Huddersfield Town beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 at the John Smith’s Stadium. It was a stunning performance from the Terriers. David Wagner reverted back to the tactics that worked so well last season, and it produced a great display of attacking football that epitomised the Terrier Spirit.
Here are my player ratings for the match:
Lössl – 7 out of 10
Made an incredible save from a Murray header early on, which turned out to be offside but still showed excellent reactions. He took a few risks with his passing, but he always found his man.
Löwe – 7 out of 10
Made some great crosses from open play and from corners. Linked up well with Big Col and overlapped when the chance was there. His corner for the first goal was excellent, picking out Schindler at the new post and the flick on led to Mounié’s tap in.
Schindler – 8 out of 10
Great as always. He can now add Glenn Murray to the list of strikers he’s kept in his back pocket this season. This was one of the easier afternoon’s work he’s had in the Premier League but still made plenty of good interceptions and headed clearances. He also had one glorious run up field where he looked like he might try to score but (sensibly) laid it off instead.
Zanka – 7 out of 10
Very solid and dealt with everything that came his way. I was going to give him an 8, but then I remembered a couple of balls forward that were poorly executed. In his defence, he also played some great balls for Smith to run on to, so his passing was a mixture of excellent and poor, without a lot in between.
Smith – 8 out of 10
His best performance of the season for far. Back to his best, putting in quality crosses and providing an attacking threat down the right-hand side. Did a great job of keeping Izzy Brown quiet and didn’t give the Chelsea loanee chance to get in behind him.
Mooy – 8 out of 10
Did brilliantly for the second goal, twisting and turning before putting in a decent cross from his weaker foot. Pushed forward and was a constant threat to Brighton.
Hogg – 9 out of 10
Was absolutely everywhere, putting in tackles, intercepting passes and covering the defence. Town’s pressing was generally very good, but Hogg was operating on another level and bossed the midfield. Gareth Southgate was watching the game from the stands, I hope he was taking note of Hogg’s performance.
The idea of a Town player getting an England call up would have been ridiculous two years ago, but given the quality of some of the players Southgate has called up lately, it feels like Hogg might have a chance. I’d certainly rather see Hoggy in an England shirt than Jake Livermore.
Embed from Getty Images
Quaner – 7 out of 10
My brother has pointed out that my admiration for Big Col means I often exaggerate his contribution to the team. Regardless of your feelings about Collin, I think most people will acknowledge he played well against Brighton.
He gave Bruno a torrid time, despite the fact he doesn’t have many tricks in his locker. Relentless running and the occasional fancy flick where enough for him to .
Ince – 6 out of 10
I’d give him a ten for his work rate and his ability to break forward with speed and get into scoring positions. Sadly his composure in front of goal and finishing would be a two out of ten at best. He contributed a lot to the game and had enough chances for a hattrick.
Sadly the goal he’s been working so hard for didn’t come his way. It’s not just bad luck that’s stopping his scoring, he looks like a player low on confidence. I can’t wait for the day when Ince does finally score, the celebration will be incredible both from the player and the fans.
Kachunga – 8 out of 10
Looked dangerous, got into some good positions, and could have scored with a bit more luck in the penalty area. He lined up well with Smith, showing the connection the two had in the last season.
Kachunga has had a bit of stick from some fans lately, so it was good to see him back to his best and looking dangerous. Like Ince, he could do with a goal or two to set him off.
Mounié – 9 out of 10
The first goal was a tap-in, but he was in the right place and had the composure to put it away. The second goal was an excellent finish, maybe Brighton’s keeper could have done better, but Mouné made a good connection and did well with the chance.
There have been some lack-lustre performances from Mounié since his return from injury, but against Brighton, he looked back to his pre-injury form. He fought hard up front and covered a lot of ground. He had had a couple of other chances which could have led to more goals. It’s great to see us look threatening in front of goal again.
Embed from Getty Images
Substitutes
Depoitre, Lolley, and Williams all came on fairly late, so didn’t have the time to make a big impact on the game. Wagner often makes changes early in the second half, but the eleven he picked were playing so well it made sense to delay the changes until later.
It’s great to see Lolley make Premier League debut. He may not get many minutes but I think he could have something to offer Town if given the chance.
Embed from Getty Images