Rajiv van La Parra returns to haunt Wolves to keep Huddersfield top
Rajiv van La Parra scored against his former club to keep Huddersfield top of the Championship with a 1-0 home win over Wolves.
The Dutch winger, signed from Molineux for B#750,000 in the summer following a loan spell, struck after just six minutes to make it four wins in the first five games for Town.
Kasey Palmer broke forward to put Nahki Wells through the centre of the Wolves defence and last season's 18-goal top-scorer beat Carl Ikeme only for the ball to strike the outside of the far post. Van La Parra, following up, fired into the bottom-left corner in front of the travelling Wolves fans for his first goal for the club.
Town were on top for much of the first half with Wolves relying on breakaways.
Midfielder George Saville had a couple of chances from distance, the first shot always drifting high and wide, the second just over the bar.
Palmer, on loan from Chelsea, could have doubled Town's lead but his flick from Tommy Smith's driven cross lacked direction.
Palmer, his confidence high, tried an ambitious effort with the outside of his boot from the edge of the box but Ikeme wasn't troubled.
He also spotted Chris Lowe's crossfield run but the left-back's delicate cross just evaded Wells in the middle.
Van La Parra showed he was just as effective in a defensive role when he back-tracked to block a shot from Jack Price, meaning the ball rolled harmlessly through to goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Joe Mason had the ball in the net on the stroke of half-time but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Conor Coady, playing right-back on his return to his former club, tried to inspire a comeback for Wolves in the second half. Sold for B#2million last summer after a year at Town, he found himself on the edge of the area three minutes after the restart but his shot was deflected for a corner.
Wolves continued to fight their way back into the game but a combination of the brilliance of Wales international Ward and the woodwork kept Town in front.
Ward stood tall at his near post to deny Matt Doherty and just past the hour mark Coady set up substitute Joao Teixeira but his 20-yard left-footed drive struck the foot of the post.
Ward, on loan from Liverpool, pulled off a superb save when he kept out Icelandic striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson's close-range header from Teixeira's corner in the 68th minute.
Despite late chances for Prince Oniangue and Danny Batth, Huddersfield held on to stay top heading into the international break.
Source: PA
