Huddersfield Town makes winning debut, West Brom defeats Bournemouth

A Joel Ward own goal and Steve Mounie's double saw Huddersfield win on its Premier League debut at Crystal Palace 3-0, while Hegazi's header earned West Brom all three points.

Published : Aug 12, 2017 22:34 IST

Huddersfield Town made a dream start to life in the Premier League as Steve Mounie's double helped ruin Frank de Boer's Crystal Palace debut with a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park.

Pegged as relegation favourites after ensuring promotion via the Championship play-offs, David Wagner's men dictated matters in the first half and made top-flight history as they broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute.

Joel Ward's own goal saw Huddersfield become the first team to net its maiden Premier League goal in that manner.

The lead was doubled just three minutes later through Mounie's fine header and the host was lucky not to see De Boer's first game in charge take a further turn for the worse before half-time.

Palace did improve after the second-half restart in a bid to avoid an opening-day defeat for De Boer, who was sacked after only 85 days in charge in his previous managerial stint at Inter.

The efforts of Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha were not good enough to haul Palace back into the game, and Mounie's assured first-time finish made sure of the points 12 minutes from time.

Tom Ince, the only player in the Huddersfield starting XI with Premier League experience, saw a right-wing cross fall to him inside two minutes, but could only direct his half-volley straight at Wayne Hennessey.

Huddersfield continued to have the better of the proceedings and, after Hennessey had comfortably kept out Philip Billing's long-range drive, the visitor found the net in the Premier League for the first time.

Cristopher Schindler flicked Aaron Mooy's corner to the far post, where Mathias Jorgensen's off-target effort found the net via the unfortunate Ward.

And Mooy was the creator again as Huddersfield doubled its lead in much more aesthetically pleasing fashion.

The Australia midfielder produced an excellent left-wing delivery and Mounie rose brilliantly to power beyond a helpless Hennessey and into the top-left corner.

Jorgensen should have made it 3-0 when he was left unmarked at a corner, but the Denmark defender could only direct his header well wide of the target.

Zaha then spurned Palace's first real sight of goal as he pounced on a defensive mistake, only to see his low shot turned wide by Jonas Lossl and not receive a corner for his efforts and Christian Benteke headed wide from a corner just before half-time, with his subsequent frustration a fitting encapsulation of the mood at Selhurst Park at the interval.

Andros Townsend replaced the injured Luka Milivojevic at the start of the second half for Palace, and the host did the pressing early in the second half, Benteke superbly denied by a diving save from Lossl following a Patrick van Aanholt corner.

Lossl produced a further demonstration of his reflexes to keep out a Zaha effort at the near post but only a fine recovery by Timothy Fosu-Mensah prevented Mounie from firing in again at the other end after Scott Dann had lost possession.

Dann blazed over in Palace's last chance to halve the deficit, with Mounie giving Huddersfield further reason for jubilation as he beat Hennessey's glove from Collin Quaner's pull back.

-Hegazi header earns West Brom all three points-

Ahmed Hegazi scored on his West Brom debut as Tony Pulis' side opened the new Premier League season with a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Hawthorns.

The Egypt centre-back, who joined on loan from Al Ahly last month, headed in from close range just after the half-hour mark to ensure the home side was able to celebrate its head coach signing a one-year contract extension with three points.

Pulis agreed terms to extend his stay with the club until 2019 on Friday, and it was back to business 24 hours later as West Brom continued the theme of the previous campaign by displaying trademark defensive steel coupled with set-piece prowess.

Jay Rodriguez , another off-season arrival for the Baggies, had gone close on a couple of occasions prior to Hegazi's header, while Bournemouth looked uncharacteristically bereft of attacking verve in their quest for an equaliser.

Even the introduction of Jermain Defoe , making his second debut for the club 17 years on from a record-breaking loan spell from West Ham, could not inspire the Cherries as it fell to a disappointing defeat.

Rodriguez was preferred to Salomon Rondon in attack for the hosts and he almost marked his bow with a goal in the ninth minute, Asmir Begovic saving smartly from the striker's snap-shot.

After an injury-ravaged couple of seasons, Rodriguez was looking full of vim and vigour in his new surroundings and stung the palms of Begovic with a rasping drive before bending a measured effort agonisingly wide of the far post midway through the half.

West Brom was the better side and made their dominance pay in the 31st minute as Chris Brunt swung a right-wing free-kick to the back post, where Hegazi rose to head through the legs of Begovic and in.

Hegazi posed further problems from another set-piece five minutes before the break as his flick-on found Claudio Yacob, who could only steer a sharp chance across the face of goal. 

The Argentinian went close again early in the second period with a header into the side-netting as the Baggies continued to pose a threat from dead balls.

Bournemouth improved slightly thereafter, Nathan Ake sending a header straight at Ben Foster before becoming the victim of an apparent stamp from Craig Dawson that could prompt retrospective action - the only blot on an otherwise satisfactory day for Pulis and the Baggies.

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