Huddersfield Town recorded a historic 2-1 victory over Manchester United. It was an incredible occasion that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. While Manchester United were having an 0ff day, Town were at their best and worthy winners.
It’s unsurprising then that such a great result has led to some high player ratings. It was a wonderful team performance, with every player doing their bit to help achieve a win that will be talked about for a long time.
Lössl – 8 out of 10
His kicking was great, with one punt upfield leading directly to Depoitre’s goal. Also made a good save late on to help us hold onto the lead.
Had a couple of iffy moments coming out for crosses he didn’t collect. The ref blew for one and his teammates cleared the loose ball on the other. I’m used to Town keepers being reluctant to come out for crosses, but Lössl wants to claim everything. This is mostly a good thing, but sometimes it’s better to trust his defenders to head clear.
Löwe – 8 out of 10
Very solid, this could be the performance that turns his season around. Dealt well with one on one situations and made his tackles stick.
It’s a sign of how well he played that he was the only member of our back four not to get booked.
Schindler – 9 out of 10
Did an excellent job of keeping one of the leagues best strikers quiet. His ability to perform against top class opposition will be putting him on the radars of other clubs.
While Man United’s £30m+ centre-back had a torrid afternoon, our £1.8m defender looked composed, strong and classy. Rather than fret about him being snapped up by a big club, I’m going to enjoy watching him while we have him.
Zanka – 9 out of 10
Its hard to get noticed when playing alongside Schindler, who draws the plaudits, but Zanka was excellent too. Headed a lot away, got his tackles in and made some crucial clearances in the late stages.
Zanka’s played in the Champions League and international level, and it showed in his composure against Man United. He looked completely unphased by the occasion and did his job well.
Smith – 8 out of 10
Set the tone for the game when he went in hard on Martial and then squared up to the French man when he retaliated. I probably shouldn’t be celebrating this side of the game, but that incident summed up the difference in the two sides. Town wanted it more.
Like Löwe, Smith played as a less adventurous fullback, which helped keep the defensive unit solid. He tucked in, protected the centre-backs but also made the odd foray forward when it was safe to do so.
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Mooy – 9 out of 10
Did a lot of ugly work in the middle of the park, breaking up play and closing down. His relentless pressing led to Mata’s mistake for the opening goal. His run down the pitch after winning the ball back was superb, the layoff to Ince unselfish, and shot from the loose ball sublime.
The new formation suited Mooy, giving him licence to roam forward but still keeping him deep enough to influence the game.
Hogg – 8 out of 10
Did a great job of closing down space in the middle and making life hard for Man United. He ran and ran, making plenty of blocks and tackles.
Matic played the same role but was nowhere near as effective as Hogg.
Williams – 9 out of 10
A brilliant performance from the German-American. Brought energy and aggression to the middle of the park.
He does a lot of defensive work but his forward runs were the thing that impressed me most. He and Mooy took turns to bomb forward, meaning we didn’t miss having a player in the traditional number ten role.
Ince – 8 out of 10
Continues to work hard for the team and looks dangerous going forward. It’s a shame he didn’t score when he broke forward but his skill in the box opened up the chance and luckily Mooy mopped up and scored from Ince’s parried shot.
I worry that the talk of him not succeeding in the Premier League in previous attempts has got inside his head. Just one goal could be enough to shake these doubts, then he could be lethal for us.
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Kachunga – 7 out of 10
Was going well until he had to be subbed due to a back problem. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious and he’ll be in contention for Liverpool next weekend.
Depoitre – 9 out of 10
Terrorised the Manchester defence and made some good tackles. He was isolated for long spells but still did his best to hold the ball up.
His goal is a great example of his persistence paying off and he finished well.
He faded around the 60-minute mark, so it was good we had another striker to bring on.
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Substitutes
van La Parra – 9 out of 10
His finest performance in a Town shirt. He consistently received the ball deep in his own half and carried the ball forward up the field.
These runs forward took a lot of pressure off our defence and opened up a few counter-attacking opportunities for us.
This is one of the few games where he’s played on the right wing for long periods and it suited him. He tends to cut in when on the left, but against United, he hugged the touchline and played better for it.
Mounié – 6 out of 10
Looked rusty when he came on, struggled to win much from Lössl’s hoofs upfield and didn’t get involved enough.
By the time he came on we were playing backs-to-the-wall football, so he didn’t have much support from the other players.
Malone – N/A
A time wasting substitution at the end. Ran around and helped us hang on to the lead.
I wasn’t dreaming, it was for real. Hats off to our men as it showed we have no limits as David Wagner points out. It will not define the season and we have to be consistent against the clubs in and around us. It can’t be just surprises against world class superstars.
I’m thinking of a Liverpool scalp. If we do Utd, we can do Liverpool. Six points from six available would be insane, but we have no limits. It’s the Premier League after all, THE best league for scalps that will live long in the memory.
RVLP had a game that he could receive ‘genuine’ praise from. I’m not a fan of him – he has off periods too much – but he really helped us when he was introduced from the bench.
Anyway TerrierSpirit, let’s both have all our fingers and toes crossed it’s never the run at the length it was from Newcastle to yesterday for us to register another win. Winless runs are part and parcel of the game and I was just pulling my hair out at the fact that we have Man Utd and Liverpool in the month of October and we were going on and on without victory. The goals are going in now, so here’s hoping the ball goes past the opposition goalie more often. The creativity’s there in our locked. They just have to be converted.
in our locker*
Agree with the comments on VLP. He is one step from being premier class. Apart from the result the performance shows the first two wins were not flukes and hopefully can spring forward again, confident that we can compete against any one in this league.
The parallel to 1971 when we won the first two games and then went a long time without a win was in the back of my mind but this win has broken that reflection and it is definitely on to push on from here.
I’m not holding my breath on RVLP, he’s a hit-and-miss player. I wish he wasn’t, but he is just a player that makes smoke comes out of your ears because you just know he’s capable of better.
The competivess we have in abundance, but it’s a results business and it’s points which sustain your position in the league and not performances. I only want the best for Town and that is safety. Runs that go and on like two months (Newcastle to yesterday a prime example) with victory can be harmful, whereas regular registration of points through wins and draws will bolster the points tally and to the 40-point mark.
without victory can be harmful*