It’s the 84th minute. 0-1 up away from home against a team who haven’t won in nine games. Surely, surely, the game can be seen out and the three points collected? It sounds simple enough; unless, of course, you’re Norwich City.
It all started well enough for City. 16 minutes in, and Jonny Howson’s jinxing run into the box, dropping a shoulder and creating a yard of space, resulted in a low, driven shot finding the corner of the Forest net. Yes, Norwich weren’t completely solid defensively and Antonio was running rampant down the Forest left as a result of an early booking for Russell Martin, but Norwich were on top and dominating possession. It was a far cry from the Middlesbrough collapse in midweek, with Neil Adams’ side comfortable and cruising. Failing to grab a second goal, however, would prove costly late on and leave Norwich fans tearing their hair out (and calling for Adams’ head).
The centrally-based midfield trio of Bradley Johnson, Alex Tettey and Gary O’Neil meant City were weak on the flanks, but overall they were a solid base on which Jonny Howson could control the game from in front of them. Tettey in particular broke up numerous Nottingham Forest attacks and added the much-needed steel in the centre of the pitch. The front two of Lewis Grabban and Cameron Jerome brought the pace, despite the latter seemingly falling foul of a sickness bug. Grabban should have made it 0-2 with a free header, but could only direct his attempt wide of the target.
It was an inability to react to Stuart Pearce’s tactical changes that left Norwich reeling and suffering a 2-1 defeat from an unlikely position. Adams made just one substitution: Lafferty on for Jerome. With Forest pushing four men upfront and turning to a back three, the game was crying out for width – especially with Redmond and Murphy sitting on the Norwich bench. Nothing changed; that is, except the score-line. Olsson’s mistake let Fryatt free on the Forest right, who delivered a cross to the unmarked Britt Assombalonga who tapped the ball past Ruddy to equalise. The momentum had switched. The home supporters could sense a victory, let alone settle for 1-1. Assombalonga had another great chance when Olsson failed to clear again, this time Paterson released Assombalonga but he stuttered in the City area and gave the defence a chance to catch up and block his shot.
Norwich tried to push men forwards instead, but the defensive frailties reared their head again, as Forest raced away with lightning pace from a City corner. There would be no stopping Antonio grabbing a deserved goal, as he finished past Ruddy deep into injury time.
Canary Call then consisted of various opinions but the majority were making their voices heard the most – they wanted Adams gone. The alarming slide down the table to 10th – especially when Norwich were top not too long ago – has caused the supporters to become worried and angry. Throwing away a game in such a manner is not acceptable, of course, but there is plenty of time left for a turn-around. Adams needs time. There are twenty-nine games left of the league season, and we are still only two points off of the play-off positions.
