Huddersfield Town were 2-0 winners against Luton Town last night, moving into third in the Championship table and six points clear of seventh placed Blackburn Rovers.  

Carlos Corberan outlined the fine margins that went in the Terriers' favour last night, as Jon Russell and Naby Sarr scored either side of Elijah Adebayo missing a penalty for Luton in an eventful second-half.

 

 

Russell opened the scoring from Pipa’s throw-in shortly before the hour, lifting a finish over James Shea and into the far corner.

There was a major let-off for Huddersfield, though, when Adebayo slipped his penalty off Lee Nicholls’ post after Danel Sinani had tangled with James Bree.

Sarr secured the points with a powerful header on 89 minutes from a Sorba Thomas corner, moving Corberan’s side back into third and in a strong position in the race for the play-offs.

We breakdown some talking points here:

Covering Pearson with hybrid Hogg

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Corberan revealed in the build-up to the game that Matty Pearson could miss the remainder of the Championship season with a knee injury. The centre-back’s absence is an undoubted blow for the Terriers, and he was seen hobbling around the John Smith’s Stadium last night with his knee in a brace.

Huddersfield have plenty of options when it comes to covering the 28-year-old: Ollie Turton is capable of forming a makeshift back-three, whilst there’s the option to just partner Levi Colwill and Tom Lees at the heart of a back-four. There’s also Naby Sarr, who for large parts of the season has been fourth in line.

As it was, Corberan named captain, Jonathan Hogg, at the heart of his defence, with the skipper in something of a hybrid role between the middle of the back-three and his usual holding midfield role.

Hogg was superb defensively against a physical Luton attack, whilst he aimed to step out on the ball and break lines with his passing, particularly in the first-half as he stepped ahead of Colwill and Lees.

The tactical flexibility of this Huddersfield squad means that you’d be a fool to think this was going to be Corberan’s go-to in the absence of Pearson. However, given Hogg’s ability to be fluid between a 3-4-3 and a 4-3-3 in this role, he’s perhaps the best fit for the run-in.

Thomas stakes a claim on the left

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It’s no secret that one of Huddersfield’s problem positions this season has been on the left, with Josh Koroma not hitting the heights we know he can and Duane Holmes coming in and out of the side.

Sorba Thomas has been a consistent in the Town side throughout, albeit predominantly playing on the right as a winger or wing-back.

Yesterday, though, he started on the left, setting the tone with his direct running inside the opening half-hour, teeing up Lewis O’Brien and Danel Sinani chances.

There was a point before Russell’s opener where Thomas switched flanks with Sinani briefly, but it was back over on the left where he led another break and tested James Shea in stoppage time.

Corberan discussed his winger’s tactical versatility post-match, telling Football League World: “The key with Sorba is to keep his level of humility to be one player that can adapt to the needs of the game and the needs of the team.

“He’s one player that’s playing in different positions: left, right, wing-back, striker, winger. It’s important to keep his level of focus and his mentality where he’s not thinking that he can only play one position.

“If he starts thinking he can only play in one position, it will be detrimental to him.”

Again, given how unpredictable Corberan is when it comes to his systems and his comments here, it’s highly likely that we see Thomas back on the right.

However, given last night’s performance, there’s a case to argue that Thomas might be worth an extended run on the left, as Corberan looks to find a solution to that minor shortcoming.

One foot in the play-offs

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It’s Easter week and the weekend that so often makes or breaks a season is on the horizon now.

Huddersfield aren’t in an unassailable position when it comes to the top-six, but after last night’s win, they are as well placed as any side to secure play-off football next month.

A six-point lead over Blackburn is significant, as is a gap of seven points to Middlesbrough, who do have a game in-hand.

At this point, with only five games to play, Huddersfield have one foot in the play-offs and probably only need two more wins to guarantee their place in the top-six.

Corberan will be humble and won’t declare anything as bold as that whilst there’s still points to play for.

After last night’s result, though, there appears to have been something of an acceptance across the division that Huddersfield will be in contention for a place in the Premier League come May.