Huddersfield Town vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's StadiumAttendance18,010.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Huddersfield Town and QPR at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday | Kian Harratt and Jack Rudoni score as Darren Moore records his first win as Terriers boss
Saturday 21 October 2023 18:29, UK
Darren Moore secured his first win as Huddersfield boss with his side running out 2-1 victors over struggling QPR.
Quick-fire goals from Kian Harratt and Jack Rudoni in the first half did the damage at the John Smith's Stadium.
Jake Clarke-Salter's first goal for the club proved to be a mere consolation as the visitors slumped to a painful fourth defeat on the spin.
And the pressure is mounting on boss Gareth Ainsworth, with the club languishing in the Championship relegation zone, four points from safety.
QPR are in the midst of a sorry seven-game winless run after their defeat.
They had the majority of the ball as Town went into their shell after going two goals to the good but they failed to make it count as the resolute Terriers battled to a welcome three points.
Victory ended a five-game winless run - which included just one defeat - as Moore finally earned that elusive first win.
After replacing Neil Warnock in mid-September, Moore was pleased the international break came when it did to give him time with his new squad and he reaped those rewards as they moved to 18th, six points clear of the Hoops.
The Terriers made a fast start as their frightening six-minute burst fired them two goals ahead inside the first 15 minutes.
Moore's charges made the perfect start as Harratt bagged his first league goal since April in the eighth minute.
It was a super break from the on-song hosts which was finished off as Rudoni squared the ball for unmarked Harratt to slot home beyond hapless Asmir Begovic.
And it was two within the blink of the eye as QPR were left dumbfounded again. It was another brilliant one-touch team move as influential Sorba Thomas freed up Rudoni for a fine first-time finish, his third goal of the campaign.
Incensed Ainsworth geed up his shell-shocked charges and they started to find their feet.
Republic of Ireland international Sinclair Armstrong went closest for the visitors as his effort was well blocked by Huddersfield.
And Ainsworth's side pulled some momentum back on the stroke of half-time as Clarke-Salter dragged them back into the game with a 43rd-minute effort.
After the break, Delano Burgzorg was booked for simulation when he went down inside the Hoops' box.
Down the other end, Michal Helik produced an heroic clearance to deny Ilias Chair a certain goal on the line and Town soaked up the pressure as they held on for a vital three points.
Yuta Nakayama could have sealed it, but Begovic kept out his late free-kick and QPR could not find the key to unlock the door to salvage a dramatic late point.
Huddersfield's Darren Moore:
"First and foremost I'm delighted with the three points," said Moore. "I'm pleased we were able to get the three points in front of the home fans. We set off so well and scored two perfect goals, but then it was like we pressed the pause button. I commend the players for staying resolute though. And can I just say Michal (Helik), Matty (Pearson) and (Tom Lees) Leesy are proper centre-backs.
"It was top drawer defending from Michal to make that goal-line clearance in the second half. We now have a lot of work to do on how we maintain that pressure from the first 20 minutes. I thought the substitutes that came on the pitch gave us good energy to maintain things too. There's a lot for us to learn, but I have to take the positives from a win like that."
QPR's Gareth Ainsworth:
"We were too sloppy at the start of the game. We started the game like we knew Huddersfield would score before we kicked ourselves into action. At 2-0 down you give yourself a mountain to climb. We almost climbed it. There's a saying in football that it's about both boxes, it doesn't matter how good you are outside of the boxes. Huddersfield were better in our box than we were in their box. We weren't clinical enough or got the final touch to rescue a point or maybe get three.
"I truly thought we were the better team second half, but it came to nothing. The start was unexpected, sometimes it goes that way. Some teams in this league will be better than us man-for-man, but that wasn't the case. We made it too easy for them. I'm missing a few crucial names, but I've got a good squad and we need to be better than that. I'm pretty sure we'll finish above the line, but it will be a tough season without a doubt.
"I don't know what the stats are in the Championship for winning from 2-0 down, but I'm sure it's a crazy stat. But we need to react quickly. We need to dust ourselves off because we can't feel sorry for us. Things just aren't going for us at the minute but we'll go on a good run soon - we're on a bad run at the moment but it will come. We can go to West Brom and turn them over, definitely."
