WORTH ALL THE MOUNIE
<M<IP B@:B# <M<IP >F8C# <M<IP >8D< Record buys inspire Terriers romp
SUDDENLY it is raining goals at Huddersfield again – with Steve Mounie and Alex Pritchard proving that David Wagner was right to splash the cash.
Wagner broke the club’s transfer record to buy striker Mounie for £11m from Montpellier last July, then smashed it again last month to pay Norwich an initial £12m for Pritchard.
The Huddersfield boss gambled on that extra attacking quality to keep the Terriers’ heads above water in their Premier League survival battle.
And on a day of all weathers in west Yorkshire – sunshine, rain and sleet – his two big-money buys gave Huddersfield a lifeline in their bid to stop sinking straight back to the Championship.
Boost
Wagner’s side halted a run of five straight league defeats as they gathered their first points of 2018.
And they did it by scoring more goals in 90 minutes than they had in their previous eight league matches.
Wagner believes that Tuesday’s 4-1 FA Cup fourth-round replay win at Birmingham gave his players the confidence boost they needed after their poor run.
And he also revealed he gave his players a pep talk to lift them after defeats against Liverpool and Manchester United.
Wagner said: “This was a huge win for us. We said before the game that this match was massive for us.
“But in the dressing room at Old Trafford, we said, ‘Okay, boys. Now we have the difficult fixtures behind us. It’s time to build up momentum against opponents where maybe we can be more competitive’.
“It’s one thing to speak about it, but it’s another thing to do it. That shows character. The players took the first step on Tuesday, and now they have taken another step.”
Huddersfield were helped by a woeful display by Bournemouth – who did nothing to reward fans who had boarded coaches in Dorset at 1.45am to get to west Yorkshire in time for the noon kick-off.
Manager Eddie Howe hinted that his players had started to get complacent after a seven-match unbeaten league run that included famous victories over Arsenal and Chelsea.
Howe said: “I don’t think the players could have been thinking better about themselves. But sometimes it’s dangerous.
“Sometimes it can go too far the other way. You can get a little complacent and almost expect the win or the performance to happen, while forgetting the fundamentals.” The game was only seven minutes old when Mounie darted on to Scott Malone’s pass down the flank, outpaced Simon Francis and cut the ball back for Pritchard to sweep in first time for his first-ever Premier League goal. It was a sweet moment for Pritchard, especially with England boss Gareth Southgate watching from the stand.
Bournemouth were quickly level as Jordon Ibe sent Ryan Fraser away down the right, and Junior Stanislas controlled and scored as Florent Hadergjonaj failed to cut out the cross.
But Mounie then restored the lead, heading home Aaron Mooy’s inswinging free-kick after Lewis Cook had brought down Jonathan Hogg.
Sloppy
Bournemouth’s Steve Cook hit the post from Charlie Daniels’ clever low corner before the break – but ended up with an own goal against his name in the second half.
The defender’s sloppy ball out of defence was intercepted by Rajiv van La Parra, and he just beat Mounie to the scoring touch from the Dutchman’s low cross.
In stoppage time, Pritchard’s superb run was slowed by a Nathan Ake trip and stopped altogether by a Dan Gosling shove, with Van La Parra sending Asmir Begovic the wrong way from the spot.
There was one worry for Huddersfield as Australian midfielder Mooy was carried off on a stretcher with 15 minutes to go – but Wagner insisted it was only a deep cut to his knee that needed stitches and not ligament damage.