Before kick-off, they were handing out free throat lozenges at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Tony Pulis may have wished it was paracetamol. The West Bromwich Albion manager has a headache and, after another defeat – which means they now have two wins from their last 20 Premier League matches in a run stretching back to last season – it shows no signs of disappearing.
Here, many of the travelling Baggies supporters demanded the Welshman’s head. What Pulis has done for this club should not be forgotten, but this felt like a seismic afternoon at the foot of the Pennines.
Rajiv van La Parra hit a stunning 25-yard curling shot over the West Brom keeper to win the game for Huddersfield
Ben Foster was left completely stranded by the accurate strike and stood still as the ball sailed over him into the corner
van La Parra was jumped on by his Huddersfield team-mates after his stunning winning goal at the John Smith’s Stadium
Referee Roger East showed no hesitation in brandishing a red card after Christopher Schindler picked up his second yellow
MATCH FACTS, LEAGUE STANDINGS AND MATCH ZONE
Huddersfield (4-4-1-1): Lossl, Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen, Malone (Lowe 79), Schindler, Kachunga (Cranie 61), Hogg, Mooy, van La Parra (Williams 62), Ince, Depoitre;
Subs not used: Smith, Quaner, Mounie, Green
Scorers: van La Parra (44)
Booked: Schindler, Williams
Red card: Schindler
West Brom: Foster, McAuley (Phillips 59), Hegazi, Evans, Nyom, Krychowiak (McClean 59), Barry, Livermore, Gibbs, Robson-Kanu (Rondon 59), Rodriguez;
Subs not used: Yacob, Brunt, Myhill, Chadli
Scorers: NONE
Booked: Hegazi, Nyom, Barry, McClean
Referee: Roger East
Attendance: TBC
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Rajiv van La Parra scored the game’s only goal from 25 yards to earn Huddersfield a valuable home victory. CLICK HERE to see more from Sportsmail’s brilliant MATCH ZONE.
After winning their first two matches of the campaign, five defeats and four draws is enough to land most managers in trouble and Pulis will be no different.
A Rajiv van La Parra wonderstrike and two brilliant injury-time saves by Jonas Lossl after the Terriers had been reduced to 10 men were enough for David Wagner, as the dream continues in West Yorkshire. A sign of things to come came on 15 minutes, when the home side had a penalty shout turned down as Van La Parra went down under a challenge from Kieran Gibbs who got the ball, just.
With Huddersfield the brighter starters, Tom Ince then stung Ben Foster’s palms with a long-range effort. On 29 minutes, after a stray long ball into touch, the visiting contingent had seen enough. ‘Attack, attack, attack,’ they chanted. They were almost rewarded with a goal – a Huddersfield goal – when Ince skied an Aaron Mooy corner over from the edge of the box.
Both sets of players pay tribute on Remembrance Day with a minutes silence before kick-off at the John Smith’s Stadium
West Brom defender Allan Nyom puts Scott Malone under pressure as he looks to escape his attention down the left flank
Elias Kachunga misjudges the flight of the ball and misses his header as it lands on the chest of Jake Livermore in the box
Christopher Schindler beats West Brom forward Hal Robson-Kanu to the ball and clears the danger into touch
Referee Roger East tells the players to calm down after Swiss defender Florent Hadergjonaj chopped down Jonny Evans
With half-time approaching, it came as no surprise when the Terriers took the lead. The Baggies failed to respond to Mooy’s quick free-kick, allowing Van La Parra space on the edge of the box. The Dutchman was yet to score in the top flight but curled a stunning, dipping strike beyond Ben Foster.
When the whistle was blown moments later, the boos from the away end were audible amidst the feverish applause from the joyous home contingent. Following the interval came chants of ‘We want Pulis out,’ and ‘Tony Pulis, your football is ****’.
It felt like tipping point had been reached when, out of nowhere, came a break for tthe manager and his Baggies. Terriers defender Christopher Schindler, already on a yellow card, was late on Ahmed Hegazi for no apparent reason.
Kachunga tries to ignite a breakaway as he shrugs off the challenge from West Brom midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak
Forward Robson-Kanu holds his head after he misses a chance to grab the opening goal for the away side
Ahmed Hegazy and Laurent Depoitre tussle for possession of the ball during the first half at the John Smith’s Stadium
Depoitre rises the highest from the home side’s corner but his header drifts wide of Ben Foster’s post
West Brom boss Tony Pulis screams and flings his arms out on the touchline as he appeals for a free-kick to be awarded
Tom Ince takes aim from the edge of the box, but his shot drifts harmlessly wide of the post as Hegazi tries to block it
Out came the red and a triple substitution from Pulis which felt like a last throw of the dice. Finally, on 73 minutes, a chance for the visitors, but sub Salomon Rondon could only head an Evans cross narrowly wide. With 10 minutes to go, the West Brom Twitter account had registered just three tweets. It was that kind of day.
In the six minutes of injury time, Lossl superbly defied Aaron McClean’s header and Matt Phillips’s shot as Wagner demanded the home support to turn up the volume, which they did. Wagner will mark his second anniversary in the job on Sunday.
Huddersfield midfielder Aaron Mooy times his challenge perfectly to slide in and dispossesses Livermore
Salomon Rondon beats a Huddersfield defender in the air, but his header rolls a few yards wide of the goal
West Brom midfielder Gareth Barry shows his frustration after bringing down Ince and receiving a yellow card for his troubles
It is all a little different from when he took over, with the Terriers 18th in the Championship. He was not an instant hit, losing his first three games, albeit to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough.
In the build up to this one, the German said he never dreamed that two years on he would be in the Premier League with 12 points from 10 games.
‘I never dreamed about this,’ he said. ‘We have worked on the impossible since I arrived.’ That impossible is now three points closer. For Pulis, something else may be on the way.
Manager David Wagner celebrates with his players at the final whistle as his side beat West Brom by a single goal at home