What a difference a few months makes: on January 3rd, Norwich crashed out of the FA Cup to lower league opposition in a 2-0 defeat to Preston. Sitting 7th in the table, three points out of the play-off positions, seven points off rivals Ipswich and eleven points off top of the table Bournemouth, Neil Adams vacated the managerial position to make way for Alex Neil. Norwich fans may not have known who the 33-year old Scotsman was then, but by heck do they know it now and sing it loud.
At half time seventeen games later – with Neil owning an absolutely astounding win record of 70.59% – and 2-0 up against Sheffield Wednesday, the Canaries were top of the table. Granted, Bournemouth subsequently recovered to beat Birmingham 4-2 and were restored to the summit, yet Neil’s men have much to be proud of. The tables have turned on Ipswich, with the “Mind the gap” jibes now well and truly coming from the yellow and green half – Ipswich sit eighth and eight points off. Of course, they’ll point to their incredibly small budget that has now become an excuse rather than a stick to poke the Championship with, but the fact is that they’ve bottled it. Norwich have soared up the table and were efficient and comfortable in a routine 2-0 win over mid-table Sheffield Wednesday.
In a scrappy first half, it was clear that the hosts were the better side, yet the play in the final third was lacking somewhat and attacking moves seemed to break down too frequently to be able to say that City were having a spell of sustained pressure. However, the breakthrough came from the likeliest of sources so far this season: Bradley Johnson crashed in at the far post after Steven Whittaker’s deflected shot, cushioning a header neatly into the corner and out of the reach of the despairing Wednesday ‘keeper. It would get worse for the Owls on the stroke of half time, with that man Johnson meeting Graham Dorrans’ beautiful corner (WE SCORED FROM A SET PIECE!) and smashing home to double the Canaries’ advantage and have the game sown up at the half way mark.
The second half promised much but rather it was a case of controlling the game for Norwich. It turned into a game of dominance both on the pitch and in terms of statistics – the possession stats rose in Norwich’s favour, with shots and corners heavily weighted for the home side. News of Bournemouth’s recovery had already filtered through to the crowd so unfortunately there was no continuation of the “We are top of the league!” chant, which was disappointing.
Man of the match would be a difficult one to call; in the first half when Norwich needed an incisive edge and that midfield magic, Wes Hoolahan delivered endless opportunities and carved open the defence at ease. However, when it was more a game of keep-ball, he drifted out of the game and lost his influence. Johnson, of course, has to be a contender because of his two goals and because of his incredible work-rate and attacking prowess, whilst Whittaker also had a fantastic game – an utterance that is fast becoming a frequent feature in Read Norwich.
Overall, a deserved three points and a much appreciated comfortable victory. Supporters haven’t been able to relax in many of Norwich’s games this season so a dominant performance and two goal cushion was the perfect end to the Easter weekend.
