Steve Mounie grabs Huddersfield rare win in dying moments against Wolves

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Huddersfield have tried 14 times to earn a Premier League victory since beating Wolves at the end of November, and failed on every occasion.

It looked like being a 15th winless league match in a row until the first minute of stoppage time, against the same opponents. Then Steve Mounie ended a night of missed chances and frustration by scrambling in a goal from about 18 inches, and the roar that greeted it could have been heard all the way across West Yorkshire.

The victory will not keep Huddersfield up. That did not matter. This was about regaining pride. They did that emphatically.

Jan Siewert was so dissatisfied with Huddersfield’s performance in defeat at Newcastle last Saturday, that he made eight changes, giving a senior debut to Manchester City academy graduate Demeaco Duhaney.

The 20-year-old right-back, who played for City’s Under-21 side in the Checkatrade Trophy, showed some neat touches and retaining possession well when pressed by the experienced Joao Moutinho.

However, he will have to learn quickly about just how ruthless the Premier League can be; in one first-half moment, he was outstripped easily down the wing by Diogo Jota, who had all the time he wanted to lift a cross to the far post, where Matt Doherty stubbed a shot wide when he probably ought to have scored.

Chances were few in a tight first half, with Wolves’ only other serious opportunity coming as Raul Jimenez headed wide from a Moutinho free-kick.

At least there was some fight about Huddersfield. Siewert suggested that he wanted to “see another face” of his team against Wolves, and they appeared to have heeded that message as they forced a couple of early corners after Jonathan Hogg’s shot was sent spinning wide via a deflection off Willy Boly.

They were certainly aggressive too, as Wolves captain Conor Coady, once of Huddersfield, could testify after getting a whack on the ankle from Steve Mounie as he attempted to clear.

Converting that effort into clear chances was proving rather tougher, with Karlan Grant resorting to a long-range shot that flew over the bar after Mounie’s aerial presence had put the visitors’ defence under pressure.

By half-time, there had still not been a shot or header on target from either side, which was a sign of a Huddersfield attack short on confidence and a Wolves side not quite up to the form that has kept them in the top half of the table for most of the season.

In the opening 15 minutes of the second half, it was the home side who looked most likely to break the stalemate. Jon Stankovic saw a header from a Pritchard corner saved comfortably by goalkeeper Rui Patricio, seconds after Mounie’s shot had been charged down by Willy Boly.

Sadly for Duhaney, his night had come to an end by then because of a thigh injury, although there were enough encouraging signs to suggest he will get further games as Siewert assesses his options over the coming weeks.

Juninho Bacuna, Duhaney’s replacement, created a clear chance shortly before the hour mark with a bouncing cross that had the Wolves defence panicking, but Mounie, who went into the match having scored just once all season, nodded into the side-netting. The cheers of the home fans on the opposite side of the ground, who thought it had gone in, quickly died.

Wolves enjoyed more possession after that, without doing an awful lot with it. When they did threaten, it tended to be from set-pieces, with Boly heading over from a Moutinho corner.

Siewert sent on Mooy for the final minutes, to see if the midfielder could score against Wolves again, as he did twice when Huddersfield last won in November. His fellow substitute Elias Kachunga almost had a part in a late winning goal, with his pass setting up Mounie to bend a shot just wide.

But it was Mooy who made the winner in stoppage time, with a cross that Boly could not clear; Grant’s shot was saved, Mounie stabbed in the rebound, and Siewert looked as if he would explode with joy.

Huddersfield (4-1-2-1-2): Lossl 6; Duhaney 6 (Bacuna 46, 6), Schindler 6, Kongolo 6, Durm 6; Stankovic 7 (Kachunga 82); Billing 7, Hogg 6; Pritchard 7 (Mooy 78); Mounie 7, Grant 7.

Substitutes: Hamer, Jorgensen, Lowe, Depoitre.

Booked: Billing, Hogg

Wolves (3-1-4-2): Patricio 6; Bennett 6, Coady 6, Boly 6; Neves 5; Doherty 5, Dendoncker 6, Moutinho 6 (Gibbs-White 65, 6), Jonny 6; Jimenez 5 (Costa 78), Jota 6 (Cavaleiro 65, 6).

Substitutes: Ruddy, Vinagre, Saiss, Traore.

Booked: Bennett, Doherty

Man of the match: Alex Pritchard (Huddersfield)

Referee: David Coote (Newark, Notts)

Attendance: 22,714