Prior to this game the Cardiff manager, Neil Harris described Norwich City as being “the best team in the league.” After his side were beaten for the second time in the space of a month by the Canaries, I doubt he’s changed his mind on that front.
The big news one hour before kick-off, when the team was announced, was that Teemu Pukki was missing due to a side strain. That made me wonder how much of an effective replacement Jordan Hugill might be but I needn’t have worried because the former West Ham striker had a very good game. Following on from a goal scoring appearance last week in the FA Cup against Coventry, he didn’t get a goal this week but he did assist Todd Cantwell with one when his shot, which was saved by Alex Smithies, was turned in on the rebound by the Dereham Deco.
Speaking of Cantwell he was excellent throughout, something that wasn’t lost on the iFollow BBC Wales commentary team. They were quite rightly impressed with his all action, man of the match winning display as he was a huge threat in attack and disciplined in defence, helping out Jacob Sorensen when needed. One moment in the first half summed that up when he lost the ball but broke his neck to win it back and then surged forward on the counter in a move that ended up in a Norwich corner.
That certainly impressed the Welsh broadcasting duo.
Todd’s defensive work was backed up by his colleagues, who hunted in packs of three when they did lose the ball, which reminded me of the way Barcelona used to play under Pep Guardiola. Obviously we don’t have Messi, Xavi and Iniesta but we do have players with just as much heart and desire to win the ball back.
There seems to be a collective, focussed desire to win football matches at the moment and it really doesn’t matter, it seems, what the opposition want to do in terms of tactics. They can try to sit back, they can try to counter attack, they can try to out-play us or they can try and be physical – any which way they choose, they will more often than not lose.
That must make it very hard for opposing managers to decide what to do. Even without Teemu Pukki, they can still win a game and look good doing it too.
The second half wasn’t as comfortable as the first, naturally and Daniel Barden had a little more to do than in the first but didn’t he look assured doing it? He had very little chance with the goal but other than that he took his catches and he made one decent full length save down low to his right as well. At the age of just 20, he looks like he’s got an excellent career ahead of him.
His nickname seems to be “Screech” as in the character of the same name in the 80’s teen favourite, Saved by the Bell. Much of his resemblance to Screech, I think, came from his hair and it was interesting to note that a shaved head was the order of the day – Jordan Hugill owned up to doing it for him after the game.
Neil Harris has been under a bit of pressure lately as his side have dropped off the promotion pace in dramatic fashion. He was missing a few players, as were Norwich but as the two Welsh commentators noted, it doesn’t matter in the Canaries’ system because everybody knows their role and if one player drops out then the player who replaces him knows exactly what to do.
That, as I mentioned earlier, underlines for me the way this group are playing, training and completely focussed on their target – promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The games keep on coming and on Wednesday we welcome Bristol City to Carrow Road. If Norwich continue to play like they have been then the promotion train will keep on rolling and they will continue to be the market leaders.
OTBC