Huddersfield Town boss David Wagner hailed his side's commitment after they edged past fellow Premier League strugglers West Brom 2-1 at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
A blistering start to the second half saw the Terriers race into a two-goal lead with Rajiv van La Parra and Steve Mounie both taking advantage of poor defending to fire past Ben Foster within 11 minutes of the restart.
Craig Dawson gave the hosts faint hope of a comeback with a header midway through the second period, but they never looked like drawing level as Huddersfield held firm in the closing stages.
The win is the Yorkshire club's second league win in a row and moves them up to 14th in the table - three points above the relegation zone.
Wagner was delighted with Huddersfield's display and was quick to point to their commitment and togetherness as reasons for the victory.
"I think the best thing is that we have shown everything you have to show in these games; commitment, fighting spirit, togetherness," he said.
"In some moments they [West Brom] showed decent football, as well. It was a deserved result and we had the best opportunities. We got a little bit lucky in the first half when West Brom had a good opportunity at the end.
"But I am delighted and proud of the players. They have shown their momentum. It is a great win for us.
"I said to them that we weren't really satisfied with the first half. We made too many errors and looked nervous. We cannot wait for the whistle for fouls, we have to work and fight. They did that better in the second half."
A fourth straight top-flight defeat for West Brom means they are now six points adrift at the foot of the table and seven points away from 17th place.
Manager Alan Pardew admits he was surprised by his side's insipid performance and felt they were unable to react to Huddersfield's aggressive approach.
"I was disappointed with the performance," he said. "We worked hard this week and looked good going into the game but it wasn't reflected in the game.
"Huddersfield knock you out of any rhythm with the way they play and it was a bitty game. We didn't really have any passages of play. It was a messy game, which they are good at. They get into your face and with the confidence we have maybe it affected us a bit.
"We have two or three flair players missing but we should have had enough to beat Huddersfield really."
Comments
SHARE