This gamesmanship needs stamping out.

Overall, it was a quiet second half. Mansfield, a very decent side at this level, toiled away largely in vain, while a couple of good efforts from Miller and the returning Evans were the closest Town came to removing any vestige of doubt over the result.

An excellent start to an important and challenging week, setting Town right back in the mix—and the growing optimism must now be translated into a good run of results. The ability of this squad to gain momentum was clearly demonstrated in the first 30 minutes of this game; let it be a catalyst for better times.

Town Sink Poor Pilgrims

Sometimes, adversity becomes the mother of invention, and Town’s familiarly dire list of injuries finally forced Lee Grant to make changes that have seemed glaringly obvious for weeks — particularly playing two men up front. After a mensis horribilis in October, an early winter revival may have begun.

It has helped enormously that the first fixtures of the month have been against deliberately weakened opponents in Mansfield, and a Plymouth side whose performance was an insult to the 1,200 Devonians who travelled a long way to witness it.

At least three of Grant’s starting choices were players with no obvious future at the club just a few short weeks ago: the previously less-than-lethal front two and the permanently fragile Balker, while the squad on duty contained a majority from last season’s miserable campaign.

Town, perhaps carrying some momentum from the relatively straightforward dismissal of Mansfield in the Vertu Cup days previously, began on the front foot and forced some early corners. However, it was the visitors who created the first chance of the game, as the recalled Goodman pushed out a decent effort from 25 yards.

That proved to be the high point of the half for the Pilgrims, as they deteriorated precipitously thereafter — posing no threat while appearing increasingly vulnerable to a Town side that hit their straps around the half-hour mark, penning the visitors into a desperate and creaking rearguard action which finally broke after incessant pressure.

Had Town failed to convert their dominance into a half-time lead, scrutiny might have fallen on Wiles, who had two particularly woeful efforts when in decent positions, while Hazard in the Argyle goal made two excellent saves from headers by Feeney and Radulovic.

Harness, looking far more comfortable and creative centrally, saw a good effort scream over the bar before Wiles — after an incisive ball from Harness — and the commendably combative Charles opened up the visiting defence with simple passing, before the latter unselfishly fed Radulovic for an easy but well-worked opener.

A single-goal lead was the least Town deserved for a dominant performance exploiting Plymouth’s nervous lack of confidence.

Balker and the impressive Feeney formed an immediate understanding at the back; Sørensen’s improved form this season continued, and while the Roosken–Miller partnership on the left rather flattered to deceive, the new twin-striker force persistently hassled the visitors into errors and effectively planted doubts.

It was a little concerning that the second half began with Town appearing more conservative than necessary against meagre opponents, but that period quickly passed as the hosts slowly got back into their stride.

A decent opening was created for the much-improved Ledson, but the captain’s effort was skied high before a clever interchange involving Wiles and Charles fell to Miller, whose shot was blocked.

Ashia replaced Miller — who is yet to return to his pre-injury form — and caused multiple problems for the Devon side down the left, including winning the corner from which a flick-on by Radulovic worked its way to Charles, who bagged a thoroughly deserved goal to add to his midweek brace.

The striker’s hushing of the crowd after months of mediocrity was ill-judged, but there is at least the possibility that his Huddersfield career could turn around from this point — though the quality of opposition in the games where he has finally translated work rate into tangible achievement rather urges caution.

Plymouth may have reason to be aggrieved at card-happy referee Stockbridge for Town’s third. Having given them a very soft free kick for a Harness challenge, a more obvious foul on the free kick’s recipient was let go, allowing Charles to feed Ashia — whose now-trademark right-foot curler inevitably found the back of the net with Argyle’s keeper rooted.

Raw as he is — and given that passing to him with his back to goal is generally a fruitless exercise — give him some green space to run into and he can cause havoc. In his short time on the pitch, he had three shots: one which led to the corner for the second, and one which buried the opponent at 3–0.

A late consolation by Tolaj was disappointing but of little consequence.

With another enforced break next weekend, Town have the chance to return a couple of others to fitness (Castledine’s surprise appearance on the bench after a very quick recovery is perhaps the only positive injury news in at least two seasons) and build on this week’s confidence-building wins.

Grant should reflect on the good fortune of having the right decisions rather forced upon him — and against vulnerable opponents — but he shouldn’t be begrudged the opportunity to build on these victories and create the kind of momentum that could rip through this mediocre league.