Cameron Jerome
Assist by Alex Pritchard
Wes Hoolahan Card was given for a foul
Jonny Howson Card was given for a foul
Cameron Jerome Card was given for a foul
Ivo Pinto
Player was substituted due to an injury
On:Ryan Bennett
Off:Timm Klose
Player was substituted for tactical reasons
On:Cameron Jerome
Off:Wes Hoolahan
Player was substituted for tactical reasons
On:Josh Murphy
Off:Jacob Murphy
Stefan Johansen
Tom Cairney
Floyd Ayité
Assist by Lucas Piazon
Chris Martin
Scott Malone Card was given for a foul
Marcus Bettinelli Card shown to player for time wasting
Lucas Piazon Card was given for a foul
Player was substituted for tactical reasons
On:Lucas Piazon
Off:Sone Aluko
Player was substituted for tactical reasons
On:Ragnar Sigurdsson
Off:Stefan Johansen
Player was substituted for tactical reasons
On:Neeskens Kebano
Off:Floyd Ayité
An early pile-driver from Johansen gave the Whites the lead, and Chris Martin was shown a red just before the break for a high arm when challenging for a goal kick.
Tom Cairney grabbed the second from the penalty spot early in the second half after Tomas Kalas was bundled over in the area. The Canaries looked to be back in the game, with substitute Cameron Jerome scoring a header in the 76th minute.
The Whites were under severe pressure until they sealed the win it in the 89th minute, with Floyd Ayité skipping past the keeper and walking the ball into the net.
Last time out the Whites dispatched Ipswich Town, putting them to the sword in a 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage. Fulham were looking for consecutive wins after having bounced back from their mid-week defeat to Derby County.
The Canaries in their last match thrashed fellow promotion hopefuls Reading, in a 7-1 demolition, having put six past Jaap Stam’s side by halftime.
The match kicked off at Carrow Road and Norwich were the first to get an attack away. Nelson Oliveira ran down the left, he let loose with his left foot but struck wildly wide.
It only took five minutes for the Whites to get on the score sheet, netting with their first real chance of the match. Ayité ran at the defence down the right of the pitch and sent a quick through ball to the feet of Chris Martin.
The Scotsman’s shot was blocked but Johansen hammered the rebound into the bottom right of the goal from 20 yards out to give Fulham an early advantage.
Three minutes after the opening, the Canaries were on the attack. A Long ball forward from Alex Pritchard set the Canaries off, looking for an immediate response. Tim Ream made a crucial tackle inside his own area and passed out to Ayité, allowing him to counter at pace.
Ayité sent a cute ball to Cairney, he got a shot away at the near post but didn’t quite get the connection he was looking for and John Ruddy caught the effort.
The Whites looked threatening, the next big moment of the game came in the 12th minute. It was Ayité once more who sprang forward enjoying his freedom on the left, keeping tight on the right side of offside.
He whipped a teasing ball across the box and Sone Aluko slid in at the back post, he however was a fraction too late and couldn’t get a touch on the ball to double the lead.
The game was end to end for the first quarter of the match, and Norwich countered at pace. The Canaries had found their feet in the game after conceding early on, Jonny Howson saw sight of goal from the edge of the D, shooting narrowly wide.
Wes Hoolahan was next getting forward and crossed into the Fulham box. The ball was destined for Jacob Murphy in a good position, but Ream got the faintest of touches to put the ball behind for a corner. The game finally settled after such a frantic opening
Norwich won a corner ten minutes before the break, the ball was curled in and Timm Klose got a head to it, but under pressure he headed it high over the bar. From the goal kick Cairney took possession and made his way up the field. He slotted a through ball to Ryan Fredericks on the right of the box and he sent a ferocious shot on target at the near post. Ruddy got there in time and punched it out for a corner.
With three minutes left of the half, Malone gained possession just outside the opposition area. He instinctively crossed low and hard, but a Yellow shirt got in the way and cleared as far as Aluko, who tried his luck from the right of the goal. His shot flew past the left post.
The match exploded just before the sides went in for half time. Murphy shot from distance and Marcus Bettinelli dived and made a fingertip save at his left post.
From the resulting corner, the ball was whipped in and an unmarked Klose headed a powerful effort on target. Bettinelli quick to react made a fantastic save, and Pritchard followed up by striking over the bar.
