Excitement is once again building in the NPower Championship as the battle for promotion to the Premier League continued on Monday night, as yet another late show from Norwich put them in the driving seat with nine games to play.
Late goals often play a crucial role in a team’s fortunes throughout a season and they were needed yet again for the East Anglian side to seal victory, with Arsenal loanee Henri Lansbury’s introduction could prove to be a critical turning point from a bigger picture.
Results admittedly went their way on the weekend and victory at home to Bristol City would give the canaries a three point advantage over third place Swansea and a ten point lead over seventh place Burnley.
Top scorer Grant Holt’s 16th of the season, and 150th of his career put Norwich ahead inside two minutes and all looked to be going to plan, before Albert Adomah equalised out of nowhere from a slick counter-attack.
The impact of Lansbury then turned the game and eight minutes after coming on for Simeon Jackson, he broke through the Robins defence to score before fighting in the corner for a lost cause and toeing it to Andrew Surman who sealed the three points.
So it was nearly a chance missed, but so often that’s been said about this Norwich side and 20 points have now been claimed in the last minute of their league fixtures this season.
Turning draws into wins and defeats into points is becoming a habit now and while the more established names are waiting for them to tail off, Norwich continue to defy pre-season predictions.
This was mainly due to the summer signings at Carrow road being far from exciting in truth. David Fox was signed from Paul Lambert’s former club Colchester to hold the midfield and Andrew Crofts also joined up from Brighton. Simeon Jackson arrived from Gillingham too, who of course are further down in the football league chain.
Other names in the squad aren’t particularly glamorous either, but in Lambert, they have a disciplined figure at the helm who likes to get the ball down on the ground and play.
A no-fear nothing to lose style of play with a mentally strong back-four who are experienced at this level has galvanised a team that looked a shadow of the side from the third tier.
Ten-goal Wes Hoolahan has developed into one of the division’s best midfielders and was man of the match last night, while skipper Holt continues to prove a consistent performer at this level.
His goals continue to be critical with their next striker on the charts sat on four, but after setting his team on their way just two minutes in, his influence proved to be more than just an early penalty kick.
In the post-match Lambert naturally remained very coy of his team’s promotion chances despite acknowledging the enormity of the result. It’s now seven games unbeaten though and one cannot ignore the momentum they are carrying leading into the pointy end of 46 grueling matches.
Regardless of where they finish this season, the campaign has been an incredible success, given where they were 18 months ago – occupying 22nd spot in league one before Lambert took charge.
That was then though and now they are on the cusp of a return to England’s elite. Playoff football is ultimately a lottery however with Swansea, Cardiff, Leeds, Forest and Burnley still in contention for that vital second spot (assuming QPR avoid a points deduction), and Norwich will be hoping there will not be any twists and turns before May.
Consolidation is usually a target for a newly promoted club with a mid-table finish great and a playoff finish deemed to be a wonderful feat. But we could yet see an achievement that further betters the Blackpool class of 2009/10.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Emi Martinez was saved by a new rule that resets yellow cards at the end of extra time, meaning his second yellow for taunting…
This season the top five leagues rankings of European football have been flipped on its head, as new competition heavyweights emerge. Just look at…
In all likelihood, just sixth spot remains up for grabs as we approach the final three rounds of A-League action in season 2023/24 and…
Not only did Erling Haaland's header hit the bar, but Bernardo Silva missed the rebound tap-in that came off his knee. Manchester City went…
After Manchester City saved Luka Modric's shot, the person in the stands didn't return the ball, holding up the penalty shootout for almost a…
Bayern Munich scored the only goal to defeat Arsenal 1-nil and progress to the semifinals. Former player Martin Keown says it's disappointing his former…
