Scott High shows critics have it wrong as Huddersfield Town midfielder seizes rare chance

Twenty-one games had passed since Scott High last appeared in the Huddersfield Town starting lineup, the longest gap between starts of any player this season bar Jordan Rhodes’ 26-game wait through his layoff with a back injury and goalkeeper Ryan Schofield’s 25 games between appearing against Fulham in August and playing against Burnley in the FA Cup in January.

In High’s case, there had been no injury to speak of. The midfielder’s starts have generally only come when there have been key absences elsewhere in the squad: he got a run at the start of the season when Lewis O’Brien was out through covid and Danel Sinani was still working his way to full fitness having joined later in the transfer window than many of Town’s summer signings. Another chance came for High between late November and the turn of the new year, when Jonathan Hogg was out with a knee injury.

This time, it was injuries in wide positions that necessitated High’s involvement. With Danel Sinani, Josh Koroma and Sorba Thomas all ruled out of the trip to Coventry and Tino Anjorin seemingly not yet quite ready to start games, Carlos Corberan moved Lewis O’Brien out to the left wing with Duane Holmes playing off the right.

Rather than move Hogg out of the back three, the Middlesbrough Mascherano was played between Tom Lees and the returning Levi Colwill, with Corberan explaining after the game that he felt playing Hogg and Jon Russell together would leave the side short of energy and mobility in central midfield in a game where those traits were paramount.

High certainly brings that. The enthusiastic youngster looked on a mission to prove his worth one again, knowing that this chance to prove himself before the play-offs may not come around again.

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