It was far from doom and gloom for Huddersfield Town despite their 3-0 opening Premier League defeat to Chelsea.
David Wagner’s side had a decent first half and were only undone by Chelsea’s extra class.
So, as the John Smith’s Stadium squad prepare to take on Manchester City next Sunday, what can they take forward from the experience?
Here, Mel Booth looks at Five Things we learned:
1 Town still need to improve service into the box:
Particularly in the first half and also for a spell in the second, Town got into some excellent positions to put the ball into the box.
Alex Pritchard, Flo Hadergjonaj and especially the excellent Chris Lowe on the left put Chelsea under pressure, but the quality of the crossing did not really match the build-up play.
Phil Billing, who also had a good game, also put in one tremendous cross but there was no blue and white striped shirt on the end of it.
2 Town can have success from set-pieces:
Set pieces have been a feature of Town’s pre-season play and another well-worked move almost earned them an equaliser against Chelsea.
Aaron Mooy’s 37th-minute corner was expertly flicked on by Zanka and all it needed was the finish from Steve Mounie at the back post, but his header hit the woodwork and bounced across goal.
The move showed, however, that Town can flourish from corners and set pieces, even against the best.
3 Ben Hamer’s distribution will have to improve:
The goalkeeper signing from Leicester City will be determined to get more accuracy with his clearances.
Hamer deserved his debut after a highly-impressive pre-season and is set to do battle with Jonas Lossl all season for a starting slot.
But he almost left Zanka stranded with one early pass and then failed to find the target with some longer efforts to Mounie and the full-backs.
So there is work to be done on that front.
4 Phil Billing has a big role to play:
The rangy Danish midfielder again showed he has plenty to offer.
He used the ball well, was unlucky not to score and, importantly, offers David Wagner the option
of a long throw-in.
It’s another set piece which Town can work off, so this could be the season where Billing really comes to the fore.
5 Town should not be downhearted:
David Wagner’s side know they need as many fractions as possible to go in their favour when they play against anyone from the top six.
It didn’t happen for them against Chelsea, when referee Chris Kavanagh had an off day as well, but there were spells in the game which were really encouraging for the team and their supporters.
Yes, they can tighten things up, but not every opponent will have the class to ensure two-thirds possession like Chelsea did.
