Norwich City 4 Watford 2
Norwich have lost their Premier League status but retained their pride. They looked in danger of going down without a fight when Troy Deeney gave Watford an early lead here but Alex Neil’s team stormed back with a performance that left the Carrow Road crowd serenading the home players and manager despite the fact that Sunderland’s victory over Everton condemned them to a quick return to the Championship.
Nathan Redmond scored once and helped create three other goals, including two for Dieumerci Mbokani. Norwich will lament their inability to play with such cutting style more often but at least their spirit remained admirable to the end. Their campaign was undermined by a lack of in-depth quality rather than profound character flaws. There is some consolation in that.
Relegation began stalking Norwich from the moment they beat Middlesbrough in last year’s Championship playoff final but, despite inadequate investment, the club had been confident of staying clear of its clutches, right up until last weekend’s defeat by Manchester United, when a degree of despair took root. The chief executive, David McNally, resigned on Monday while Neil sounded uncharacteristically doleful as he accepted that his team’s fate depended to a large extent on results beyond his control, though the chairman, Ed Balls, hinted Neil’s job would be safe even if the club went down.
With survival still a theoretical possibility Norwich tried to rally their spirits for the visit of Watford but the sight of their player of the year award being presented before kick-off to Jonny Howson – who had to collect while on crutches as a result of a serious knee injury suffered during the loss to United – rather encapsulated the club’s predicament.
Still, Norwich had every reason to ensure they profited from any favour that Everton might do them against Sunderland. That meant beating Watford and that, in turn, would mean scoring at least one goal, something Norwich had failed to do in their four previous games.
Neil fielded a side that was about as close to attacking as his team can get. Cameron Jerome was left on the bench as Wes Hoolahan, Steven Naismith and Redmond were deployed to serve the team’s top league scorer this season, Mbokani, who went into the game with five league goals to his name. How Norwich could have done this season with a strike force such as Deeney and Odion Ighalo.
That duo combined to give the visitors the lead when Deeney headed a long pass on to his partner and then, after John Ruddy pounced at Igahlo’s feet, rolled the ball into the empty net from nine yards. Things were looking ominous for Norwich, who had started as if drained of confidence. But four minutes later they drew level thanks to Redmond and, in part, Heurelho Gomes, the Watford goalkeeper beaten by a routine shot at the near post after Redmond exchanged quick passes with Naismith.
Now belief flowed anew through Norwich and they seized the lead. Redmond was again instrumental, as his curling shot from the left deflected off a defender and on to the far post. The rebound fell to Mbokani, who tapped in from close range.
Redmond continued to be a menace to the visitors and almost scored again on 26 minutes, playing a one-two with Hoolahan before cracking a shot off the post. Gomes then dived full-length to turn away a 20-yard drive by Martin Olsson.
Quique Sanche Flores, the Watford manager whose position is in jeopardy, watched aghast as his team unravelled alarmingly in the face of Norwich’s new-found verve. The home side’s third goal summed up the visitors’ deterioration, as Allan Nyom slipped while attempting to intercept a pass, allowing Hoolahan to send in a low cross that Craig Cathcart diverted into his own goal. The Carrow Road crowd started to sense events might just turn in their team’s favour after all, but news from Sunderland quashed any giddiness.
Flores rejigged Watford’s defence at half-time in a bid to avert humiliation, replacing Nyom with Nathan Aké and switching Ikechi Anya to right -back. It took the visitors only five minutes to begin saving face, as Deeney outmuscled Russell Martin down the right and crossed for Ighalo to slot into the net from six yards. It was the Nigerian’s first league goal since January.
Nervous Norwich fans began casting their minds back to that month for a different reason: that was when their team let slip a 3-1 lead at home before losing 5-4 to Liverpool. But Redmond quickly banished fears of a repeat of that by threading a lovely pass through to Mbokani in the 57 th minute. The Congolese striker applied a suitably elegant finish.
(Guardian service)
