Match Zone

Norwich Underline Supremacy With Controlled Brentford Win

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Is there any doubt now as to who the standout team in the Championship are, this season?

Having just watched Norwich comfortably control their nearest rivals in the table, Brentford with such ease, I think there is no doubt at all that Norwich are not only the best team in the league but they are going up.

The 1-0 score line might make the casual observer think this was a close game but that wasn’t ever the case. Having said that, a piece of charity from ex-canary, Sergi Canos in the first half with the score at 0-0 could’ve changed the game. Canos inexplicably missed from six yards with the goal at his mercy. Cheers, Sergi! Once a Canary always a Canary, eh?!

Emi Buendia grabbed the headlines with his 10th goal and 20th goal involvement this season as he stroked the ball past Brentford keeper, David Martin from the edge of the area after cutting in from the right but this was an excellent team performance. Everybody played well and in particular I thought Kenny McLean and Olly Skipp were superb, winning tackles and starting attacks just as they have been doing since being paired together.

Teemu Pukki also had an excellent all round game and but for the slightly unusual wayward finishing, it could’ve and probably should’ve been two or three nil on the night. That might sound strange to some of you, especially after watching him miss two one-on-one chances with the Brentford keeper but his game is about so much more than just scoring goals. His constant running and closing down of the opposition allows players like Buendia and Vrancic the opportunity to win the ball back as a direct result.

Granted, Vrancic had a quiet game and he didn’t bring his shooting boots with him, either. The time does seem right for someone else to have a go at being the number 10. Dowell, Stiepermann?

Brentford were slow to pass the ball around and that allowed us the chance to win it back. They looked quite a way short of the team that probably deserved to win the reverse fixture back in the autumn. Ivan Toney, for all his undoubted prowess in front of goal was reduced to a couple of half-chances and that means we owe a lot to Gibson and Hanley, whose partnership is a cornerstone of the promotion push and a major reason as to why we have conceded so many less goals than in 2018/19.

There are now only 12 games to go and City are currently ticking along at over 2 points per game. The average points total for promotion is apparently 84 points, according to Sky Sports, but Daniel Farke has said a couple of times that 90 points would be the target once they get past 80, which would secure a play-off place. That 90 points total would surely secure automatic promotion but with the rest of the challengers scrapping and dropping points, it looks like there is now only one automatic promotion place left to fight for.

Those that don’t make it will be in for an almighty scrap with the two in-form teams of Barnsley and Cardiff making me think that you don’t want to finish in the play-offs.

This was a game that we didn’t want to lose. If we had done, it wouldn’t have been a disaster but to win it was sensational.

It’s hard not to feel very, very confident now, I’d say.

OTBC

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Editor - a forty something Canary, who has been following Norwich for 30 odd years. Family man with wife, kids, dog and a love of sport. Fan of Boxing, Vale 46, F1 and Rock.

1 comment

  • Timothy Mark Sell says:

    Even my pessimistic self has to admit that we are nailed on for an automatic spot. Compared to the rest we are simply too good, too consistent, too focussed with a squad that is too strong in depth. I just can’t see any reason to argue against a swift return to the premier league. If we fail it would be the biggest collapse of all time and Daniel Farke simply won’t allow that to happen. My thoughts are actually far more focussed on what happens if we are unable to retain the services of Skipp, Buendia and Aarons. Just a final comment on Temu Pukki, the rapport he has with Buendia and the positions he takes up are nothing short of sensational but unfortunately his decision making in front of goal is very wasteful. As previous, he won’t get anywhere near as many chances in the premier league to be able to afford missing so many. He is an excellent championship striker but I remain unconvinced that he can really cut it in the premiership…….there, I said I was pessimistic ! OTBC 🙂

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