Norwich Match Report part one

So the Norwich jinx strikes yet again, although this was a much more professional show than last year’s 5-1 drubbing and strange tactics with ten men.

It must have been difficult for Davey to change the side that caused the Liverpool upset and, surely enough, the starting eleven was the same as that at Anfield.

Steele

Hassell Foster Sousa Kozluk

Devaney De Silva Howard Leon

Ferenczi Nardiello

Amongst the subs were the cup-tied pair of Nyatanga and Macken, as well as Van Homoet, Odejayi and Campbell-Ryce. So – no keeper again!

The first half hour was a story of Reds dominance and Norwich chasing shadows, although we lacked a cutting edge during this time. The defence was standing very firm. It was especially good to see the Canaries’ dangerous wingers, Crofts and Huckerby, being well held by Kozluk and Hassell. There was frequent support in this at times from Leon with Crofts and more sporadic support from Devaney with Huckerby. It doesn’t take much to remember what these two did to us last season, so the work of both full-backs was admirable and a strength of the performance on the day, as well as Leon obviously having been given tactical detail by Davey to track back and close down Crofts, which he did with speed and tenacity.

The midfield was also looking good, although what Roeder has done for this Norwich side is to start by making them hard to beat, which, apart from at Leicester last weekend, they have been. We did have early chances, though, but Norwich were as resolute as we had been at Liverpool last week and they defended reasonably well at the back and in midfield. Nonetheless, we had the lion’s share of possession – I would have like to have seen the statistics after 30 minutes, because it was all Reds possession and played mostly in the Norwich half. You have to take advantage of spells like this and pop the goals during periods of dominance, otherwise the game comes back to bite you, which is what happened on the day.

Significant events of the first half were as follows. A super piece of silky skills by De Silva, who jinked past several defenders, got to the by-line and put over a cross which was not converted. The best chance was Nardiello’s finish to Steele’s long kick-out, when he beat the defender for pace on the outside and got to the ball before Marshall, before flicking the ball goalwards. You would bet on this sort of chance going in, but it did not quite have the steam and Doherty got back to turn it off the line. A pity, as this would have been no more than we deserved and I think Norwich heads would have dropped even more had it gone in. A good block by Marshall when one-on-one with Howard. Perhaps a low shot would have gone in, but, hey, we can’t have Anfield every week!

Norwich attacks were rare, but they do have dangerous strikers in Evans and Cureton. At this point, hats off to Rob Kozluk. First he denied Evans a chance with an excellent, aggressive, but well-time tackle and then, when the ball came loose to Crofts, Kozluk recovered to get his body in the way of what looked to have been a certain goal-bound shot. Shades of Anfield and another excellent double, last-ditch block. Norwich’s goal was unfortunate, but well taken. It did seem to me that Kozluk was fouled by Crofts as Norwich broke on the half way line and it was the absence of Kozluk (still sprawling on the floor) to defend which was a factor in the goal. This was about the only time Crofts got this sort of space all afternoon and he made us pay. His cross was partly headed away by Sousa, but Cureton latched on to it and found a clinical right-foot finish into the corner, giving Steele no chance. It was the finish of a natural goalscorer, although in no way was it merited on the balance of play.

De Silva then went down with what I hope is not a serious injury. He lay prone for several seconds and had to have the stretcher. It looks as though it is a knee-injury and you fear that his season could be over. Big shame if that is the case, as he had shown his class by controlling midfield in the holding position for long periods. The reshuffle put Hassell into the holding role and Van Homoet to right back. I felt that the Reds lost a degree of control at this point and, being a goal down, the two incidents changed the balance of the game. Although it was still competitive and we were never out of it, Norwich had more of the ball and the game from this point on. One further incident saw Howard’s shot saved by Marshall and Sousa booked for holding back Evans, which he definitely did. Does this rule him out for Chelsea? He seemed really upset by the card, but it could have been red if the ref thought he was the last defender. Fortunately, he didn’t.

So – half time and 1-0 down. What would the second half bring?

 

RE: Norwich Match Report part two

The first talking point was a foul on Devaney, which he (Devaney) thought was a penalty. I would need to see it again to be sure. The full-back certainly caught Devaney in the face and he went down like a sack of spuds, but it happened so quickly, it was hard to tell. If it had been a deliberately high arm, it should have been a penalty and Otsemobor should have walked, but I didn’t think it was at the time – but it was over in an instant – hard to tell.

