Huddersfield Town battled hard and produced enough quality to come away from the midlands with all three points against West Brom. The win gives Town a bit of breathing space and is a huge boost to our hopes of another season in the Premier League.
The players did remarkably well and delivered Town’s third away win in the Premier League. The scoreline is somewhat flattering to West Brom, as Town were the dominant team and nobody can complain about the outcome.
Lössl – 7 out of 10
Looked weak on crosses, particularly corners. He came off his line but got nowhere near the ball on several occasions, including West Brom’s goal. He argued with the ref for more protection but he needs to be stronger.
Having said that, he pulled off a great save from a Chris Brunt freekick which stopped West Brom from pulling level.
Kongolo – 7 out of 10
Composed and strong as ever. He’s only been at the club two minutes but seems to have slotted in well on the left side of the defence. He supported van La Parra, making sure he was in position to cover if VLP lost the ball.
Schindler – 8 out of 10
Stood up to some physical pressure from Rondon and won plenty of headers. He really shines in the closing stages of games when we’re defending a lead. No matter what’s thrown at him, he always looked completely cool – as we saw at Wembley last May.
Zanka – 8 out of 10
Did a good job of keeping Rodriguez quiet and broke up play well. Schindler grabs the headlines in Town’s defensive line, but Zanka is also performing at a very high level for us.
Hadergjonaj – 8 out of 10
Another strong performance from the Swiss international. He put in a real shift, working up and down the wing, putting in decent crosses and making important tackles. His movement in the build-up to the first goal opened up the space for Quaner’s square ball to van La Parra. A bit unlucky to be subbed early in the second half.
Hogg – 7 out of 10
A typical battling performance from Hoggy, shut down space well and didn’t allow West Brom to settle on the ball.
Williams – 8 out of 10
Danny Williams has had to play a more defensive minded role at times this season, which he’s done well. Playing alongside Hogg at West Brom gave him the freedom to attack more, knowing Hogg was screening the defence.
This suited Williams’ natural game and he drove forward and regularly gained yards for Town with his positive runs. He also had a long shot that deserved a goal, and a couple of other chances from outside the box. All in all, a great performance.
van La Parra – 9 out of 10
Scuffed the shot for his goal, but managed to find the net anyway. He deserves credit for getting himself in the right position for Big Col’s ball across the box. Aside from his goal he made a lot of runs with the ball and caused West Brom’s defence problems on the break.
Interestingly, VLP also made six tackles, more than any other player on the pitch. He’s not recognised for his defensive efforts, but he made a difference and by pressing West Brom high up the pitch he started a few counter attacks for Town.
Pritchard – 8 out of 10
The assist for Mounié’s goal was lovely, the kind of pass that Mounié’s not been receiving much and why we’ve been in need of a quality number ten. Pritchard had the creative spark that Town needed and was able to find space to get on the ball in tight areas.
He might be a bit disappointed to have been subbed in the second half, but I get the feeling Wagner worries his lack of stature makes us more fragile in physical battles. It is comical to see him trying to win headers (he went up for four and won none of them), so I can understand why Depoitre was brought on to close out the game.
Quaner – 7 out of 10
Big Col looked brightest in the first half and seemed to fade as the second half went on. I don’t know if this is down to fitness or more that fullbacks understand the limits of his game, and after a while work out that he’s quick but lacks control.
His assist for the first goal was exceptional, his run into the box bamboozled the defence and he was unselfish with his pass to VLP. This was Collin’s fourth assist of the season, making him the top assister in the team. Say what you like about him having cricket bat legs (I’m looking at you terrierblog), he’s coming up with the goods and laying on goals in the Premier League.
Mounié – 8 out of 10
Pritchard’s through ball was wonderful, but Mounié’s finish was brilliant too. The great thing was that he never looked like he was going to miss, the way he glided onto the ball and caressed it into the net made the difficult look easy.
I genuinely believe that Mounié’s recent improvement in form is in part due to the fans singing a song about him. He’s said in the press that the hairs on his neck stand up when he hears it, but you can also see his posture change on the pitch when his song is sung. He’s now working much harder and his movement is better.
I suspect there’s a lot more gone on with him this season than has been said publicly, but whatever issues he’s had seem to be in the past now.
Substitutes
Smith – 7 out of 10
A bit of a surprise to see him come on in the fifty-second minute for Hadergjonaj, who was playing well and didn’t look injured. I suspect it was because Smith is a better defender, and it’s hard to fault that logic, as we saw the game out and Smithy looked solid.
Depotire – 7 out of 10
I liked David Wagner’s thinking with this sub. Rather than a truly defensive sub of taking off a winger and putting in a defender or defensive midfielder, he put on a more physical striker who could win the ball back high up the field. Depoitre did the job he came on to do well. He chased down the defence, provided another aerial target and helped us to close out the game.
Ince – N/A
Didn’t have long on the pitch but relieved a bit of pressure on the defence with his runs up field. Might feel unlucky to only be making the bench, but the attacking three that started the game all either scored or provided an assist. If Ince can add a final product to his game then I’m sure he’ll force his way into the starting eleven.