After a traumatic defeat to a lowly Shrewsbury side with a rotated side on Tuesday night in the cup, the game against Blackpool came as a welcome return to the Championship. The Seasiders’ problems off the field (as well as issues such as only having eight players registered one week before the first round of league fixtures) are well-documented; there were scarves with “Oyston Out” for sale outside of the advertisement-laden Bloomfield Road, and the strongly disliked chairman was the subject of numerous unsupportive chants throughout the ninety minutes. It’s not hard to sympathise with them: the chairman has ripped the club apart for his own benefit with no thought to the club’s safety.
Bloomfield Road was half-full at most. “We’ve got more fans than you,” sang the raucous City fans, who never failed to stop cheering throughout.
The first half was largely uneventful; ex-Canary and Norwich fan Joe Lewis was largely untested, only being needed to punch clear the odd cross. Ruddy’s job was much the same. Lewis Grabban should’ve done better with a header from ten yards, but he was leaning back and could only direct his effort straight at Lewis.
However, the game sparked into life fifty-six seconds into the second half, and not in the way Canaries fans expected. Blackpool midfielder David Perkins stole the ball on halfway before a surging run resulted in a fine Ruddy save, but the rebound fell nicely for Nathan Delfouneso to hit it on the volley and into the empty net. The home side had an unlikely lead and Norwich had their work cut out.
It seemed to snap City out of their slumber. They began to finally pile the pressure on the Seasiders, putting the tangerine defence to the sword with the pace of Nathan Redmond proving a constant threat down the right-hand side. It was, in fact, a Blackpool man who got the next goal: a dangerous corner from Redmond (for a change) was flung into the penalty area, and the slightest touch from Donervon Daniels guided it into Lewis’ net via the base of the post. It took eight minutes for the Canaries to haul themselves level and things only got better. City refused to sit back, whereas Blackpool tried resolutely to defend the precious point whilst hitting the visitors on the counter whenever they could. Only some excellent defending from Jos Hooiveld kept the scores level after Michael Turner made a complete mess of a clearance.
The game hinged on the arrival of Josh Murphy from the substitute bench. Hoolahan made way to a standing ovation from the Blackpool fans, but Murphy was to show the massive potential that he has and just why so many Norwich fans believe in him. Grabban put Norwich ahead when his shot was deflected on the edge of the area and looped past Lewis and into the corner, then Murphy stepped up. He won the ball thirty yards out and proceeded to tear the Blackpool defence apart. He jinxed inside from the left before curling home a beautiful shot into the bottom corner. Lewis had no chance; it will easily be a contender for goal of the month. It wrapped the game up and the City fans were able to enjoy the last ten minutes with waves to Neil Adams, Delia Smith and songs about Norwich legends.
It was a cracking day out capped with a brilliant result, as well as going top of the league as Nottingham Forest drew. Ruddy came over and gave his shirt to a supporter, as well as all the players paying their respects to the travelling faithful for a significant amount of time. Redmond’s song echoed around Bloomfield Road as the away fans began to exit, knowing their side was one of the best in the league.