The balance had indeed shifted in the second half. Norwich held possession for longer and looked more dangerous. We were giving the ball away more and not threatening as much. Hassell looked a full back drafted into midfield and didn’t look comfortable there.

Then came the double substitution, with Odejayi and Macken coming on for Nardiello and Leon. This effectively gave us three strikers, with either Odejayi, or Macken playing wide and Ferenczi up the middle. Macken made an instant impact with his good close control and shielding of the ball and Odejayi won everything in the air and on the ground and was a physical presence for the Norwich defence. The game started to swing again in our direction, with corners, shots and more pressure. I was surprise that Davey didn’t bring on Campbell-Ryce, but Devaney is probably a better crosser of the ball and he now had three to aim at. Our best chance was a good shooting chance Macken made for himself by tricking along the edge of the penalty area, which brought a very good block from Marshall. The ball was then worked back to Odejayi and I was convinced his shot was going in. Hard to tell when you are level with the goal-line, but it seared just wide. Pity – he would have more than deserved it. There was brilliant piece of skill from Devaney, who tricked the ball away from the midfielder and set off on a typical run, head down through the heart of the Norwich defence. The defence, though, kept their shape and Devaney could not finish. Shame. Great skill leading to great run. Ferenczi had a header straight at Marshall.

Right at the death, with us surging forwards, Crofts had a great chance to make it 2-0, but Steele produced another save of Anfield quality to push the shot wide. Norwich were getting space as we pushed on, but couldn’t capitalise. We pressed well, but Norwich’s good run has been the result of good defensive organisation in midfield and defence and this proved enough to frustrate our effort and keep us to shot from distance, with Kozluk and Ferenczi both finding row M (not Z) with long-distant efforts, which were, nonetheless, worth the try.

Still pressing, but to no avail, the game ended 1-0 to Norwich and a disappointment after Anfield.

 

RE: Norwich Match Report part three

Player Ratings:

Luke Steele 8: very nimble on his feet for a goalie, but not tall and you would think he might struggle with crosses against tall forwards. He did everything pretty well and distributed the ball well from hand and foot – just one aberration. His save right at the end from Crofts shows that Anfield was no fluke. He could do nothing about the goal. He reminded me of some of the lightweight, but acrobatic keepers of the past, such as Peter Springett. I think he could be worth signing, especially if Muller either leaves for a million, or is not fit to come back until well into next season. A hero already and that helps at Oakwell!

Bobby Hassell 7: this would have been 8 had he stayed at full-back, in which position he admirably and tenaciously played Huckerby right out the game. He made some superb challenges on the Canary flyer, timing them well and with all his weight behind them. Huckerby must have been fearing he might mistime one and take his leg out into row Z. He looked uncomfortable when drafted into midfield. OK if you just want a tackler and blocker, but midfield is about movement and getting the weight of passes right and that is not his best skill. If De Silva is ruled out, we need a genuine midfielder in – I think Togwell should get the nod and Hassell go back to right back.

Steve Foster 9: and my man of the match for the Reds. Reads the game very well. Positioned well, especially when under pressure in the second half. Ensured Norwich didn’t waste too much time with their goal kicks at the end, even placing the ball for the goalie and the haring back downfield. If Sousa is suspended, I think he will accompany Nyatanga in central defence and that could be his best position. One of Dario Gradi’s best on this showing.

Dennis Sousa 8: good solid performance as usual, winning almost all the ball in the air and generally getting his headers comfortably to Reds players, which is quite a skill. Booking looked fair to me and might have been red, although that would have been harsh, as there were other defenders near.

Rob Kozluk 8: totally committed and resolute performance as ever and looked comfortable at left-back, which is good news. Close to man-of-the-match for me, especially as he played the dangerous Crofts out of it in a way we did not last season. Some excellent blocks and tackles and good distribution of the ball on the whole.

Martin Devaney 7: pretty impressive, the high-point being his late run into the box, which would have been a goal of the season contender, had he finished. I thought he might have had more luck down the right after the three strikers were on. My reasoning is that he is predominantly a right-footed player and, playing down the left, when he made space, which he did quite frequently, he then had to pull the ball back on to his right foot to get in a cross which arched naturally in towards the keeper. Had he switched to the right, he might have got in quicker centres (like Anfield) and would have been arching the ball away from the keeper, also giving Odejayi, Ferenczi and Macken a situation in which they would have been running into the swing of the ball, rather than having it arch away from them – just a thought. I also would have liked to have seen Campbell-Ryce have a run, but I think that it was right of Davey to value quality crossing more highly than speed.

