- Norwich City lose to Ipswich Town for the first time at Carrow Road since 2006.
- Marcelino Nunez avoids a red card on his first return to Norfolk.
- A look at how every player performed in the East Anglian derby loss.
Norwich City lost to Ipswich Town for the second time this season when the Blues side of East Anglia claimed a 2-0 win at Carrow Road on Saturday.
It was a game spoiled by countless questionable officiating decisions and Philippe Clement’s call to leave most of his influential attacking players on the bench.
The Belgian boss opted to go with the same starting line-up that won at Millwall on Monday, but it was a completely different kind of game and the selection ultimately lost the Canaries the game.
Defence
Vladan Kovacevic: 7
Norwich’s number one and birthday boy, Vladan Kovacevic, was one of the few players who came away with some credit, as he made at least two brilliant saves to prevent an embarrassing scoreline.
Jack Stacey: 4
Along with two Ipswich Town players, Jack Stacey was one of the players on the pitch who was lucky to avoid being sent off for persistent fouling whilst already on a yellow card.
In 164 minutes against Ipswich this season, the right-back has won zero tackles, made one interception, and committed seven fouls. Did not step up in or out of possession in either game.
Harry Darling: 6
Harry Darling did not have a particularly awful game at the back for Norwich, but he could have been more commanding from the long throw for the second goal.
Jose Cordoba: 6.5
Norwich’s Panamanian central defender, Jose Cordoba, bailed the team out of several dangerous situations with his recovery pace and strength, but he should have been tighter to George Hirst for the second goal.
Kellen Fisher: 6.5
Despite playing out of position, Kellen Fisher did an admirable job at left-back. Ben Johnson did not get any joy against him down that side, and he constantly looked to drive forward to support Ali Ahmed.
Midfield
Pelle Mattsson: 7
Despite post-game banter from Ipswich fans about where Pelle Mattsson was, Norwich’s Danish midfielder was one of the few players who performed at a good enough level.
Sam Field: 5
Sam Field has been a dependable player in most of his games since signing on loan from Queens Park Rangers, but this was a game too far for him.
Norwich looked too passive in possession with him in midfield, unfortunately.
Kenny McLean: 6
Clement opted to go with Kenny McLean off the right for the first half, which did not work, and he moved into his more comfortable midfield role for the second half. Not a poor performance, but his position in the first half meant that he could not influence the game before it was 2-0.
Attack
Anis Ben Slimane: 4
Whilst I agree with the general consensus among Norwich fans that it should not have been a penalty, Anis Ben Slimane gave the referee a decision to make in that situation.
On top of that, the Tunisian midfielder lacked a cutting edge at the top end of the pitch, failing to create any chances of note.
Ali Ahmed: 5
Ali Ahmed had mixed success on the left wing. He did create five chances and one ‘big chance’, to his credit, but the winger also lost possession 23 times and failed with all five of his attempted crosses.
Mathias Kvistgaarden: 4
I like Mathias Kvistgaarden. He works his socks off and has great movement. However, he was signed to play a completely different role and it shows.
The Danish forward does not suit being the lone number nine with the physicality of Championship football, and it will be interesting to see what the summer holds for his future at the club.
Substitutes
Mohamed Toure: 4
Mohamed Toure has been outstanding since signing for Norwich, scoring five goals and providing three assists, but his cameo against Ipswich was one to forget. He failed to complete a single pass in 45 minutes.
Oscar Schwartau: 6
One of the players who was unfortunate not to start the game was Oscar Schwartau, after his winner against Millwall, and he put in a decent shift off the bench.
Paris Maghoma: 6.5
A player who should have started the game. Paris Maghoma created two chances and one ‘big chance’ in just 27 minutes on the pitch, and caused Ipswich’s defence more problems than Slimane did in 63 minutes.
Ben Chrisene: 6
Ben Chrisene was introduced too late in the game to have any meaningful impact, but he did make a couple of good challenges and did nothing notably wrong.
