Top five games of 2015/16 season
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As the 2016/17 season nears and the Canaries ready themselves for the Championship fight ahead, it’s time to look back on the top five games of the 2015/16 season.
The side managed by Alex Neil saw 9 wins over the course of 38 games, just one win more than they collected two seasons before, with 7 draws and 22 losses, resulted in the club facing relegation 12 months after being promoted to the top flight, with the Canaries finishing 19th place with 34 points.
With just nine wins, it was not necessarily straightforward to find five games which would stick in the memory of Yellow fans after such a dismal season.
However, what makes a top five game was seen by the turn of the New Year where performances came when results didn’t, some of which left fans with the optimism of seeing their team perhaps surviving the drop at the last minute.
Which games would you say were your top five of the season?
5. Liverpool 1-1 Norwich
Picking my fifth top game of the season was challenging and there were a few I was debating against but somehow this one made it onto the page and maybe this pick was down to more than just a 1-1 draw.
It was City’s first big test of the season: they’d suffered at the hands of Crystal Palace and Southampton; took a point against Stoke, and grabbed vital wins against Sunderland and Bournemouth.
City withstood the pressure from the Reds as their opponents saw their attempts blocked or offside, seeing the Canaries head in at the break level and injuring Christian Benteke in the process.
However, that wasn’t probably the biggest mistake of the match as his replacement in the form of summer signing Danny Ings, who scored just three minutes after coming off the bench, as Alberto Moreno’s perfectly placed cross from the halfway line found Ings who had no problem in beating Sebastien Bassong and John Ruddy to score his debut goal for his club in front of an Anfield crowd.
Everyone knows how the story usually goes in past years when Liverpool and Norwich have gone head to head, with the number five a reoccurrence in results.
However, times looked to be changing as Brendan Rodger’s side failed to press on their lead to further their advantage.
A Robbie Brady corner was easily met by Simon Mignolet who helped force the ball away from the bundle of players surrounding him, but would later see himself at a disadvantage when his punch saw the ball meet the chest of Russell Martin who eventually volleyed the ball into the back of the net.
What would follow was the story behind the goal and goalscorer: to stun Liverpool and get a point meant actually being in Liverpool and on the pitch, and being awake. Easier said than done.
After the game, he said:
‘I flew up with the squad yesterday (Saturday). My wife had had no twinges at that point and then she rang me at 7pm to say she had started to feel some contractions but wasn’t sure whether they were Braxton Hicks false ones or not.
‘I said “give it a couple of hours” but then she rang me at 10.30pm to say “This is it! This is happening!” – one of the sports scientists had brought my car fortunately in case I had to get back and me and our player liaison took two hours each in the car driving back.
‘I took her to hospital and we got there about four in the morning and she gave birth at 9.25am
The timing couldn’t have been better suited with Martin keen to captain his team, which saw him join the directors on a flight up to Merseyside at 10.30pm, missing the team meeting, leaving no time for a nap and having to wait a little bit longer to spent time with the new family addition and give him a name.
4. Leicester 1-0 Norwich
This is the first of City’s losses which has made the top five games – there’s a reason why it’s not the top five results I’m naming.
It’s a 1-0 loss, what’s the importance? For me, this game was the beginning of what could have saved City’s Premier League campaign – obviously we know how that ended and City still struggled to win following this game but performance wise, possibly no fan can argue that something changed following their warm weather training camp in early February.
It was a surprising game for both sets of fans, with Norwich giving the now title winners one of the biggest tests of the season.
Criticised for countless defensive errors throughout the season, Norwich put in the best defensive performance of the season as the likes of Ivo Pinto, Ryan Bennett, Russell Martin and Timm Klose held their own and protected their goal for the most part, seeing Leicester failing to record a shot on target until the 58 th minute of the game.
Not only that but despite only having one shot on target, Norwich threatened and pursued for a goal, knocking down the Foxes relentless defence which the leaders had been praised for and seeing Jamie Vardy silenced Norfolk counterpart.
The deadlock was broken in the cruellest and most undeserving of fashions when in the 89th minute, Leonardo Ulloa tapped in a Marc Albrighton cross sealing victory for his team.
3. Norwich 4-5 Liverpool
In the second of City’s losses which makes the top five games, with coming off the back of back-to-back defeats against Stoke and Bournemouth respectively, after a successive festive season, Norwich hosted Liverpool at Carrow Road, with hope no Luis Suarez like thrashing would be on the tables.
Following the signing of Steven Naismith just days before, one could have only hoped the former Evertonian player would want to inflict some pain into the wounds of the travelling Liverpudlians.
Things could have kicked off in a better fashion than Roberto Firmino helping push Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead within 18 minutes after slow defending by the Canaries, however, it was Dieumerci Mbokani backheel amongst a cluster of players in the penalty box which saw things levelled up in the 29th minute.
Neat interplay would be the next way to define how Norwich secured a 2-1 lead to go into the changing rooms at half time, with Wes Hoolahan’s beautifully timed frontward pass meeting the perfectly timed sprint of Steven Naismith, which would fool City’s opponents and see Naismith be rewarded with a goal on his debut.
