Bournemouth vs Huddersfield Town. Premier League.
Vitality StadiumAttendance9,980.
Highlights and report as Bournemouth move up to sixth in the Premier League
Wednesday 5 December 2018 08:50, UK
Bournemouth ended a run of four straight Premier League defeats with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the Vitality Stadium.
Eddie Howe's side raced into an early lead with goals from Callum Wilson (5) and Ryan Fraser (22) but Huddersfield responded well, Terence Kongolo's header (38) pulling one back before the break.
Huddersfield pushed for an equaliser in the second half but they found Asmir Begovic, who kept Aaron Mooy's low drive out after making a number of smart saves before the break, in excellent form as the hosts held on for all three points.
Victory sees Bournemouth move above Everton, Manchester United and Leicester into sixth for 24 hours at least while Huddersfield stay 17th, one point above the relegation zone.
After consecutive defeats to Manchester United, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester City, Bournemouth were looking to avoid five consecutive league defeats for the first time since March 2013 when they were in League One.
They made a superb start as Wilson, who was played onside by Mathias Jorgensen, beat Huddersfield's offside trap in what was a tight decision to head home Fraser's free-kick in the fifth minute.
Wilson then turned provider in the 22nd minute, slipping the ball through for Fraser, who slid the ball under the onrushing Lossl to round off a slick counter-attack from the hosts.
Huddersfield responded well to Bournemouth's second and the hosts needed Asmir Begovic in top form as he made three excellent saves in quick succession to keep out Alex Pritchard's close-range effort, Laurent Depoitre's header and Mooy's free-kick.
Wagner's side finished the half the stronger of the two teams and they were eventually rewarded when Mooy's cross was headed on by Christopher Schindler and Jorgensen before Kongolo looped a header past Begovic.
Joshua King almost extended Bournemouth's advantage early in the second half, slicing wide from the edge of the penalty area, but Huddersfield were soon back in control as they searched for an equaliser.
The visitors dominated possession for long spells of the game but once again they were denied by Begovic, who kept out Mooy's low drive with his feet before the Australian saw a late effort from distance deflected wide as Bournemouth held on.
An honourable mention must go to Pritchard, who was involved in everything good about Huddersfield at the Vitality Stadium. However, in the end Begovic was the reason why Bournemouth finished with all three points.
He kept his side's lead in tact with a number of crucial interventions in the first half. He made three in as many minutes to deny Pritchard, Depoitre and Mooy. The Bosnia international then produced another brilliant stop in the second half to keep out Mooy's low drive and he rounded off an excellent night's work when he gathered Isaac Mbenza's cross deep into stoppage-time with Huddersfield pushing for a late equaliser.
It was a performance that drew praise from his manager. "Asmir was excellent tonight," Howe told Sky Sports. "We needed a big performance and he has gone a long way to getting us the three points."
Eddie Howe: "Huddersfield were very good tonight. It was nice to go 2-0 up but they had nothing to lose and played well. We defended well. Huddersfield do a lot of things well. You could say we were slightly fortunate, but we deserve that. We scored two good goals and you think you can go on and put it to bed, but it swung. I wasn't happy with the period from 2-0 until half-time. But second-half we were more secure. A few weeks ago, we were playing champagne football but we lost our mojo and hopefully this will bring it back."
David Wagner: "This is very frustrating. It is disappointing. To make it clear I don't think we deserved anything because you need your defence and offence to work. It was Christmas for Bournemouth because we gave away chances, presents at both ends of the pitch even if performance wise it was a top class away performance. We controlled big parts and dominated them. We had enough opportunities to score at least two. We needed to score three or four today but we didn't take them and that is why we have no rewards."
Bournemouth are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they take on Liverpool, live on Sky Sports Premier League (12.30pm).
Huddersfield's next league game is also on Saturday when they travel to Arsenal (3pm).
