David Wagner speaks. “This is huge for us. We have the winning feeling back and a clean sheet as well. I think this is one of our most important results in the past three years. Everybody needed to get this belief back. I don’t care how we performed football-wise. Everybody has seen the pressure was on for both teams, but the spirit we showed, we left everything on the grass. In the first half, we deserved to lead and in the second half we kept them out.”
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Read our match report of events in west Yorkshire:
As for Fulham, they were poor. Really poor. Slavisa Jokanovic’s side may have conceded just the one goal, but they looked frail every time Huddersfield – who had not scored at home since April – went on the attack. Going forward, Mitrovic kept going, but they offered precious little, with André Schürrle missing what was probably their best chance, and it was hardly an open goal. It was in midfield where Fulham were really overruled; Cairney was largely anonymous, while Seri and Anguissa went missing. Hogg and Billing ran the show. Next up for Fulham? A trip to Anfield on Sunday. For now, it doesn’t bear thinking about.
Wagner is doing a lap of the pitch, basking in all of the applause thrown at him and his players. The Huddersfield supporters are absolutely loving it. That result moves them above Cardiff and Fulham, level on points with Newcastle.
Full-time: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Fulham
A priceless victory for David Wagner’s side, with a first-half own goal by Timothy Fosu-Mensah ultimately the difference. It is a sixth straight defeat for Fulham, who slide to the bottom of the table, with Huddersfield leapfrogging them into 18th. The John Smith’s Stadium is rocking, and it’s the happiest of anniversaries of Wagner, who is celebrating three years in the job today. What now for Slavisa Jokanovic and his side? His Fulham side were simply not at that races from start to finish. Rico, the goalkeeper, and André Schürrle fall to their knees. For the hosts, a special mention for the central-midfield pairing of Jonathan Hogg and Philip Billing who made Cairney, Seri and co look plain ordinary.
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90+2 min: Bacuna revs up the home crowd. They’re up on their feet bouncing, 90 seconds or so away from their first Premier League win of the season.
90+1 min: Mbenza’s effort is deflected wide off Le Marchand for a corner. Aaron Mooy takes an age to get to the corner flag. Huddersfield play a bit of keep-ball, with Depoitre holding off the challenge before Bacuna wins a foul.
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90 min: There will be four added minutes.
90 min: Bacuna replaces Terence Kongolo.
88 min: Huddersfield are knackered, but Billing wins a free-kick just inside their own half. The home support react as if they’ve scored a second. They can taste that first win of the season.
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86 min: Seri whips in a smart corner, but Mitrovic’s header is blocked. Fulham are staring at sixth straight league defeat.
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85 min: Fulham dink the ball over the top of the Huddersfield defence in search of Mitrovic – but Lossl rushes out of goal to head the ball clear. And now Kongolo heads out Sessegnon’s deep cross for a corner. It’s kitchen-sink time.
83 min: Mbenza’s involved straight away, but he really should do better. He shanks an effort painfully wide, after being slipped through on goal by Billing. As well as getting it all wrong, the loanee, only seconds after coming on, perhaps took it too early. Unfashionable, but Billing’s been superb.
82 min: Isaac Mbenza comes on for his seventh Premier League appearance, replacing the impressive Alex Pritchard.
80 min: André Schürrle is played in Cairney, but the German, who opens up his body to wrap his right foot around the ball, cannot get his effort on target. He had Jorgensen back-pedalling and Lossl worried. That was a big chance given how few and far between they have been for Fulham tonight.
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79 min: Billing does well, snuffing the ball out from Cyrus Christie who had hoped to propel himself down the right wing. Fulham have grown in momentum, largely because of pumping the ball that bit longer to Mitrovic, but this is probably their best spell of the evening. Huddersfield, meanwhile, are readying changes.
77 min: Mitrovic does superbly to buy a free-kick out of Jorgensen. Rico wellies the ball downfield, and the striker shoves the defender aside and backs into his marker. He holds up play, before being fouled. Fulham look to play it quickly, but then Cairney’s stopped in his tracks. Seri’s free-kick drops wide of goal.
75 min: Suddenly, Fulham are three-on-two but André Schürrle is flagged offside. He wanted the pass to be a little quicker. Aleksandar Mitrovic’s frustrations earn him a booking.
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74 min: Kongolo clips Mitrovic, earning Fulham a free-kick on halfway. Instead of lumping it forward, they patiently build, but Mitrovic is flagged yards offside by the time that André Schürrle lashes the ball beyond Lossl.
71 min: Huddersfield break down the left, with Pritchard beating the offside trap before shimmying down the left. Depoitre is among those awaiting the cross, but the winger fails to really get his head up and makes a mess of it. Le Marchand duly clears. Moments before, Schindler made a smart block on Mitrovic.
