Norwich look doomed as they lose to Ipswich

April 20, 2009

Norwich went into this game in the relegation zone, and with only three games left to play this local derby took on added significance. Sadly though for Norwich a win was not to be, as they went down 3-2 at Portman Road.

Norwich started the game the better of the the two teams as Ipswich appeared nervous. Town had not been in good form going into this fixture and their manager Jim Magilton, was under intense pressure.

Norwich’s good play culminated on 16 minutes when they took the lead through David Mooney. Sammy Clingan fired a good free-kick into the box and Mooney rose high enough to power an accurate header into the corner of the net.

This was a fine goal from the on-loan Irishman and many Norwich fans will be ruing the fact that he will not be able to play in the next game against Reading, as part of his loan deal with the Royals. One nil to Norwich and reasons to be cheerful for the travelling fans.

After the goal the Canaries continued to dominate possession, and David Marshall’s goal did not look in too much danger. However, on 25 minutes this all changed as Alan Quinn put Ipswich level.

A lapse in concentration at the back allowed Dos Santos to play in Quinn, who then put the ball past David Marshall in the Norwich goal. It was a good finish but was certainly against the run of play, and the Norwich players would have been disappointed.

Norwich did not let their heads drop though, and Darel Russell had soon created another scoring chance. However Richard Wright in the Ipswich goal just did enough to tip Russel’s rasping drive over the crossbar.

The end of the half was reasonably open as both sides tried to get an advantage, but each side’s defence held firm and the half ended 1-1. The game was now finely poised and a point from this game would take Norwich out of the relegation zone.

Ipswich began the second half far better than the Canaries, with Dos Santos showing why he is held in such high regard at his parent club Tottenham Hotspur, by producing some good shots on goal. Marshall though was alive to the threat and was perorming well in goal.

Norwich did still pose a threat, but the game turned on its head when a penalty was awarded after an hour. Marshall in the City goal was adjudged to have made contact with Kevin Lisbie but the foul was not obvious and the decision to award Ipswich a penalty was controversial to say the least.

Dos Santos stepped up and had no hesitation in putting the Tractor Boys in front. 2-1 to Ipswich and Norwich’s quest for survival was hanging by a thread. Bryan Gunn, Norwich’s manager was clearly incensed but knew the team had to go for broke in order to try and salvage something.

Gunn’s move was to bring on Cody McDonald another striker, in the hope that an equaliser would come, but Ipswich were proving hard to break down. Norwich did produce some efforts on goal but time was ticking on and things were looking increasingly desperate for the Norfolk team.

On 78 minutes Ipswich brought on Danny Haynes, who has so often proved to be a thorn in City’s side, but as it turned out it actally was John Stead who hammered the final nail into Norwich’s coffin, scoring as he did after 90 minutes.

This left the score at 3-1 and the travelling supporters in disarray. However, Sammy Clingan did manage to move the scoreline on to 3-2 with a neatly taken penalty after Alan Lee was pushed in the back. It was too little too late though and the game ended in defeat for the Canaries.

This was a game that demanded a good performance from Norwich, and sadly this just did not happen. The team did look good in parts of the first half but it has been inconsistency that has dogged them all season, and that was the case today.

Norwich have two games left to save themselves from the drop, and realistically they need to win both of these. The first is at home to Reading on 27th which will not be easy and the last is against Charlton who have already been relegated.

Reading need to win to secure their place in the play-offs and Charlton have nothing to lose. It is still possible for Norwich to remain in the Championship, but it is a big ask and the odds on it happening are getting longer by the day.

Will Sargent.

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