Ricardo's report v Burnley

[ricardo 7,385]

I spent an enjoyable morning watching my great grandsons under 14's win comfortably  so it was a good omen when he accompanied me to CR this afternoon as my son is still out of action with his ACL and broken bones.

There was an even better omen when we lost the toss and kicked off the right way for once. It was a fairly even steven opening with both teams getting some early action in the opposing penalty areas. As expected there was plenty of ariel stuff from the visitors and some dangerous  corners to be dealt with but it was the home side that were quickest off the mark. Burnley failed to clear a City corner on the left and PLM stepped forward to slam a shot that deflected into the corner off a defender.

Burnley came back strongly and Krul had to be at his best when diving to his right to punch away Cornet's strike from 20 yards. By the midway stage it was the visitors with most of the pressure but Hanley and Gibson held firm under the physical onslaught and with Rashica and Pukki finding space, there was always a threat on breakaways. Pukki almost doubled the lead when working a space in the area but Pope stuck his right leg out just in time.

City were hanging on a bit towards the end of the half and ref Michael Oliver didnt endear himself to the crowd with more than a few one eyed decisions. Burnley had a decent chance with a free kick central just outside the box but thankfully a poor effort flew well over.

I was expecting a bit of a second half backs to the wall job but in truth the home side were looking most likely with some darting runs from Pukki and Rashica. It looked as though Dowell had Put Pukki in on goal after ten minutes but he couldnt  sort his feet out and the shot was blocked. At the other end a couple of crosses spelt danger but the central defenders were doing enough with the ariel stuff. Just after the hour however Burnley were nearly level as Cornet slid in at the far post but missed the target.

Rupp came on for the tiring PLM with 20 minutes to go and solidified things as the game became stretched, and in one lightening  break Pope had to make a fine stop after Rashica's run and shot. It all got a bit fingernail biting as the seconds ticked slowly away but City's talisman was on hand to calm shredded nerves when Norman picked him out inside the box with five minutes left. Ice cold calmness and a low accurate shot into the bottom right hand corner gave Pope no chance. There was still time for Krul to pull off a fine diving save to his left to wrap up a rare three points and clean sheet for the Canaries.

They were all pretty good today. Kenny, lots of chasing and tackling, Dimi, looked lively and Pukki and Rashica were always a danger but this win was due to some solid defensive  work so my MOM goes to Grant Hanley.

 

 

 

[Badger 2,405]

Two consecutive clean sheets as well!

If only we'd seen a similar performance against Brentford.

[ron obvious 1,502]

Thanks for that ricardo. Excellent as always.

I thought there was a lot of cheating - Tarkowski elbowed McClean in the face within a few minutes just as he did Max (I think) in the last match. Cornet & somebody else ( McNeil?) blatantly dived & the general level of sh!thousery was high. Not a team I admire I'm afraid.

What pleased me a lot was the way we recovered after seeming to tire very rapidly in the first half. We came out rejuvenated & had an excellent 2nd half. Pukki looked very sharp all game & his instant control & composure for the goal was world class. 

In fact we showed some lovely one-touch passing & interplay all through the match. What we seem to be lacking (to me) is movement off the ball & staying  tight (but not too tight) to opposition players. This has been a perennial problem watching Norwich - independent of managers or players -  & is a critical problem in the unforgiving PL.

Hope is in intensive care, but she's still in there, fighting for survival ...

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

2 hours ago, ricardo said:

I spent an enjoyable morning watching my great grandsons under 14's win comfortably  so it was a good omen when he accompanied me to CR this afternoon as my son is still out of action with his ACL and broken bones.

There was an even better omen when we lost the toss and kicked off the right way for once. It was a fairly even steven opening with both teams getting some early action in the opposing penalty areas. As expected there was plenty of ariel stuff from the visitors and some dangerous  corners to be dealt with but it was the home side that were quickest off the mark. Burnley failed to clear a City corner on the left and PLM stepped forward to slam a shot that deflected into the corner off a defender.

