Carlos Corberan says Huddersfield Town's slow starts to blame for Nottingham Forest defeat

Poor starts to either side cost Huddersfield Town as Nottingham Forest won in the Championship for the first time this season, coach Carlos Corbern admitted.
DISAPPOINTMENT: Huddersfield Town coach Carlos CorberanDISAPPOINTMENT: Huddersfield Town coach Carlos Corberan
DISAPPOINTMENT: Huddersfield Town coach Carlos Corberan

Although the managerless visitors did not score until the 23rd minute, Lewis Grabban heading in a cross from Brennan Johnson, they caught the Terriers cold, Corberan critical of how long it took his team to get a foothold in the game.

And having changed things tactically at half-time - going from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3 - the Terriers conceded before it had time to take effect, former player Joe Lolley squeezing the ball in from a tight angle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It allowed Forest to sit back and challenge Huddersfield to break them down for the best part of 45 minutes. As Corberan admitted, they could not.

"We started the game poorly but after a bad start we started to get chances to use the counter-attack," said the Spaniard. "We didn't use them well and suffered counter-attacks. We didn't take up good enough positions to break their defensive structure.

"They scored with their first dangerous attack and that made it harder for us because you know they're going to keep counter-attacking.

"We needed more up the right and brought (Ollie) Turton on but then with their first action in the second half they scored their second goal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"We didn't create chances other than Tom Lees's header. Forest were the better side.

"We haven't played a compact game like that yet this season and we struggled to attack without those spaces being available. We didn't find the right positions or the right behaviours in attack."

As for why his team were so sluggish early on - the exact opposite of a Forest side powered by the pace of Johnson, in the immediate aftermath of the game, Corberan had no answers.

"Sometimes finding a reason is complicated but we didn't start well enough," he said. "We need to talk to the players now and find out the reason why.

"We also didn't start the second half well enough and that is key to getting a good result."