Wolves 0-2 Huddersfield: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Mooy Lifts Terriers Out of Relegation Zone

Aaron Mooy scored his first goals since December 2017 to help Huddersfield grind out an all-important 2-0 win away to Wolves that saw them move off the bottom of the Premier League.

Mooy's first goal came after only six minutes, when a well-executed pull-back from Erik Durm allowed him to side-foot home from the edge of the area. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

Wolves, who are now without a win in their last five fixtures, failed to mount an immediate response despite dominating possession. 

However, the Portuguese midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho were hassled and harried, failing to get their team on the front foot. 

The hosts hardly threatened the Huddersfield goal in the opening half, and were lucky to only trail 1-0 after 45 minutes as Steve Mounié should have done better when he was presented with a free header from a corner. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

​Wolves did respond well in the second half, and almost equalised when Raul Jimenez's header was hooked off the line by Philip Billing.

Goal-line technology showed that only 1.8 centimetres of the ball was not over the line. 

After a sustained spell of pressure by Wolves, Mooy made sure that his side took home all three points with just over 15 minutes remaining, brilliantly curling a free-kick into the bottom right-hand corner.

Check out our breakdown of the game below. 


WOLVES


Key Talking Point 

Nuno Espirito Santo's men were desperately poor in the first-half, in what was arguably their worst 45 minutes since their return to the Premier League. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

They were penned in by Huddersfield's aggressive pressing and tireless midfield work. 

After such a promising start on their return to the Premier League, Wolves have suffered a blip in form and are without a win since the start of October. 


Player Ratings


Starting XI: Patricio (7); Bennett (6), Boly (6), Coady (7); Vinagre (7), Neves (6), Moutinho (5), Doherty (5); Cavaleiro (5), Jimenez (6), Costa (6). 


Substitutes: Traore (7), Gibbs-White (7).


STAR MAN 


Nobody stood out for the home side in what was a tepid team performance.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

Wolves' players will be disappointed with their collective performance, as they lacked any sense of cohesion which is somewhat of a surprise given how well-drilled they have been in previous games against ​Arsenal and ​Manchester City

WORST PLAYER 


Although Matt Doherty has enjoyed a fine start to the season, he was not at his best today. He was at fault for Huddersfield's goal, failing to track the run of Erik Durm. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

He did little to atone for his error, failing to provide his usual spark in attack although Huddersfield deserve credit for how well they marshalled the Wolves wing-backs. 


HUDDERSFIELD 


Key Talking Point 


David Wagner's side were energetic from the off, consistently getting bodies forward in the opening exchanges. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

The Terriers' midfield trio of Jonathan Hogg, Philip Billing and Aaron Mooy pressed Wolves effectively, not affording their opponents any space in the middle of the park. 

It is a victory that is fully deserved, and one that will give the men from west Yorkshire confidence that they can avoid relegation for the second successive season. 


Player Ratings 


Starting XI: Lossl (6); Smith (7), Kongolo (7), Schindler (7); Durm (8), Hadergjonaj (7), Hogg (8), Mooy (9*), Billing (8); Pritchard (8), Mounié (6). 


Substitutes: Mbenza (N/A), Williams (N/A), Stankovic (N/A). 


STAR MAN

Aaron Mooy's goals may have been the difference between the two sides but the Australian was influential in all areas of the pitch, his energy epitomising the Terriers' performance over the course of the 90 minutes. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

In fact, Mooy was so influential in the first-half in thwarting the playmaking prowess of Joao Moutinho that the latter was substituted at half-time after looking completely off the pace. 

Mooy's two strikes were the least he deserved in what was a thoroughly impressive individual display.


​WORST PLAYER


David Wagner will be nothing but thrilled by his team's endeavour, as they ran out deserved winners. As such, it would be unjust to say that one particular player performed poorly. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town - Premier League

However, if there is one concern for the German, it is that his side only won by a 2-0 margin after being so dominant in the first half. 

On another day, Wolves could easily have made ​Huddersfield pay for their wastefulness in front of goal. 


Looking Ahead 


Wolves travel to Cardiff City for an 8pm kick-off on Friday night, looking for what would be their first win in six games.  

Huddersfield are in action next Saturday as they welcome Brighton to the John Smith's Stadium. Kick-off in that fixture is at 3pm. 


Source : 90min