Norwich City 0-1 West
Brom
West Brom boosted their survival
hopes with a victory over Norwich at Carrow Road on Saturday – a result which
ultimately cost City boss Chris Hughton his job.
Both sides came into the game
knowing that a win could see them within a couple of points of Premier League
safety, yet it took a little while for the game to kick into life. After rather
speculative attempts at goal from Alex Tettey and Graham Dorrans, the first big chance fell to Swedish striker Gary Hooper,
but he could only shoot straight at Ben Foster. Seconds later, good work on the
right from Robert Snodgrass resulted in a ball eventually finding its way to
former Bolton man Johan Elmander, but his side-footed effort ended up well over
the bar, much to the disapproval of the home support.
Their mood got worse just three
minutes later when Morgan Amalfitano, brother of Newcastle’s Romain, took
advantage of a slip by Marcus Olsson; rounding him and firing a low shot past
the despairing dive of John Ruddy into the far corner of the net.
West Brom seemed happy to sit on
their lead after the goal; nothing of great note happened during a 15-minute
period where Norwich were unable to respond to going a goal down. It almost got
worse for them on the half hour mark when former Watford striker Matej Vydra
broke from his own penalty area and got in on John Ruddy’s goal via good
link-up play from Stephane Sessegnon; unfortunately for the Slovakian, he could
only smash his shot straight at the England goalkeeper.
Norwich responded to this very
well, dominating the closing stages of the half. Johan Elmander brought out a
top class save from Ben Foster with a flicked header after a Snodgrass cross
was glanced on by Gary Hooper. After looking for all the world that it was
going to nestle in the far corner, Foster threw himself across goal to tip the
ball around the post.
There was an apparent lack of
bodies striving to get into the box for Norwich, something that would
ultimately cost them.
The second half saw Norwich have
the lion share of possession and territory but there was a lack of clear-cut
opportunities on both sides and every loose ball was being won by the West Brom
midfield. Both Hooper and Snodgrass struck the Baggies’ woodwork during the
second period; the latter doing so after Foster tipped the ball onto the bar
from a thunderous free kick from 30 yards out.
As time began to run out for the
Canaries, the fans began to make their feelings clear to the coaching staff.
Chants of “We want Hughton out!” were accompanied by many fans throwing the
clappers provided by the club onto the pitch in protest of the club’s recent
performances.
As the final whistle blew, a
chorus of boos rang around the ground and comments from certain areas of the
ground did not help the situation. It was reported that John Ruddy had to be
separated from a fan by stewards and that during the match, Chief Executive
David McNally also had an altercation with a few fans who chose to voice their
opinions.
The result means that West Brom
now sit more comfortably in the league table in 16th position, but
with a vastly superior goal difference to that of Norwich and given that the
Canaries, who will be under the management of former youth coach Neil Adams,
take on Fulham in a further relegation six-pointer, the Baggies will feel that
they are only a win away from being safe for another season. As for Norwich,
they simply mustn’t lose at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Given their run-in,
anything less than a win will likely give fans that sinking feeling and make
them begin preparations for life in the Championship.
Stay tuned
for a preview of the next Match of the Weekend – Liverpool v Manchester City
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