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Norwich
City v West Bromwich Albion
Carrow Road, Norwich.
2nd March 2004, 7.45pm. |
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After the disappointment of the weekend, the Baggies went to the
home of the league leaders and produced a display of grit, determination
and desire to secure a well-earned point. A diabolical refereeing
display was thankfully equally bad for both sides and a draw was
a fair result. Gary Megson showed his tactical guile by giving James
Chambers only his fifth start of the season to man-mark Darren Huckerby,
and he effectively marked the Norwich playmaker out of the game.
Albion probably had the better of the chances even though they were
not at their most adventurous, but we can all be happy with a point.
There were three changes to the Albion team that lost to Rotherham
with Gregan replacing the injured Darren Moore, and reclaiming the
captain's armband, Chambers replaced Neil Clement and Facey replaced
Hughes. There were also surprises on the bench with O'Connor and
Dobie returning to the sixteen.
I was braced for an onslaught from the home side in the first ten
minutes but it didn't materialise. It was clear that everything
good about Norwich goes through Darren Huckerby, but with Chambers
following him everywhere, the former Man City man was given no space
to weave his magic. It was the story of the match as the Brummie
twin produced a series of strong challenges to remind Huckerby he
was there.
In fact, it was the visitors that produced the best chances in the
first half. Chambers himself was the first to produce an effort
on goal when Koumas squared a free kick for him to fire in a shot
that was blocked by Craig Fleming.
It was a cagey game and it was Koumas that sparked it into life
on 19 minutes. He picked up a loose knock down, knocked it past
Francis before weaving past five City defenders into the box before
completely wrong-footing Robert Green in the Norwich goal by shooting
back across the target. With the 'keeper scrambling across but beaten,
the ball trickled agonisingly past the post.
Minutes later, it was Koumas again on the ball as he broke strongly
from the halfway line. With Facey to his right, the Welshman opted
to shoot himself but his effort lacked real power and Green was
able to gather.
The home crowd were now very quiet as Albion had nullified their
attacking threat and looked the more dangerous side. A long clearance
from Hoult set Facey away. Green had a rush of blood and failed
to reach the ball before Facey and the former Bolton striker managed
a weak effort on target that still looked to have beaten the retreating
Norwich defenders until Fleming leaned into the ball and clearly
played it with his arm. Referee Curson was only ten yards away but
failed to give the penalty - it was the first of many poor decisions.
The first scare in the Albion box came as Hoult flapped at a cross
before seeing it bounce conveniently into his hands. But back at
the other end, Albion had another penalty shout denied as Horsfield
was pulled back as he latched onto Kinsella's throughball. But the
Horse was as honest as ever and battled on to get his shot away
which flew across the face of goal and wide.
Norwich's first real effort on goal after 37 minutes should have
been the opening goal. THe marking in the Albion box was slack as
Brennan's cross found Francis in the clear ten yards out, but he
could only direct his header straight at the grateful Russell Hoult.
It was the referee's turn to give Albion a break minutes later when
Huckerby, although potentially offside, finally got away from Chambers
but the Albion man got back and made the challenge which saw Huckerby
go down and the ball run through to Hoult. The replays suggested
that it should have been a foul, and a possible red card for Chambers,
but nothing was given.
But the incident seemed to galvanise the hosts as they began to
exert some real pressure for the first time. A real scramble in
the area saw Robinson and Chambers both make crucial tackles before
the ball was cleared before Brennan found some space when Robinson
was down injured to deftly flick a header just wide.
The second half started as a much more open game. Brennan had a
tame shot saved by Hoult before Green made the save of the game.
Facey got clear on the right before sending in a cross aimed at
Horsfield. Green got a hand to it and for once an Albion midfielder
was following in, but as Johnson headed the rebound goalwards, Green
somehow recovered to block the attempt.
Haas, who had been having a dreadful game finally made a positive
impact, and did it twice in the space of a few minutes. His first
contribution was to fire in a long range shot that was well saved
by Green, before he ran fifty yards to help out Chambers. Huckerby
seemed to be about to get the better of his marker, twisting and
turning on the edge of the box, before Haas stepped in with a crucial
challenge.
Substitute Dobie had a good chance when he was set up by Horsfield,
but he could only sidefoot weakly at the 'keeper.
In the last minute, Huckerby finally got some space away from Chambers,
but as he pulled the trigger, Gregan was on hand to block.
It was a tense night in front of the TV, but it was encouraging
to see the Baggies produce such a solid battling performance after
the drab affair at the weekend. A good point well earned.
RESULT - NORWICH CITY 0 WEST BROMWICH
ALBION 0
Marks
Hoult - 7 - Good solid game but worrying to see him in apparent
pain at the end.
Haas - 5 - Apart from one important challenge, he was dreadful.
Gaardsoe - 7 - Generally solid but occasionally looked uncomfortable
with Roberts.
Gregan - 8 - Finally, a performance from the Gregan we saw last
season.
Robinson - 8 - Good solid performance.
J Chambers - 9 - MOM. Given a job that he did exceptionally well.
Top drawer.
Koumas - 8 - His best game for months.
Johnson - 7 - Ran his heart out, got some good challenges in, even
an attempt on target.
Kinsella - 7 - Excellent first half, faded slightly in the second.
Facey - 6 - Some good flick ons, but didn't really do enough.
Horsfield - 7 - Good solid game from the Horse on a difficult night.
Dobie - 5 - Did nothing.
Clement - 6 - Had little impact.
The Manager - 8 - Chambers was a masterstroke, good all round game
plan but maybe a touch too defensive.
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Norwich
City (4-4-2):
Green; Edworthy, Mackay, Fleming, Drury (Mulryne 59); McVeigh (McKenzie
89), Holt, Francis, Brennan; Roberts (Svensson 71), Huckerby. Subs
not used: Crichton (GK), Shackell. |
West
Bromwich Albion (4-1-3-2):
Murphy; Haas, Gaardsoe, Gregan, Robinson; J Chambers; Koumas, Kinsella
(Clement 89), Johnson; Horsfield, Facey (Dobie 64). Subs not used:
Murphy (GK), Volmer, O'Connor.
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Bookings: Norwich City
- Roberts (foul 26), Holt (foul 39), Svensson (dissent 74). West
Bromwich Albion - Haas (foul 20), Robinson (foul 32), Dobie (foul
75), Koumas (foul 81).
Referee: B Curson (Leicester).
Attendance: 23,223.
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