ᑕ❶ᑐ Huddersfield Town 0-1 Burnley: Vincent Kompany’s side impress with dominant win

Vincent Kompany’s reign as Burnley manager got off to a flying start as his side secured a dominating 1-0 victory at Huddersfield Town in the Championship.

Huddersfield – under new boss Danny Schofield for the first time – failed to register a shot on target the entire game as Burnley controlled play after the break with more than two-thirds of possession.

Another Clarets debutant, Scott Twine, nearly doubled the lead with five minutes remaining, but his curling free kick hit the post.

New managers, new players

Burnley entered the game having rebuilt their squad after being relegated from the top flight last season.

Kompany moved to Burnley from Anderlecht after losing experienced players such as Ben Mee, James Tarkowski, Wout Weghorst, Dwight McNeil and Nick Pope.

The Clarets signed new signings including Aro Muric, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Josh Cullen and Ian Maatsen, while youngster Dara Costelloe made his attacking debut.

Huddersfield entered the game following a final defeat in the play-offs and the resignation of manager Carlos Corberan just 22 days ago.

New boss Danny Schofield also lost key players like Lewis O’Brien and Harry Toffolo, although he was still able to call on a number of players who helped the Terriers reach Wembley, including Jonathan Hogg, Danny Ward and Duane Holmes.

He also came into the game without centre-back Matty Pearson after the 28-year-old suffered a serious foot injury in last week’s pre-season game with Bolton, and after the game Schofield said that he will miss “an important period”.

Clarets dominate poor hosts

Burnley started well and should have taken the lead in the first 10 minutes. Cullen’s excellent through ball freed Ashley Barnes, but Burnley’s most experienced striker took too long to close in on the goal and Tom Lees slipped in and dispossessed him from close range.

Cullen and Barnes had shots saved shortly after before Maatsen gave Burnley a deserved lead – the Dutch left-back was the first to react to an error by Barnes after stepping forward and he rolled up a shot from the right foot in the bottom corner.

It should have been 2-0 two minutes later but Lee Nicholls saved Roberts well from close range after the full-back played a neat one-two to drive into the box.

Kompany’s influence on Burnley was evident as they dominated first-half possession and played delightful football in and around the Huddersfield box as the beaten play-off finalists struggled to deal with them.

The youngster Costelloe had a great chance to open his account for Burnley but missed an effort just wide of the far post after excellent work from the left by the impressive Maatsen five minutes before the break.

Huddersfield only won from a corner in the 67th minute as Burnley continued to control possession after the break, and it took the hosts another seven minutes to make a decent effort when Ward fired from the edge of the box after an error by Costelloe.

The night came down to two late free-kicks as Twine – a €4million summer signing from League One side Milton Keynes Dons – curled beautifully against the post, while in stoppage time game, Huddersfield hit Burnley’s first defender in the chest from a wide area. after a foul on Jordan Rhodes.

Kompany – “We took this game by the scruff of the neck”

After the match, Kompany told BBC Radio Lancashire that he was impressed with his team’s start to the season, particularly the work rate his team displayed:

“Beyond good football, I saw a team. I saw guys who recently learned to play together and fight together, and that was good.

“A lot of racing, a lot of challenges, a lot of things that might not be highlighted so much because the football was good, but for me it’s really more important for this season.

“We took this match by the scruff of the neck, we were there right away, and it was good.

“That’s when you start building, everything else – the football, the patterns, the tactics – it doesn’t matter if you don’t have that as a base.

“I’m not going to say I’m surprised, but the guys have something to be proud of today and tomorrow we’re off again. »

Huddersfield Town head coach Danny Schofield told BBC Radio Leeds:

“I felt we suffered a lot in the first half, I thought Burnley really dominated the midfield by putting a lot of players from wide areas in the middle.

“We didn’t quite deal with that, they were breaking a lot of lines and moving up the field.

“But I think in the second half we changed a few things and we competed a lot better, we started to match them in the middle of the pitch and we fought really well in the second half.

“There were loose passes, there were first and second balls, the fundamental things I would like to see a little better, but it’s the first game of the season, it was a tough test against Burnley , then we will learn from it, improve and be ready for Birmingham. »