Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan believes his side’s 1-0 win over promotion rivals West Brom was vital to their hopes of reaching the Premier League.
Striker Danel Sinani’s early close-range finish was enough to beat fellow Premier League hopefuls West Brom 1-0, with the visitors also seeing captain Jake Livermore sent off.
“It was a very important win,” said the Terriers boss.
“Every win has the same value, three points was the target.
“We knew how tough and how difficult it was going to be. Physically and technically and mentally it was very hard today.
“We knew they are a team that you can’t lose concentration and focus against. They have three strikers and attack you in behind. But they are also very aggressive in defence and when they have the ball they want to get it to their strikers fast. I wanted to defend well and we did that better in the second half than the first.
“Our understanding was good but we couldn’t impose ourselves enough and use the room they gave us enough.
“Our midfielders Scott High and Lewis O’Brien were good. Everyone was really good. Scott is a very important player and has maturity. He was very good last week against Cardiff too. He is very confident and can still improve. This game challenged him a lot.”
Corberan would not be drawn on the second-half flashpoint that saw Albion skipper Livermore dismissed for violent conduct after raising his foot.
He said: “I don’t know about the red card. I don’t know if he meant it. It was aggressive but all I want is a fair decision, not an advantage. It is a difficult job for referees.
“The only target this year is to be a competitive team against any kind of opponent. I’m learning how to prepare for these very demanding games.
“The strikers Danel and Danny worked brilliantly. Sinani was excellent in defence, knowing when to press. And Ward was exactly the same, competing for balls that were not easy to win.”
The win was Huddersfield’s sixth at home in their last eight games and the manager believes the crowd is playing a big part in that.
“When you are playing the support of the fans is key. The fans create a very positive atmosphere that helps the team to compete well.“
West Brom manager Valerien Ismael watched his side lose away from home for the fourth successive game, but believes it was one of their better performances.
“It was a strange game,” he said.
“You can lose a game and deserve it but today when you watch the whole 90 minutes it was a good game for us. Huddersfield punished us but from then on we controlled the game.
“When you have 20 shots you need to score. There were two penalties we could have had and a red card that was never a red card. But even with 10 men we tried to the end to score.
“We worked to the last and created but we need too many chances to score goals and it was the same at the start of the season. We dominate opponents but we need to score to win.
“We have the mentality to score at any time. The final passes, the quality, the focus and the desire. We are frustrated and have to transform that on the pitch.
“The lack of goals isn’t a concern. I know we can score goals. We create lots of chances. We need to be less hectic in our decision-making and have a massive desire to score.
“We deserved to lose at Stoke and Swansea. Today is a different feeling. I would tell you if it was a poor performance but it wasn’t. The work in training was good. We wanted more impact and penetration in the last third and we did. We just need that killer instinct to score a goal.”
Ismael indicated the club are likely to appeal the red card shown to Livermore after viewing the video evidence.
“The footage of the foul is clear. It is a foul but it is a yellow and not a red. We will assess the footage again before appealing. “
