Anyone attempting to find a definitive example of the cliche, “it was a game of two halves” needn’t look any further than Carrow Road yesterday afternoon.
Following Wes Hoolahan’s equaliser early in the second period, Norwich had the better of the play for the remainder of the match, and could have won the game were it not for some profligate finishing.
The same level of performance was noticeably lacking during the first half, however, and manager Alex Neil spoke in his press conference after the game about how he had sympathy with the fans who aired their frustrations at the half time whistle.
Speaking to Eastern Daily Press reporter Paddy Davitt after the match, Neil said:
You could sense a bit of unrest in the fans and what happened that bled into the players. They looked a bit timid and scared to express themselves. That wasn’t good enough. Fans will respond to what they see and in the first half they were not happy.
Neil said that he was much happier with the response in the second half, though, following what was a frank discussion during the interval.
We had a chat at half-time. It was a good discussion in terms of where we are and what is acceptable. When the boys went out and gave them a performance and gave them something to shout about they [the crowd] responded and gave the boys the full backing they deserved. The catalyst is always going to be the players. If they can show effort and endeavour that fans want then they will respond likewise.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez was also left frustrated by elements of his side’s performance. Speaking in the press conference afterwards, Martinez said:
I would swap any record just to try to keep a clean sheet. As a team we know we’ve got incredible individuals…What we need to do is become a team that can control games and make sure we finish with a win, rather than just performing well and dropping points. Overall the performance leaves you with a feeling of disappointment, as that should have been a three-point performance.
Members of the Norwich side were very much focussing on the positives after the match, with midfielder Gary O’Neil feeling it was it was a point well earned:
Good response from the lads. 2nd half is minimum requirement! We take the point we move on. 3 undefeated at home #positives
— @Gazoneil
Norwich take on Manchester United – who suffered their own setback against Bournemouth yesterday – next weekend and will hope that the performance against the Red Devils is more in keeping with the valiant effort of the second half against Everton, rather than the first half display against the Toffees.
