It’s been a positive start to the campaign for goalkeeper Danny Higgs, who has impressed whilst gaining experience with the U21s.
Having agreed a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2024, the shot-stopper spent last season with the U18s and worked hard during pre-season.
On the opening day of the U21s PDL season, an injury in the warm-up to Jake Dennis meant that Danny had to be ready to start at short notice.
In our latest ‘City in Focus’, we caught up with the goalkeeper on his season so far.
“It’s so important to be ready to be called upon at all times,” Danny began. You go into the game thinking you’re not going to play, then with about ten minutes left of the warm-up, Jake goes down.
“It isn’t nice circumstances and it’s always gutting to see a teammate get injured, but it’s so important as the substitute goalkeeper to make sure you’re always ready to go and play.
“You do your preparation the day before and you need to make sure you get that right, even if you’re not expecting to play. If you’re not switched on in the warm-up and in your preparation, then it’s hard to turn it on and go straight into the match.”
The U21 side picked up a positive point in a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United, before an impressive 3-0 away victory over Crewe Alexandra, in which Higgs started.
He continued: “We put in a solid team performance against Sheffield United, and a 1-1 draw was a good result. To then go away and get a convincing 3-0 win at Crewe, you can’t really ask for much more.
“I had a bit of a quieter game against Crewe, but I felt switched on throughout the game. That meant that at any moment they needed me, I was there to try and keep the clean sheet.
“I’ve really enjoyed being part of this group. The lads have been great with me. That’s been a massive part of the experience so far. They’ve really helped me to settle in as quickly as I have so that I’m able to play the way I usually would with the U18s.”
With most of his experience since signing his scholarship coming at U18 level, the goalkeeper has gained a taste of the differences between levels.
Having excelled in making the step up, Danny continued by detailing those differences.
“Especially in that game against Sheffield United, their gameplan was to try and get as many balls into the box as they could, and they had a really good long throw.
“It was a good learning experience for me on how important the setup is around me, making sure I have the markers in the right place, that players are blocking correctly so it can allow me to do my job when I’m needed.”
At First Team level, there has a heavy involvement from Academy players and graduates, providing inspiration for the current City prospects.
With Matthew Turner making his professional debut on the opening day of the season against Peterborough United, Danny explained the effect of seeing the pathway.
“We definitely feel that buzz in the Academy,” he continued. “It inspires us seeing so many boys from the Academy play in the First Team. The fact that they are doing so well is creating a positive feeling around the U21s and the rest of the Academy, and that goes through the staff too.
“Everyone has now gone up a level because we know the First Team is in touching distance. There’s still a long way to go, but to see boys you know and have grown up with play in the First Team is so encouraging. It’s made training a lot more intense, because everyone sees what’s possible and everyone wants it.
“The main thing I took from Matt’s debut was how important training is. The manager said after that game that the way Matt applied himself in training, he caught his eye and that’s a big learning point to take for myself and all the other goalkeepers.
“Matt’s attitude is incredible. As a human and as a player, he is so professional, and that earned him the spot for the first game.”