De Silva 7: really controlled the game superbly until being carried off on a stretcher. Excellent early jinking run and cross. He made the midfield buzz and it was obvious once he had gone off just how much an influence he had been in our controlling possession for long periods. Looked a quality player. I can’t give him more than 7, as he only played half an hour, but I think he could have been man of the match, or even matchwinner had he stayed the full ninety. Hope he is not badly hurt, but don’t keep your hopes up too much – it looked serious!

Brian Howard 7: trying hard all the while and had quality in patches again. Norwich tried very hard to contain him and managed it most, but not all of the time. Might well have done better with the one-to-one with their keeper. The low shots usually get under their grasp, but this was just a little too lifted. Even more onus was placed on him when De Silva was off, as he alone had to make the midfield tick. That was probably a reason that we had most success down Devaney’s flank, or down the middle in the latter part of the game.

Diego Leon 6: tracked Crofts very well to support Kozluk. Played his part well enough, but I was looking for him to be a threat to the Norwich defence and, maybe, to their goal, but he wasn’t in truth. Tidy player. OK game.

Istvan Ferenczi 6: battled hard for the high balls, winning some. Put himself about to good effect. A couple of shots from distance late on, but not really threatening the goal. I would place him below Macken in the pecking order for the target-man striker, as Macken has guile and cunning to go with the brawn. He never really looked like creating, nor scoring today. Flicks he did win went to waste, but that wasn’t his fault. A different style of striker might have seen us capitalise on our early pressure.

Daniel Nardiello 6: unlucky with the flick over defender and keeper and put himself about to good effect in the dominant early spell, but, apart from the once, did not look much like getting on the scoresheet. He rather faded and was replaced by Macken on the hour.

Sub – Jonathan Macken 7: things changed and our forward line took on a more threatening look as some as he was introduced. He grafted, floated, held the ball, looked for players running into space. He almost scored with his own shot and then (I think) nearly set up Odejayi for an equaliser, which was our best second-half chance. Definitely our best current target-man striker.

Sub – Kayodi Odejayi 8: really put himself about. He worried the Norwich defence as soon as he came on – with Macken. He battled, troubled the defenders when they couldn’t get the ball from him, won the ball in physical battles he had no right to win, won corners. He seemed to me to win every header he went for any every ball on the deck. This was some impressive cameo performance indeed. He would have deserved his shot to go in, rather than just wide. He gives us the physical presence and pace we need and defenders are petrified of him.

Sub – Marciano Van Homoet 6: pretty nifty. I was concerned that, with Hassell leaving his marking of Huckerby, the Canary winger would run rings round Marciano, but no. He is mobile and good in the tackle. Distribution was also pretty good. I think that I would have tried him as the holding midfielder and kept Hassell at full-back, just to see how it worked. He looks to be a better passer than Hassell and slightly more mobile, hence my thinking that midfield might have been better from him than from Hassell.

So there you have it. We deserved a draw on the balance of the whole game. We played good football and dominated Norwich for the first half hour. We still edged it at times the rest of the match as well. I think that sharpness in front of goal was key in a match with few goalscoring chances and few shots on target. They took one of theirs and we didn’t. Davey is right that this was what was the difference, but, boy, do we need to win a couple of away games to match that home form.

Keep the faith!

 

Cheers mate! Good, balanced report. nt

j

 

Cheers for the report

Although with those player scores you'd have thought we'd won the game 3-0.

 

thanks.....

plain to see the big effort put into your report.... much appreciated

 

Excellent, thanks. nt

 

Same old story........played well, loads of possession, should have won.........but didn't score!!!

 

sorry

did not have majority of possession , never looked like winning and ferenzi squandered a sitter from 10 yds out at the end

we were poor up front , very poor
macken has to start with an other

 

Good read mate.Thanks nt

 

Dont think that at 6'2" Luke Steel should be at a disadvantage for dealing with Tall Strikers!

 

RE: Same old story........played well, loads of possession, should have won.........but didn't score

ye sometimes think we could just have a standard match report on a sticky at the top for away matches save keep typing it S)

 

grea report mate cheers.