Huddersfield continued preparations for their Championship opener against Norwich City with a 3-3 draw with Manchester United Under-23s, with former Canaries midfielder Alex Pritchard on target.
The Terriers have only played two friendlies due to a ‘small number’ of positive coronavirus tests which saw planned friendly games against Fleetwood and Southport cancelled.
Their first game was a 2-1 home win over League Two side Bradford last Wednesday, the first since Carlos Corberan had joined from the Leeds coaching staff as successor to the Cowley brothers, who left after finishing just three points clear of relegation trouble.
Goals from Karlan Grant and an own goal earned that win and it was followed by another game at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, drawing 3-3 with the United development squad.
Former Canaries player Pritchard was named captain by Corberan at the start of both games and pulled a goal back after the visitors had gone 2-0 up, curling in a free-kick from 25 yards that United keeper Jacob Carney could only deflect into his net.
Pritchard joined Norwich from Spurs in a deal reportedly worth around £8million in the summer of 2016 and scored eight goals in 43 games for City. He missed much of the first half of Daniel Farke’s first season in charge with an ankle injury before joining Huddersfield in the top flight in a deal reportedly worth an initial £11m in January 2018.
Now aged 27, the former England U21 international has only scored three goals in 64 games for the Terriers and was unable to prevent their relegation from the Premier League in 2019.
After Pritchard’s free-kick Town went ahead thanks to Juninho Bacuna bundling a cross in and a brilliant strike from Josh Koroma, only for the United U23s to find a late equaliser and settle the score at 3-3.
City academy product Harry Toffolo played the opening 66 minutes of the final friendly, as did Pritchard.
Huddersfield travel to League One side Rochdale on Saturday as their season begins with a League Cup first round tie, before turning their attentions to Corberan’s first Championship game, when the Canaries head for West Yorkshire on Saturday, September 12.
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