Pre-season: Huddersfield Town (H)

After Tuesday nights relatively stress-free victory against York City, the signs looked good. Today, they're looking a little bit better still.

Not that I'd been holding out much hope for this one. I'm not entirely sure why, but I fancied Huddersfield to beat us. Maybe revenge for that wonderful night in 2006 when we sent them packing out of the playoffs, on our march back into Championship football? Whatever the reason, I felt sure I'd be writing about our first pre-season defeat tonight.

It was gonna be an interesting experience for me, because my dad wasn't coming with me, but the missus was, and as I've mentioned before, she's a Wendy fan. She wasn't especially happy about coming, and she spent the morning making sly digs whenever she got the opportunity. I let it go though. After all, it's nothing compared to the stick I'm gonna be giving her and her dad in a couple of days when League One's most bankrupt newcomers arrive at Oakwell, ready for their 90 minutes of pure, uninterrupted piss-taking.

The first job of the day, once we'd arrived at Oakwell, was to go and get some tickets for Chesterfield bought. I also contemplated getting the new home shirt, but I've decided to delay the inevitable. Especially since I'll be back at Oakwell tomorrow, paying £400 or so on those Q.P.R tickets.

It was nice to be walking around the place, with the sun beaming down, taking it all in again. The last time I came to Oakwell, to pick up the season tickets, it was a grey, miserable day, and the new season seemed like decades away. Today, all the usual feelings came flooding back. Seeing away fans milling around, looking lost as they try and find the away end, watching the programme sellers setting their stalls around the car park, hearing the familiar, soothing sound of someone bellowing "HALF TIME DRAW" in your lughole as you walk by; aye, I'm just about ready for the real stuff to begin.

Not that I don't enjoy the pre-season. It's nice to be able to sit through a Yorkshire derby without constantly biting the nails, staring forlornly at the scoreboard and wrestling with that sick feeling I always get in my stomach. In a few weeks, we'll be welcoming Leeds to Oakwell, and I'm nervous about that already, so it's just nice to be able to watch with the pressure off.

Anyway, we got our Chesterfield tickets, had a sneaky look at the new home shirt up close, and had a steady walk to the Gatehouse for a cheeky pint before the game. It went down a treat in the summer sun, and only served to put me in the mood for the match. Before long, it was time to make the short walk from town, up and over the hill and towards Oakwell. You wouldn't believe how much I've missed that walk.


We got to the ground, grabbed a quick bite to eat and had a read of the match day programme, before sitting down. I'd been planning on sitting in the West stand for this game, just as a change from the norm, so I was gutted when I found out it was closed. So I decided to stick with what I know, and got sat down in the Ponty End, ready to watch the warm up.

Well, that was the plan, only there didn't seem to be any players warming up anywhere. God knows why, but they were training on the academy pitches. I suppose they were trying to keep the pitch as pristine as possible for as long as possible. To be fair, it looked great. It won't last.

When the players came out, I got the usual butterflies that I always get when I'm at Oakwell. It was the perfect day to be back.

The game itself was a decent encounter. For the opening 20 minutes or so, we were fantastic. We knocked the ball around, created chances, and saw Adam Hammill score 2 absolute wonder goals. Usually it's hard to celebrate goals in a friendly match, but not when they're as fantastic as those two. We'll probably not see a better goal this season at Oakwell than his second, it certainly had shades of Brian Howard vs. Cardiff.

I've been impressed with the way we seem more comfortable on the ball in these last two games. Suddenly, players are looking to pass and move, playing with patience and waiting for the chance to advance. It's a much better tactic than lumping the ball forward, and so far it's been successful. It's good to see MR is trying to get us playing the right way, and even better to see his labour bear fruit on the pitch.

Not that the game was one-sided. As the first half wore on, Huddersfield began to come into the game,creating some good chances along the way, and could easily have been back in the game before half time. But they were wasteful in front of goal, and by the time Hammill had scored his 3rd, from a great team move, the game looked to be over.

Mystery Trialist/Steven Bennett

At half time, Hugo took to the pitch for the first time since his very public return to the club, and it was nice to see him get a good welcome, if not a bit disappointing to see him acting like a little girl when the sprinklers got him. He was warming up alongside "Steven Bennett", who apparently wasn't "Steven Bennett" at all, but the "mystery trialist" we were taking a look at. I'm not entirely sure who he was, but it was all rather confusing, and I'm still not entirely sure what's going on.

Also, there was a young lad sitting in the West stand with what looked like his agent, which could be a sign that MR is about to do some more business for the club. Couple this with the rumours that Shotton was at the game too yesterday, and it might be a good week for us.

The second half was a bit of a non-event, with Huddersfield getting the goal their play deserved. By this time, MR had made plenty of changes and the team was unrecognisable from the one that had started the game. It was pretty even, with both teams having spells of possession. Their goal was a weak header from one-time Reds target Theo Robinson, although quite why Preece was on his arse in the goalmouth is a mystery. But it didn't really take the gloss off a good performance.

The new boys impressed again. I can't speak highly enough of Shackell, he's class. Every touch is brilliant, he's always calm and collected on the ball. And he brings the ball forward nicely, always looking to pass rather than smash it long. O'Brien too had a much better game, looking menacing on either wing. Lovre is still catching up with the pace of the games, but again showed flashes of what we can expect. And McEveley was solid and steady again.

In fact, nobody stood out as having a poor game. Even Dickinson came on and showed a few decent touches. I'd like to see him start a game now, see what he can do.

Micky Boulding, back in a Reds shirt

Micky Boulding also got on the pitch and put himself about a bit. In fact, he almost bundled that late corner in but it was cleared from the goalmouth by some desperate defending. I don't think he'll secure the contract he's after, but I'd love to see him get a goal in pre-season, just for old times sake.

The full time whistle came and went, and we filtered out into the street. All the talk around us seemed positive and most could appreciate that we'd seen a good performance. Say what you like about friendlies, but when they're going well, they create a real buzz. With every passing game, I'm more and more eager to get the campaign underway.

And as an added bonus, on the way home we found out Wendy had lost at Scunny, which is always nice to hear. I kept the gloating down to a minimum with our lass. They'll be plenty of time for that on Tuesday night anyway.

I've a sneaking suspicion Wednesday might beat us, but I had that same feeling about Huddersfield and I was proven wrong. Even so, what we've seen so far has filled me with a lot of confidence. We're playing the right way, looking to do the right things and so far it's working. And for the first time in a long time, we seem to have players who want to be in posession, who are capable of remaining calm and finding a team mate. Maybe I'm reading too much into a couple of meaningless games, but it's hard not to feel positive at the moment. It's scary feeling this optimistic in the build up to a new season. I just hope Wendesday don't go and ruin it all on Tuesday.

Thanks for reading.