Town beat the league leaders on the road!
- Huddersfield Town beat Fulham 1-2
- First win at Craven Cottage since 1993
- Goals from Danny Ward and Duane Holmes
Huddersfield Town secured their first win at Craven Cottage since 1993 on Saturday afternoon, beating league-leading Fulham 2-1 after a monumental effort full of Terrier Spirit!
A Danny Ward strike, alongside a penalty from Duane Homes, saw Town secure the goods and extend their unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions.
Despite the wet and windy conditions, both sides started the game brightly, flying forward when possible.
The 14th minute saw Town work the ball beautifully into the back of the net, but Sorba Thomas was flagged offside in the build-up.
Moments later, Ollie Turton unleashed an incredible sliding tackle to deny Aleksandar Mitrović, who was racing clean through.
The game then settled with for a period, with neither side able to find the clean-cut chance that they needed to take the lead. Town kept the league's top scorers at arm's length, forcing their attacks out wide and dealing well with balls delivered into the box.
However, Fulham came incredibly close to opening the scoring on the half hour mark. A lovely ball fell to Fabio Carvalho, who flashed it across the face of goal for Mitrović, who couldn’t meet it!
60 seconds later the deadlock was broken - by the Terriers! Danny Ward hit home his 11th of the season off his left boot, with the ball deflected into his path off a defender following a cross from Harry Toffolo.
Wardy tried for a second nine minutes later, but Marek Rodák was able to gather his shot with ease.
Down the opposite end of the pitch, Tom Lees threw himself in front of a Mitrović strike moments later to help keep the scoreline as was.
As the clock showed 42 minutes played, Town were handed a penalty following a foul on Thomas by Rodák. Duane Holmes stepped up to the spot and made no mistake in hitting it home!
Fulham came out the brighter of the two sides following the break, with both Neco Williams and Carvalho trying their luck.
Williams sent his shot well wide and over, whilst Nicholls denied Carvalho at full stretch to turn it around his post.
The 62nd minute of play saw Jonathan Hogg go in the book for a foul on Carvalho.
Moments later, Matty Pearson showcased a great challenge in his own box to keep Neeskens Kebano, and consequently the hosts, at bay!
Fulham started to up the pressure, with Town’s defence working in unison to keep them from calling Nicholls into action.
Nicholls produced an UNBELIEVABLE save in the 82nd moment to deny Mitrović’s header, with the striker finally escaping the shackles of Lees and Pearson to try his luck! His expert header was arrowing towards the bottom corner, but Town's custodian got across excellently to his right to claw the ball away.
Unfortunately for Town, Fulham were able to find their equaliser seconds later. Williams' speculative shot from range was heading well wide but was deflected into the path of Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who settled and produced a great finish across Nicholls to fire inside the far post.
The Cottagers continued to pile on the pressure, with late substitute Naby Sarr excuting an excellent tackle to deny Mitrović within minutes of his introduction!
Town held out for six minutes of injury time, to walk away from Craven Cottage with all three Sky Bet Championship points!
Town Line-Up (4-4-2)
Lee Nicholls; Harry Toffolo, Tom Lees, Matty Pearson, Ollie Turton; Duane Holmes (Danel Sinani, 75’), Jonathan Hogg (c), Jon Russell, Sorba Thomas (Naby Sarr, 86’); Lewis O’Brien, Danny Ward (Jordan Rhodes, 84’)
Unused Subs
Jacob Chapman; Josh Koroma, Josh Ruffels, Carel Eiting
Town Scorers
Danny Ward (31’), Duane Holmes (pen, 41’)
Town Booking
Jonathan Hogg (61’)