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70 min: To make things worse, Cairney doesn’t seem to be moving too freely. He just appeared to signal to the Fulham bench that he needed to come off.
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67 min: The corner drops in the box and Pritchard unleashes a stinging first-time effort from the edge of the area! It jets just over Sergio Rico’s goal. Huddersfield could do with a bit of breathing space and very nearly made some.
66 min: Philip Billing does brilliantly again, nicking the ball in midfield. He’s totally bossed things in the middle of the park. Huddersfield stream forward down the right, again through Florent Hadergjonaj and win another corner.
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64 min: Kevin McDonald, the Fulham substitute, is in trouble and is replaced by Stefan Johansen. Things go from bad to worse, as Jokanovic is forced into making his third and final change of the evening. They haven’t got a lot else on the bench anyway, really. Except a sea of defenders.
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63 min: Rico slices a routine clearance up into the gods, before Sessegnon fails to get the ball under control, instead it cannons off his shin and out of play. That sums it up.
62 min: The Premier League confirm the news that Christopher Schindler had feared: “Following review, the Huddersfield goal has been adjudged to be a Timothy Fosu-Mensah own goal,” the league says.
59 min: Kevin McDonald plays a clever ball over the top of the Huddersfield defence, but Mitrovic is eventually flagged offside. André Schürrle, who was in close proximity, would have been onside. Never mind. Fulham could do with a bit more of that, to give Huddersfield something to think about at least.
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57 min: Le Marchand lashes the ball out of play, allowing Huddersfield to pen Fulham back in and gain some territory in the process.
56 min: Laurent Depoitre’s name is being sung loud and proud around the John Smith’s Stadium; the stuff of dreams.
55 min: Florent Hadergjonaj flies down the right-hand side, but Sessegnon does well to just usher the defender away from goal. Meanwhile, Wagner does make his first change, but it’s Laurent Depoitre, on in place of Mounié.
54 min: Fulham win a couple of corners in quick succession. Mitrovic’s first effort is deflected wide before steering his second wide of goal altogether.
52 min: Billing is back up and moving. Good news.
50 min: Philip Billing is in pain on halfway after a clash with Jean Michaël Seri. David Wagner looks as though he’s going to be forced into a change.
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49 min: ... Mounié wins the header from the long throw, flicking on for Mooy and Jorgensen, but Fulham just about clear their lines. That was so simple.
48 min: Florent Hadergjonaj does well to help out Steve Mounié down the right flank, winning a throw-in which will be launched in by Philip Billing.
47 min: Cyrus Christie bombs down the right and wins an early corner. Mitrovic is lurking on the edge of the box but Huddersfield’s Jorgensen get in to make the block. Fulham have shown more intensity in 90-odd seconds than that dire first 45 minutes.
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46 min: Fulham get us back under way. What kind of reaction might we see? Jokanovic had to change something. They surely can’t play much worse.
A double change for Fulham at the break, with Cyrus Christie and Kevin McDonald summoned. Luciano Vietto and Fosu-Mensah have been hooked.
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Fulham have been a shadow of their old self, second-best and sloppy. Ryan Sessegnon’s brother, for one, is not overly impressed with Fulham’s first-half display, nor Slavisa Jokanovic’s selection. Chris Sessegnon tweets “You’re playing last years top goal scorer LEFT BACK. OMDSSSS”, six minutes after saying “I’m acc not watching this anymore”, and that 12 minutes after: “This is so bad.”
Half-time: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Fulham
Christopher Schindler’s second goal of the season is the difference at the interval, with the Huddersfield captain’s header ending the 658-minute goal drought on home soil. Fulham have been painfully poor, with Huddersfield running rings round their backline. Denis Odoi and Maxime Le Marchand have looked unconvincing at best, while Sessegnon and Fosu-Mensah have been repeatedly caught out at full-back. And Sessegnon can count himself fortunate not to have been pulled up for a foul on Florent Hadergjonaj inside the box just before the half-time whistle.
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45+1 min: Rico claws the ball back into play to make a save from a Huddersfield corner before Fulham go up the other end and win one themselves.
45 min: There will be two added minutes.
44 min: No penalty! Florent Hadergjonaj is felled in the box by Ryan Sessegnon. There is definitely a sneaky trip by the teenager on the Huddersfield full-back as he surges towards the byline, but Anthony Taylor’s not having any of it. The home appeals are in vain.
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43 min: Cairney pings the ball all the way back to Rico in the Fulham goal from almost halfway. That sums things up for them, really. They’ve looked second-best, bereft of confidence and totally out of ideas.
