Norwich City were condemned to defeat by fellow stragglers Crystal Palace, bringing an end to Norwich’s three match unbeaten run.
Jason Puncheon’s second half strike ensured Palace’s first win in 2016 and put then ten points clear of the relegation zone, a result which many Palace fans feel may just have saved their season. However, the result also keeps Norwich just above the relegation zone ahead of their crucial game against Sunderland next week.
Canaries boss Alex Neil named an unchanged team from the side which was victorious against Newcastle last weekend with hopes of an almost identical performance against Palace. Sadly this wasn’t to be as Norwich looked inferior compared to their heroics last weekend.
Palace stared the game lively with Pape Souare and Yannick Bolasie causing early problems for the Canaries. Norwich also had a share of early chances as Gary O’Neil and Matt Jarvis went close, before Jonny Howson blazed an effort over Wayne Hennessy’s crossbar. Matt Jarvis also had claims for a penalty after being brought down inside the are by ex-Ipswich defender Damien Delaney.
Disaster struck late in the half when Centre Back Timm Klose was stretchered off with a knee injury. Swiss international Klose, who was replaced by Seb Bassong, has been in terrific form for the Canaries recently and may just have got injured at the worst possible time, potentially missing the must win game with Sunderland at Carrow Road next weekend.
After the break it was much of the same, with no real threats on goal by either side. Former Middlesbrough loanee, Patrick Bamford, who spent the first half of the season on loan with Palace, came on as a substitute for Norwich just after the hour mark to a selection of boos by the Selhurst Park faithful.
Minutes after the arrival of Bamford, Crystal Palace took the lead through an impressive strike by Jason Puncheon after a flurry of good chances for the Eagles.
Norwich then gave everything to their London counterparts including bringing on England Under 21 winger Nathan Redmond to cause problems down the right hand side and even allowing goalkeeper John Ruddy to get forward for corners and free-kicks. Ultimately, this pressure was short-lived, sending the Canaries back to Norfolk without any points to show, making the Sunderland game even bigger.
Canaries fans everywhere will be eagerly watching tomorrow’s game between Sunderland and Leicester to see if the Black Cats can gain momentum heading into arguably the most important game of the season for both sides. Norwich know that their destiny will be in their own hands if the win and would hope to put this game out of their heads quickly so that they can direct their focus onto next week’s game.
