Stoke City vs Norwich City. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance25,487.
The Potters twice fell behind, but Tom Edwards' 69th-minute strike secured a point for Nathan Jones' men
Monday 22 April 2019 19:57, UK
Norwich's return to the Premier League remains on hold after they were held to a 2-2 draw at Stoke.
The Canaries twice threw away a lead as they wasted the chance to move further clear of chasing pair Leeds and Sheffield United.
Onel Hernandez gave Norwich the lead midway through the first half, before Ashley Williams levelled just after the break.
Teemu Pukki restored the visitors' lead against the run of play on 66 minutes. But they held it for just three minutes before Ryan Edwards levelled with a wonderful goal.
The visitors got off to the better start against a Stoke side with nothing to play for with Hernandez firing an effort narrowly wide on four minutes.
Marco Stiepermann was the next to go close for the visitors, before Sam Clucas headed over from a Thomas Edwards cross on 11 minutes.
Jack Butland pulled off a brilliant save to keep out Pukki's header on 21 minutes and Thibaud Verlinden failed to get hold of his shot as Tim Krul saved easily a minute later.
It was the Canaries who took the lead on 25 minutes when Hernandez pounced on a loose ball to hammer home. Seven minutes later Peter Etebo almost levelled, shooting inches wide of the post following a surging run.
Danny Batth just failed to get on the end of a teasing Edwards' cross on 37 minutes as Stoke started to enjoy a better spell.
That dominance almost paid off when James McLean fired straight at Krul just before half-time as some sloppy defending nearly cost Norwich dear.
After the restart, Benik Afobe failed to hit the target after losing his balance following a Joe Allen pass.
But it was not long before Stoke equalised when Williams headed home from Verlinden's cross at the back post with just two minutes of the second half gone.
Krul clung on to a deflected Verlinden effort on 51 minutes, before Clucas saw an effort deflected for a corner minutes later.
Etebo tested Krul with a long range effort on 54 minutes, and McLean headed straight at the keeper two minutes later.
However, Norwich went ahead with 66 minutes on the clock when Pukki flicked home from a Mario Vrancic cross.
But Edwards levelled with his first goal for the club, a brilliant finish minutes later.
Norwich almost snatched all three points with five minutes remaining when Jamal Lewis dragged an effort wide. A point puts Norwich closer to the Premier League and they could clinch promotion on Saturday night when they host Blackburn.
Nathan Jones: "I told us to go back to the game plan at half-time. We showed them too much respect and did not press them and work them. We were much the better in the second half. We got into them and worked harder and showed more aggression.
"The second half is what we wanted when we planned the game in the week. We were far too passive in the first half and we needed to change that. We stepped it up and showed a real desire to win the game in the second half, I thought we were excellent. We have to make sure we keep working hard and keep improving, as Norwich have done."
Daniel Farke: "We were of course hoping for a win to make our lives easier but of course success never comes easy. This point in the end could be crucial so you have to not lose your head and lose the game.
"We are disappointed with the draw, we had the dominance in the first half and we should have been able to kick on from there. We needed to defend better, Stoke punished us and we have to learn these lessons. The players are disappointed."