41 min: Huddersfield are working Fulham so hard, and Slavisa Jokanovic’s side just don’t know where to turn next. Jorgensen does really well to pen in the Fulham defence, before Le Marchand eventually hacks the ball clear.
38 min: Vietto dinks the ball just wide of goal ... but the linesman’s flag had been up for a while. It was good play by Sessegnon, driving down the left.
37 min: Thirty-seven minutes played and Fulham have been desperately poor. They’ve made Huddersfield look like world beaters in patches.
35 min: Christopher Schindler’s second goal of the season makes him Huddersfield’s top scorer. His goal is also his team’s first at home since 14 April, when Tom Ince struck against Watford. That’s a 658-minute wait.
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34 min: Fosu-Mensah chops down Chris Löwe and picks up a yellow card for his efforts. Soon after, he gifts a routine pass straight infield to Jonathan Hogg.
32 min: Pritchard’s movement is causing no end of problems for a panicky Fulham back line. Le Marchand, preferred to Tim Ream, has not covered himself in glory so far tonight. Down both flanks, Huddersfield are finding joy against Sessegnon and Fosu-Mensah. Defensively, Fulham are a mess.
30 min: The home supporters are up on their feet, they’re absolutely loving this. It’s one-way traffic at the moment, with Huddersfield in the ascendency.
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GOAL! Huddersfield 1-0 Fulham (Fosu-Mensah og, 29)
Advantage Huddersfield. Schindler thumps a downward header beyond Rico, via Fosu-Mensah, converting Chris Löwe’s ball in after the initial corner was cleared. How will Fulham react?
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27 min: Rico gets out a strong left hand to deny Pritchard! The winger darts inside after Florent Hadergjonaj stood up Sessegnon. Pritchard drifts infield before his stinging effort is deflected wide by Le Marchand. Billing initially did well, keeping Cairney and Anguissa at arm’s length before kickstarting another move.
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25 min: Jean Michaël Seri plays a weak pass back to Odoi, and Mooy comes bundling in to make the challenge. He catches him, but he meant well. Fulham, last season so assured and cute in possession last season, have been largely wasteful so far.
23 min: A neat give-and-go releases Mooy down the left, exposing Denis Odoi in the same breath. His cross is cut out, but Huddersfield ripped open Fulham there. Chris Löwe did well initially, driving forward unchallenged before Pritchard’s neat interchange with Mooy, who has enjoyed plenty of the ball.
22 min: Mounié heads over! Aaron Mooy twists and turns away from Timothy Fosu-Mensah to buy himself a yard of space. He swings in a lovely ball with his right foot, and the Huddersfield striker rises above Le Marchand to nod a header wide. It was always going wide, but still, more encouragement for the hosts.
20 min: Schindler comes charging out of defence, crashing a headed clearance into touch. Lovely stuff, and the home fans sound their appreciation. Fulham are starting to see more of the ball, but it’s still Huddersfield in the driving seat.
18 min: Fulham carve an opening down the left, after a good challenge by Vietto. It’s a meaty challenge, but Anthony Taylor’s happy with it. He then plays in the marauding Sessegnon, but Huddersfield get a block in. Back to square one for the visitors.
17 min: Fulham struggle to retain possession, with Anguissa and then Odoi both guilty of perhaps trying too much. Huddersfield sense their over-exuberance and win the ball back. They just need to calm things down a bit.
16 min: Mitrovic backs into Schindler, but the Huddersfield skipper stands tall to ease out the Serbia striker. Mitrovic has just come alive the last few minutes.
15 min: Billing smashes the crossbar! What an effort! It’s a stinging left-footed effort from almost 30 yards. Huddersfield did brilliantly to turn over possession in the first place, with Jonathan Hogg mugging Mitrovic, who had come deep in search of the ball. Fulham survive; Rico would have had no chance with that.
13 min: In the end it’s Chris Löwe who flights in the ball in, but Steve Mounié cannot make any firm contact with the cross. Meanwhile, Anthony Taylor is having a few technical difficulties with his earpiece, but luckily the fourth official Jon Moss is on hand to help a brother out. Jokanovic just wants to get on with it.
12 min: Le Marchand is penalised for another foul on Alex Pritchard, who has enjoyed a lively start. Florent Hadergjonaj was again instrumental in the buildup to that move. Aaron Mooy will swing it in from the right, 25 yards from goal ...
11 min: Wagner is prowling his technical area. He should be fairly happy with this start. Fulham have been pretty anonymous, except for that little scare all of Huddersfield’s own doing when Kongolo left his goalkeeper a little short.
9 min: Fosu-Mensah goes long in search of Mitrovic, who does well but Schindler steals in to nab the ball away from Schürrle. The German forward has not exactly made a brilliant start this game.