If a goal wasn’t enough for Naismith, his attacking efforts saw a penalty awarded to the Canaries, which Hoolahan slotted away with ease from the spot, helping the Canaries begin the second half 3-1 ahead.
After that, times essentially changed. A lack of defending saw Jordan Henderson help his team edge closer to getting at least a point just a minute after Hoolahan put the Canaries further ahead, whilst Firmino was played in by an Adam Lallana cross to equalise against the Canaries. To make matters worse, a reckless backpass from Russell Martin saw James Milner intercept and slot his team 4-3 ahead, coming from 3-1 down.
If that wasn’t enough to say why this game makes it into my top 5 games of the season, what happened next secures my reasoning.
Taking a point from the game after being 3-1 up probably isn’t acceptable but after City’s run of games and what would follow in their next stretch of games, a point may have raised optimism, to say the least. The unlikely goalscorer of Sebastien Bassong struck the ball from the edge of the box surrounded by seven red shirts in the 93 rd minute to see the Canaries seemingly walk away with at least a point.
As time was ticking down, every fan can answer what happened next at the hands of Adam Lallana to seal the game’s fate, despite City’s defensive efforts just seconds before.
2. Man Utd 1-2 Norwich
Man United and Norwich, they’ve had some fair share of results and interesting games. Some trashing, some surprises and the odd normal game. Though the next game against the Red Devils would be one to turn a blind eye as it all but sealed relegation for the Canaries, this would see travelling fans party like no other with Alex Tettey.
This game was the jell which formed possibly one of City’s most successful festive periods. After coming off the back of a draw against Everton, Norwich headed to the “theatre of dreams” where they’d take on a team and Manager under pressure.
Though Cameron Jerome struggled to find similar form to the one which helped City to promotion via the Playoffs, he was on hand to notch the Canaries ahead through a sole effort by the lone striker.
Nathan Redmond played in Jerome, whose pace beat Chris Smalling, before the 6ft 1in striker skipped over an Ashley Young sliding challenge and failed to surrender to the pressure of Smalling and Michael Carrick, before slotting it past David De Gea to ensure City went into half time ahead of their opponents.
Pace was a common theme as it was Tettey’s sprint from the half way line to be played in by Cameron Jerome which saw the Canaries edge ever closer to all three points, as his shot from the edge of the box saw De Gea barely move from his goal.
Anthony Martial’s 65th minute goal turned out to be a consolation goal after putting fans on edge at the thought that they may have lost their lead as Norwich’s hard efforts paid off.
1. Norwich 3-2 Newcastle
It was City’s penultimate win of the season but one which could have changed everything for the Canaries. For me, this was not just a crucial win for the club, neither was it just a last minute goal which sealed the three points; to me, it was one which restored fan’s belief that those representing the club on the field actually cared.
Following on from a 1-0 victory against West Brom, City had two weeks to await their next conquering and boy was it worth the wait.
Timm Klose broke the deadlock on the halftime whistle, using his 6ft4in stature to his advantage as he towered above his opponents to meet with Robbie Brady’s free-kick to push the Canaries ahead.
What would follow would be a Chuckle Brothers “to me, to you” moment, as Magpies fought it out with their relegation rivals, knowing a win could distance themselves from each other.
An Aleksandar Mitrovic looping header in the 71st minute beat John Ruddy to see the Canaries back to square one, though it was cancelled out just minutes later when Dieumerci Mbokani’s dribble beat any defensive effort from Newcastle before beating ‘keeper Karl Darlow.
Anyone believing that was the end of things at Carrow Road was wrong and in such crucial circumstances, what followed next left both sides of fans doing the final swap of emotions.
A penalty conceded by a Gary O’Neil handball and Mitrovic’s unnerved effort from the spot would see Magpie fans settling for a point in the 86th minute after failing a deliver a performance in Norfolk, whilst Norwich fans would seemingly be left to believe it was two points lost rather than one point won.
What happened next is why Norwich vs Newcastle on the April 2 was my game of the season. Growing up, last minute goals was my ideology of supporting the Canaries, one fans alike would wish on and sometimes expect during particular seasons in the City’s history – Simeon Jackson’s goal against Derby County comes to mind in 2011 – so when the clock was ticking at Carrow Road, as the Canaries were still battling for all three points, there was still a little hope, a little pray.
The series of ping-pong finished in the 93rd minute. After Newcastle’s failure to get the ball out of the box and City’s struggling to find the right position, a overhead fail from Robbie Brady, would leave Wes Hoolahan unable to find the right position to shoot, leaving Martin Olsson to find a gap through the legs of their opponents and find the net to guarantee all three points to the Canaries.
It doesn’t need repeating that the Canaries struggled from then on to survive the Premier League battle and the next win which would follow would be too late as Sunderland had already guaranteed survival as Norwich beat Watford 4-2 but for anyone attempting to find something optimistic to look back on, this game is it.