Now you know my name, says Terriers hero
An HOUR after full time and Steve Mounie was still smiling. He was going to lap it all up. Two goals on his Premier League debut and he made sure those who knew him revelled in the moment as much as he did.
As Huddersfield’s players departed the pitch at Selhurst Park, the club’s £11.5million record signing dashed across to a group of French football fans who had travelled from Montpellier — the place where manager David Wagner visited six months ago to get his first real glimpse of the striker.
‘They started shouting at me in French,’ the 22-year- old said. ‘I stopped to take a picture and to speak with them.’
He’s going to have to get used to giving up more of his time if he continues to do what he did to Crystal Palace.
There is no question he’s enjoying being part of Huddersfield’s journey in a world in which many believe they cannot compete.
He is also aware, though, that some probably did not know who he was until 5pm on Saturday.
‘now people know who I am,’ he said. ‘It was amazing to start like this. For my first game it’s a big confidence boost.’
A confidence boost maybe but not a one-off from the man who scored 14 goals in Ligue 1 last season — just one shy of the haul by Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe.
His first goal against Palace was a powerful header guided into the corner and his second a snapshot that beat goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey at his near post.
Wagner knew after he made that initial trip to the south of France that Mounie would fit in. In the 45-year- old German’s opinion, the personality of the player is just as important as their ability as a footballer.
He added: ‘He asks if something is unknown for him or he isn’t sure what he has to do. That attitude is unusual for a striker. And he has a great attitude and a great working attitude. A real Terrier attitude.’ CRYSTAL PALACE (3-4-3): Hennessey 5; Fosu-Mensah 5 (Tomkins 78min), Dann 5, Riedewald 5; Ward 5, Milivojevic 5 (Townsend 45, 6), Puncheon 5.5, Van Aanholt 5.5; Zaha 6.5, Benteke 6, Loftus-Cheek 6. Subs not used: Speroni, Lee, Schlupp, Ladapo, Eyenga-Lokilo. Booked: Puncheon. Manager: Frank de Boer 5. HUDDERSFIELD TOWN (4-2-3-1): Lossl 7.5; Smith 7 (Williams 57, 6), Jorgensen 7.5, Schindler 7, Lowe 6.5; Mooy 8.5, Billing 7; Kachunga 7, Palmer 6.5 (Quaner 72, 6), Ince 7.5; Mounie 9 (La Parra 86). Subs not used: Coleman, Malone, Depoitre, Hefele. Scorers: Ward 24 og, Mounie 26, 78. Booked: Smith, Palmer, Mounie. Manager: David Wagner 8. Man of the match: Steve Mounie. Referee: Jon Moss 6. Attendance: 25,448.