Norwich beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Carrow Road to move to 20 points in their final game of 2015. Goals in either half from Jonny Howson and Dieumerci Mbokani saw off the Villains. The win takes Norwich up to 15th place. Aston Villa are bottom of the table at the new year and are 11 points adrift from safety. Here is how it all went down on a great night in Norfolk.
Alex Neil made four changes to the side that was beaten 3-0 at White Hart Lane on Boxing Day. Wes Hoolahan, Jonny Howson, Graham Dorrans, and Dieumerci Mbokani came in for Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Youssuf Mulumbu, Martin Olsson, and Cameron Jerome.
The game kicked off, and despite their position at the foot of the Premier League table, it was the visitors who had the upper hand at the start. They won a corner in the third minute, and Richardson also flashed a shot over the bar in the opening ten minutes. Jordan Ayew also had a header saved by Declan Rudd. There was a sense around the ground, and the football world, that Aston Villa knew that this might be one last desperate chance to start a trek outside of the bottom three against a lower side, and they looked up for it early.
Jonny Howson was the one that silenced all the Norwich worries though in the 24th minute. Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan played a 1-2 down the left-hand side, with Redmond being the receiver of the second pass. Redmond swung a cross in, which was intended for Mbokani. Leandro Bacuna headed it away, but Jonny Howson was there to meet the clearing header with his left foot, and he volleyed it home under Guzan.
That goal seemed to change the game in favor of the home team, who were the better side to close out the first half. Aston Villa did have one spell right on the stroke of halftime, but two corners led to nothing.
Halftime: Norwich 1-0 Aston Villa
The second half rolled around, and there was still a nervous feeling around Carrow Road. Norwich had started to pick up the play, but Aston Villa were still getting into good attacking positions, and they had players that were capable of scoring. Still, it was Norwich who had the better of the second half and were getting chances to double their lead.
Redmond took hold of the ball in the center of the pitch after receiving a pass and drove forward. He sprayed it out wide to Hoolahan. Hoolahan did some running like he does best, and found himself just outside the D. He floated a cross in for Mbokani at the back post, and the unmarked Congolese striker had the easiest finish of his life. Mbokani headed it home to make it 2-0 and end the game.
Norwich now have 20 points, and will regroup for their first game of 2016 against a Southampton side that just suffered a late defeat to West Ham. Aston Villa will look to somehow start a great escape with a trip up to Sunderland. It’s a great day to be a Canary, and one more thing before I go:
Happy New Year to all of you reading this article!