8 min: Sessegnon looks to play in Schürrle down the left, but Huddersfield soon snuff it out. They press forward, with Mounié doing well after more good work by Florent Hadergjonaj bombing infield.
6 min: Huddersfield attack down the left, with Pritchard robbing Le Marchand of the ball and then Chris Löwe whipping in a cross from the opposite flank, forcing Sessegnon to steer the ball away from danger.
5 min: Another plucky foul by André Schürrle earns Huddersfield a free-kick deep inside their own half. In fact, the hosts get away with one, with a sloppy and undercooked back pass by Kongolo dealt with by Lössl with Vietto lurking.
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4 min: Mooy and Pritchard combine, but the latter’s pass in search of Florent Hadergjonaj is cut out by Sessegnon. Huddersfield go again, this time probing down the left after Philip Billing holds off a challenge in midfield.
2 min: André Schürrle scathes down Florent Hadergjonaj, so Huddersfield can build an attack. They look in the mood, Fulham a little panicked. They will have to soak up some early pressure by the hosts.
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1 min: Huddersfield start on the front foot, penning Fulham in with the early high press. Sessegnon has a throw-in down the left.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeep!
And Huddersfield get us under way, after an impeccable minute’s silence in honour of the five people who lost their lives in the Leicester helicopter crash.
Both sets of players have warmed up in special T-shirts, with the words #TogetherWithLeicester, and the respective club crests. The John Smith’s Stadium is slowly filling up ahead of kick-off.
It’s a supremely foggy evening in Huddersfield. Is that a sign of what’s in store? It ought to be entertaining fare, with two hopeless defences pitting their wits against one another. Fulham have shipped 17 goals in five games, Huddersfield a meagre 10. The Championship must feel a world ago now for Fulham, but they beat the Terriers by an aggregate score of 9-1 in their two matches in 2016-17, before David Wagner’s side won that improbable promotion. Both teams badly need a victory.
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Headline team news: Fulham captain Tom Cairney starts his first Premier League game since August, while Maxime Le Marchand is preferred to Tim Ream in defence alongside Denis Odoi in the only change. Conceding goals has been Fulham’s achilles heel, so there is a shed load of defenders on the bench, with Cyrus Christie, Alfie Mawson, Calum Chambers and Ream all making up the numbers. For Huddersfield, fit-again Kongolo, Hadergjonaj and Mounié come into the starting XI in place of Durm, Mbenza and Depoitre.
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The teams!
Huddersfield Town: Lössl; Löwe, Schindler, Jorgensen, Hadergjonaj; Kongolo, Mooy, Pritchard, Hogg, Billing; Mounié
Subs: Hamer, Smith, Bacuna, Sobhi, van La Parra, Mbenza, Depoitre
Fulham: Rico; Fosu-Mensah, Odoi, Le Marchand, Sessegnon; Cairney, Anguissa, Seri; Vietto, Mitrovic, Schürrle
Subs: Bettinelli, Christie, Mawson, Chambers, Ream, McDonald, Johansen
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Preamble
So, could this be it? Could this be the evening Huddersfield Town register their first win of the season and get that monkey off their backs, or will Fulham rediscover that winning feeling in west Yorkshire?
Slavisa Jokanovic’s side have looked badly out of sorts, defensively frail and dreadfully naive. Rather than supplement what stock they already had, a lavish £100m summer spree has rocked the boat, so much so that a sixth straight defeat would probably leave Jokanovic out of work. It is all a rather sad indictment of how quickly things can change, with Jokanovic rightly lauded for the football his side en route to promotion via Wembley last season.
“This kind of situation is part of football. I am not here three days, I am here three years and the board must have some kind of opinion about my work,” Jokanovic said. “From my side, I have the confidence, and believe in my job.” His hungry group, harmonious squad and slick operation of last season feels a long, long time ago, with Jokanovic instead playing pick ’n mix with his squad, seemingly at a loss of knowing his best team.
At the back, injuries have not helped, but none of Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Alfie Mawson nor Maxime Le Marchand have covered themselves in glory. The goalkeeping situation has been downright strange, with Sergio Rico, Fabri and Marcus Bettinelli taking it turns in between the sticks. Meanwhile, the ever-present midfield axis of Stefan Johansen, Tom Cairney and Kevin McDonald has also been broken up, with Jean Michael Seri and Frank Anguissa among those to command central roles.
Huddersfield, who could welcome back club-record signing Terence Kongolo after illness, have been equally hopeless, but David Wagner is adamant his team are close to a big result. “Everyone feels that we are ready and that we really want to take this opportunity,” he said.
Kick-off: 8pm (GMT)
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