It was the game we had all been waiting for, the big one: the Old Farm Derby was here. Adams and the players had talked all through the week of how they felt confident and that all the players knew how much this game meant to the fans.
Norwich set up near enough the same as their win against Blackburn but Ryan Bennett came into the team to replace Garrido.
One thing Norwich have been criticised of is starting the game slowly and it looked the same thing was going to happen again with Tabb creating a good chance from a free-kick early on. The biggest concern was not the few chances Ipswich created, but instead the talented R. Bennett twisting his ankle awkwardly which resulted in an early Norwich change. Garrido replaced Bennett and the back line was the same as it was against Watford, luckily for Norwich Garrido settled straight away.
Ipswich’s tempo early on was much better than Norwich’s and pushed the visitors back and worked them hard when on the ball. McCarthy was seen clapping his men for their determination and willingness to commit men forwards to press the Norwich players.
Norwich attempted to catch out the Ipswich back line with the long ball but it didn’t work. Berra looked comfortable and Grabban was drifting offside on a regular basis.
McGoldrick looked the main threat for Ipswich and troubled Whittaker on many occasions, hustling well. His best chance fell from a well worked free-kick which flew agonisingly past the post. Once again, the full backs were the weak link for Norwich and Ipswich took advantage of this throwing crosses in to the box on a regular basis.
Norwich slowly but surely started to get in to the game though and to the relief of Adams no goals were conceded in Ipswich’s early dominance.
Adams’s men opened the scoring though and it was Grabban that delivered when it mattered, a corner was swung in and cleared by Ipswich, only for it to be headed back into the mixer by Tettey and met by Grabban, who headed past the stranded Gerken. There were calls of offside and it was a close decision but it went in the way of the Canaries.
Once Norwich had scored the opening goal, it gave them confidence to kick on and some big chances fell to Lafferty but his composure was poor and scuffed his opportunities.
Norwich had learnt from their early mistakes and pressed the ball much better which meant Ipswich dropped deep. Redmond gave the Ipswich full backs something to worry about with his pace but again lacked an end product.
Half Time : Ipswich 0-1 Norwich
Ipswich started the second half as they had the first, pressing well and putting Norwich under pressure, and Whittaker looked the weak link and this is something that Adams will need to address before a major mistake occurs.
50 minutes had passed and the chance of the game fell to Ipswich’s Murphy who rose above all Norwich defenders and should have scored but instead headed past Ruddy’s post.
Norwich should have already been out of sight after the glorious first half chances that fell to Lafferty and Norwich should have scored another on the 52 minute mark. Grabban was played through by Garrdio but his finish was woeful after a failed chip which flew over the crossbar.
McGoldrick was once again proving a problem for Norwich and he continued to get in behind the defence, Turner was fantastic though and cleared most danger and Ruddy helped out by making a few simple saves.
At 70 minutes, Ipswich were still pushing hard. Tettey and Johnson battled well in the middle of the park and gave the back line a strong barrier.
Hoolahan was substituted for O’Neil and this turned out to be a stroke of genius from Adams. Hoolahan orchestrated the creative spark for Norwich but provided little defensively, O’Neil came on and put in crunching challenges on a regular basis which meant possession was turned over easier.
One player that has looked slightly off the pace in the past few weeks is Elliot Bennett, that didn’t change today either, sloppy challenges and a lack of creativity going forwards was the story for him against the Tractor Boys.
The 90 minutes were up but there was one last chance for Ipswich, it was Murphy again but Ruddy was commanding in his catch to deny him, McCarthy may have stern words with Murphy not equalising for the tractor boys.
Full Time : Ipswich 0-1 Norwich
What a fantastic place to get your first away win of the season. Adams was once again spot on with his tactics and substitutions and should take a lot of praise from this win.
Tettey and Johnson commanded the midfield which is turning into a common theme and Hoolahan was the creative spark. Grabban in the end scored the winning goal but should have scored a few more due to his complacency in front of goal. Nevertheless, Norwich go top of the table for the time being and make it three wins on the bounce. OTBC!
Player Ratings :
John Ruddy : 7
Steven Whittaker : 5
Michael Turner : 8
Ryan Bennett : 5
Russell Martin : 6
Alex Tettey : 7
Bradley Johnson : 7
Wes Hoolahan : 7
Nathan Redmond : 6
Kyle Lafferty : 5
Lewis Grabban : 7
Subs :
Javier Garrido : 6
Gary O’Neil : 7
Elliot Bennett : 5
Man Of The Match : Michael Turner – Another colossus display from the Norwich defender. He is rapidly becoming one of Norwich’s stars.