In added time from the goal kick, Martin received a straight red card, which could be seen as harsh. The referee had deemed Martin had raised his arm against his defender, as he was backing in to him in attempt to claim the ball.
Ryan Bennett tactically came on at halftime for Klose and had an immediate impact, but not what Norwich were hoping for. Kalas sprinted into the box chasing a lobbed through ball and was pushed over by the midfielder, handing the Whites a penalty.
The captain Cairney, stood over the ball and struck right, slotting it into the back of the net and sending Ruddy the wrong way. The Whites could not have hoped for a better start to the second half after going a man down.
The Canaries started to attack hard at Fulham’s defence. Bettinelli came out several times to claim crosses from Norwich attackers, as Norwich concentrated their attacks down the right of the pitch. He eventually would receive a yellow for time wasting.
Ten minutes into the half and Ryan Fredericks found his way into the final third, he passed to Cairney who darted through the defenders. He sent a ball to an open Johansen, the goal scorer went with his left and missed wide of the right upright.
The pressure mounted and Bettinelli was called into action often. After a rare slip from Kevin McDonald, the ball bounced up for Oliveira, who was free on goal and shot a matter of inches wide, keeping the Whites two goals ahead.
On the 76th minute the Canaries found their way back into the game through substitute Cameron Jerome, with the Whites finally succumbing to the pressure on their goal. The ball was pulled back to Pritchard, who curled a cross to the forward and he headed it past Bettinelli to cut their deficit by half.
A barrage of corners ensued with the Whites defenders throwing everything at keeping the lead in the final ten minutes. Pritchard shot a swerving ball from far out and Bettinelli reacted well to keep it out of the net.
Cairney could have had the honours of sealing the win in the 87th minute. Ayité did well to relieve the pressure and liked up with the Scotsman. Ayité sent a looping through ball, with Cairney marked by one solitary defender.
With some trickery, he sent his marker the wrong way and created a one on one with the keeper, the ball got stuck at his feet in the vital moment.
The game was finally put to bed in the 89th minute. Malone played a long ball up to Ayité, who had been a handful all afternoon for the Norwich back line. He played some clever link-up play with Piazon, who sent a pinpoint ball through to man from Togo.
He skipped past the keeper and walked the ball into the back of the net, sending the travelling fans into rapture.
It was a nervy finish with the officials deeming seven minutes was to be added on. Neeskins Kebano came on for Ayité and almost grabbed a fourth in the dying seconds, with his blocked a metre from the line.
The ref blew his whistle to ensure the Whites walked off the pitch with all three points.
Competition: Sky Bet Championship
Date: Friday 14 April 2017
Kick-off: 3:00pm
Venue: Carrow Road, Norwich
Attendance: 27,023
Referee: Andy Madley
Line-up: Ruddy; Ivo Pinto, Martin, Klose (Bennett 45'), Dijks; Tettey, Howson; Jacob Murphy (Josh Murphy 64'), Pritchard, Hoolahan (Jerome 57'); Nélson Oliveira
Unused substitutes: McGovern, Whittaker, Naismith, Wildschut
Manager: Alan Irvine
Line-up: Bettinelli; Fredericks, Kalas, Ream, Malone; Johansen (Sigurdsson 81'), McDonald; Sone Aluko (Lucas Piazon 75'), Cairney, Floyd Ayité (Kebano 90'); Martin
Unused substitutes: Button, Parker, Ryan Sessegnon, Cyriac
Manager: Slavisa Jokanovic
Pos | Club | Pl | Pts |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 41 | 86 |
2 | Newcastle United | 41 | 84 |
3 | Huddersfield Town | 41 | 77 |
4 | Reading | 41 | 73 |
5 | Leeds United | 41 | 72 |
6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 72 |
7 | Fulham | 42 | 70 |
8 | Derby County | 42 | 62 |
9 | Preston North End | 42 | 61 |
10 | Norwich City | 42 | 60 |
11 | Brentford | 42 | 59 |
12 | Aston Villa | 41 | 58 |
13 | Barnsley | 42 | 56 |
14 | Cardiff City | 42 | 55 |
15 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 40 | 51 |
16 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 50 |
17 | Ipswich Town | 41 | 49 |
18 | Bristol City | 42 | 47 |
19 | Birmingham City | 42 | 47 |
20 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 45 |
21 | Burton Albion | 41 | 45 |
22 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 43 |
23 | Wigan Athletic | 42 | 40 |
24 | Rotherham United | 42 | 18 |