Norwich City vs Stoke City. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow RoadAttendance26,159.
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Norwich City and Stoke City at Carrow Road as Aaron Ramsey scored twice in a return to winning ways for the Canaries on Saturday.
Saturday 29 October 2022 18:39, UK
Norwich turned in an improved second-half performance to beat Stoke 3-1 and record their first win in seven Championship games.
The Canaries were below par for long periods but stuck to their task and followed up a goal late in the first half with two in the second to get their promotion campaign back on track.
Teenage midfielder Aaron Ramsey was the star, scoring twice to put Norwich 2-0 up in a match which could have gone either way, while substitute Gabriel Sara added a third before Nick Powell fired home a late consolation for the visitors.
Both sides struggled to string passes together in a poor first half, with the home fans becoming increasingly frustrated as the game remained goalless.
But they finally had something to shout about in the 38th minute when Norwich took the lead from their first clear-cut chance of the afternoon.
Liam Gibbs found Teemu Pukki after bursting through a congested midfield and the Finnish frontman turned Ben Wilmot one way and then another before firing in a powerful shot which keeper Joe Bursik did well to push away. But, unluckily for the visitors, the ball fell kindly for Ramsey, with the on-loan Aston Villa midfielder sliding his shot into the gaping net to ease the tension at Carrow Road.
It was a goal out of the blue for a misfiring home side although Stoke could hardly complain after barely mustering a shot themselves in a tepid opening period.
However, Alex Neil's side might have got themselves back on level terms immediately, with Jacob Brown missing a close-range header from Tariqe Fosu's driven left-wing cross.
Norwich went close again two minutes after the restart as a Isaac Hayden snap-shot from inside the box almost caught out Bursik, who was grateful to grab a spinning ball on his goalline at the second attempt.
At the other end Brown fired into the side-netting and substitute Powell sent a free header from a Fosu cross wastefully wide as the disjointed nature of proceedings continued.
But just as Stoke were beginning to threaten a comeback, Ramsey grabbed his second goal with 18 minutes left to calm the home nerves.
It was a goal out of keeping with a scrappy game, with Ramsey playing a superb one-two with Pukki inside a packed penalty area before beating Bursik with an assured finish.
With Stoke having to push more men forward there were then gaps for Norwich to exploit and Bursik made two good stops to deny Sara and Todd Cantwell before the former made it 3-0 after 77 minutes.
Bursik was able to palm away a shot from Marcelino Nunez after a sublime Cantwell pass had put the Chilean in but fellow substitute Sara was on hand to tuck away the loose ball.
Angus Gunn made a couple of good reaction saves late on but could do nothing to prevent Stoke from pulling one back in injury time, Powell finishing with aplomb when the ball fell kindly for him after a late break.
Norwich's Dean Smith: "The result was all important today and I am delighted with the win but it was all a bit laboured in the first half, I'll admit that, even though I made six changes to freshen things up after a tough week. We struggled to create anything and the fluidity I wanted just wasn't there. We got our goal but even for the first 15 minutes of the second half I thought we were second best.
"Then we got a good second goal and that lifted a weight off our shoulders. After that we played some good stuff and got a third. Results dictate the mood around the place. Fans want to see their side winning and that hasn't been happening recently. But we have got a run of three home games in four before the World Cup and we're aiming to make the most of that."
Stoke's Alex Neil: "It's very frustrating. In terms of the general game we were the better side today but Norwich were more clinical than us and that's why they took the three points. I thought we were good until we reached the final third and then we were very wasteful. We got into some good positions but time after time we made bad decisions or missed good chances.
"I thought the defining minute of the game came in the second half. We should have made it 1-1 from a free header at the back post (from Powell) but straight away they went up the other end and got their second. There is no way we should have lost today, but the fact that we were the better side isn't the story. It's the fact that we were beaten 3-1."
