Huddersfield finally get first win of the season against Fulham

Fireworks may have been in the air for Bonfire night but the real sparks flew on the John Smith’s Stadium pitch. David Wagner was finally able to celebrate a victory in the 2018/19 season as Christopher Schindler’s first half header was enough to secure all three points and lift Huddersfield Town off the bottom of the table at the expense of their opponents, Fulham.

The hosts put together their most complete performance of the season at a time when they needed it most. Their high pressing caused the visitors no end of problems in the first half, especially Florent Hadergjonaj who kept the promising Ryan Sessegnon at bay.

After worries that The Terriers were too one-dimensional a concerted effort was made to play more through the middle with Aaron Mooy and Alex Pritchard linking up well. Philip Billing was also influential and nearly opened the scoring in spectacular fashion. The midfielder collected the ball 25-yards out following an excellent tackle from captain Jonathan Hogg. The Danish player let rip with his effort crashing off the crossbar and over. Sergio Rico in the Fulham goal was well beaten.

In his pre-match notes Wagner urged the fans to will his players on and they did not disappoint. A wall of noise surrounded the John Smith’s Stadium and Schindler nearly brought the house down when his head met a Chris Lowe cross on the half hour mark to give the home side a vital lead.

The week has been filled with questions about the security of Slavisa Jokanovic’s job and those fears will not have been eased after an inept performance in the first 45 minutes.

The Serbian manager often shrugged in frustration, shaking his head and spreading his arms as his team huffed and puffed. He will surely be facing another inquest as Fulham now prop up the Premier League table.

The visitors came out for the second half playing better but they were still second best in all areas of the pitch.

Jokanovic moved German forward Andre Schurrle further up front to partner Aleksandar Mitrovic and the duo slowly started to pull the Huddersfield back three across, allowing the game to become more stretched.

The visitors did find the net through Schurrle only for it to be ruled out for offside. The World Cup winner thought he was in again with just ten minutes to place. Again, the linesman’s flag thwarted his efforts.

Pritchard could have doubled the host’s lead but his sweetly struck half volley flew over the bar. Shortly after substitute Isaac Mbenza found himself running away from a chasing pack of Fulham defenders but his finish was poor.

Huddersfield had a shout for a penalty as Denis Odoi looked to move his shoulder in the direction of a ball Laurent Depoitre was trying to control. Referee Anthony Taylor waved away the protests much to the irritation of the home fans who certainly made their voices heard.

However he would bring delight when he puckered his lips a final time to signal the end of the game, the stadium erupted with emotion and relief as Huddersfield finally were able to register a first win of the campaign.

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