LISBON, Portugal, CMC – Huddersfield’s Bermuda international Nahki Wells believes the preparation camp here will be a massive boost for the squad’s readiness ahead of their historic Championship final against Reading on May 29.
Following the Wednesday’s nerve-jangling semi-final victory over Sheffield Wednesday, the club jetted the squad and their families off to Portugal to enhance the preparation for what is their biggest game of the season, with the winner earning promotion to the lucrative English Premiership. “I think it was a great idea to get away as a group to continue our work process but also to spend time with important ones and family and try to keep that bond as strong as we can going into the biggest game of our lives,” said Wells whose has been a key player for the club this season.
“It’s a good idea. We get away from all the press and the hype back in England. We all want to stay grounded and focused and together and I think that is the good thing about this trip. Huddersfield’s Bermudian striker Nahki Wells. “We understand this could be life-changing for thousands of people, from our footballing careers to our families and friends, and people inside the town of Huddersfield.
“It’s massive, we understand how huge it is and how big it can be in a positive way if we can go on to win and that’s what we are looking to do.”
Huddersfield finished fifth in the Championship campaign, earning a spot in the promotion playoffs along with Sheffield who were fourth.
The first leg of the semi-final finished nil-all while Wednesday’s second leg ended 1-1, leading to dreaded penalties where Huddersfield clinched a 4-3 win.
“It was a typical game against Sheffield Wednesday. It was one of those games where you know you are not going to win comfortably, you’re not going to get beaten comfortably but every second is a difficult second in the match,” he explained.
“Credit to them, they made it really tough for us and to come from behind in that manner was fantastic. We knew that once we got back in the match, there was only going to be one winner.
“I thought we might have pinched it because our fitness levels were higher than theirs but we went the toughest way and emotionally that’s the best way you can possibly win a semi-final.”
Wells took the third penalty of the shootout for Huddersfield to give them a decisive 3-0 lead, rifling his shot into the upper right-hand corner.
He said the focus then was on confidence.
“We all stepped up and took one in training that morning. Obviously you can’t replicate that particular moment but we can try to prepare as well as we can,” he pointed out.
“We said pick your sides, stick to it [and] as you can tell from all our penalties, there weren’t any doubts in our minds and any issues with picking a side and we just went with a bit of power and accuracy and four of the five went in.”
