As well as extending Wolves’ winless home run to three games, Aaron Mooy’s double – including a sumptuous curling free kick – was enough to lift Huddersfield out of the relegation zone.
Ruben Vinagre, making his first league start of the season in place of the injured Jonny Otto, was an early threat down the left-hand side for Wolves. However, it was Huddersfield who took the lead with the first chance, just six minutes into the game.
The ball was given away in the Wolves defence to Erik Durm who sprinted past Bennett toward the by-line. The winger cut a pass back just inside the box for Mooy who guided his shot past Rui Patricio and into the back of the net.
Huddersfield kept the pressure on Wolves throughout the half, with three Huddersfield men dispossessing Ruben Neves in the centre of the park. The ball then broke to Pritchard whose shot was deflected over the bar by an onrushing Conor Coady.
Vinagre got a chance to demonstrate his speed mid-way through the half when he picked up a loose ball and took off on a run in behind the Huddersfield defence. However, the left wing-back’s driving low cross was comfortably cut out by Jonas Lossl in the visitors’ goal.
Huddersfield continued to look for a second and had a good chance to extend their lead in the 36th minute when a Mooy corner, whipped in from the left, found the head of Steve Mounie in the centre of the box, but the forward’s effort was straight at Patricio.
The Huddersfield forward had another chance to put the Terriers further in front inside first half injury time, but although Mounie’s bullet header found its way past Patricio, Matt Doherty was there to clear off the goal line and spare Wolves’ blushes.
Half-time: Wolves 0 Huddersfield 1
Nuno made a string of changes at half-time to try and turn the game in his side’s favour, with Ivan Cavaleiro and Joao Moutinho making way for Morgan Gibbs-White and Adama Traore, who started the second half brightly, chasing down loose passes.
The Wolves fans thought their side had got themselves level after 56 minutes when Traore, bursting down the right, swung in a cross to the far post and Raul Jimenez was there to meet it with his head.
However, the Mexican’s effort, which was just millimetres away from fully crossing the line, was somehow cleared away by the toes of Philip Billing.
With half-an-hour to go and Wolves on the hunt for an equaliser, Vingare picked up the ball in midfield and drove down the centre of the pitch, passing Huddersfield players left and right. But Tommy Smith clipped the heels of the wing-back and sent him tumbling to the ground – with the visiting defender picking up a yellow card for his foul.
Jimenez had a glaring opportunity to get Wolves level when he was played through in an apparent offside position – however, Kongolo was down injured in the left-back position, playing the centre-forward onside. Through one-on-one with the keeper and after taking what looked to have been a touch to set up a strike, Jimenez was then dispossessed by the Huddersfield defence.
Despite Wolves coming out stronger in the second half, the visitors got the game-winning second goal. A foul by Willy Boly just outside the area gave Mooy the opportunity to curl his right-footed free kick around the wall, and although a diving Patricio got a hand to the ball, he could not stop it from going into the bottom right corner of the net.
Wolves continued to push for a consolation goal which never came.
Diogo Jota – fresh from his goal scoring exploits for the Portugal under-21 team during the international period – had the best opportunity as he tried to squeeze a shot in from an almost impossible angle, but Lossl saved with his legs to secure all three points for the West Yorkshire side.
Full-time: Wolves 0 Huddersfield 2
Wolves: Patricio, Doherty, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Vinagre, Moutinho (Gibbs-White 46), Neves, Costa (Jota 75), Cavaleiro (Traore 46), Jimenez.
Unused Sub: Ruddy, Saiss, Dendoncker, Bonatini.
Huddersfield: Lossl, Smith, Kongolo, Hogg (Stankovic 90), Billing (Williams 90), Mooy, Pritchard (Mbenza 90), Mounie, Schindler, Hadergjonaj, Durm.
Unused subs: Hamer, Kachunga, Sobhi, Depoitre.
Referee: Kevin Friend
Attendance: 30,130