Burnley came back strongly and Krul had to be at his best when diving to his right to punch away Cornet's strike from 20 yards. By the midway stage it was the visitors with most of the pressure but Hanley and Gibson held firm under the physical onslaught and with Rashica and Pukki finding space, there was always a threat on breakaways. Pukki almost doubled the lead when working a space in the area but Pope stuck his right leg out just in time.

City were hanging on a bit towards the end of the half and ref Michael Oliver didnt endear himself to the crowd with more than a few one eyed decisions. Burnley had a decent chance with a free kick central just outside the box but thankfully a poor effort flew well over.

I was expecting a bit of a second half backs to the wall job but in truth the home side were looking most likely with some darting runs from Pukki and Rashica. It looked as though Dowell had Put Pukki in on goal after ten minutes but he couldnt  sort his feet out and the shot was blocked. At the other end a couple of crosses spelt danger but the central defenders were doing enough with the ariel stuff. Just after the hour however Burnley were nearly level as Cornet slid in at the far post but missed the target.

Rupp came on for the tiring PLM with 20 minutes to go and solidified things as the game became stretched, and in one lightening  break Pope had to make a fine stop after Rashica's run and shot. It all got a bit fingernail biting as the seconds ticked slowly away but City's talisman was on hand to calm shredded nerves when Norman picked him out inside the box with five minutes left. Ice cold calmness and a low accurate shot into the bottom right hand corner gave Pope no chance. There was still time for Krul to pull off a fine diving save to his left to wrap up a rare three points and clean sheet for the Canaries.

They were all pretty good today. Kenny, lots of chasing and tackling, Dimi, looked lively and Pukki and Rashica were always a danger but this win was due to some solid defensive  work so my MOM goes to Grant Hanley.

 

 

 

I thought it was a treat to watch an open game for 0nce, not all huddled together in the centre circle. PLM showed us what he can do with space and if Rashica had a good final ball we could well have won by more.

Disappointed that Burnley didn't really show the fight that epitomises their game. I thought we showed far more spirit and illustrated by MOTM Hanley although Gibson got it I believe.

[Fuzzar 1,702]

2 hours ago, ricardo said:

I spent an enjoyable morning watching my great grandsons under 14's win comfortably  so it was a good omen when he accompanied me to CR this afternoon as my son is still out of action with his ACL and broken bones.

There was an even better omen when we lost the toss and kicked off the right way for once. It was a fairly even steven opening with both teams getting some early action in the opposing penalty areas. As expected there was plenty of ariel stuff from the visitors and some dangerous  corners to be dealt with but it was the home side that were quickest off the mark. Burnley failed to clear a City corner on the left and PLM stepped forward to slam a shot that deflected into the corner off a defender.

Burnley came back strongly and Krul had to be at his best when diving to his right to punch away Cornet's strike from 20 yards. By the midway stage it was the visitors with most of the pressure but Hanley and Gibson held firm under the physical onslaught and with Rashica and Pukki finding space, there was always a threat on breakaways. Pukki almost doubled the lead when working a space in the area but Pope stuck his right leg out just in time.

City were hanging on a bit towards the end of the half and ref Michael Oliver didnt endear himself to the crowd with more than a few one eyed decisions. Burnley had a decent chance with a free kick central just outside the box but thankfully a poor effort flew well over.

I was expecting a bit of a second half backs to the wall job but in truth the home side were looking most likely with some darting runs from Pukki and Rashica. It looked as though Dowell had Put Pukki in on goal after ten minutes but he couldnt  sort his feet out and the shot was blocked. At the other end a couple of crosses spelt danger but the central defenders were doing enough with the ariel stuff. Just after the hour however Burnley were nearly level as Cornet slid in at the far post but missed the target.

Rupp came on for the tiring PLM with 20 minutes to go and solidified things as the game became stretched, and in one lightening  break Pope had to make a fine stop after Rashica's run and shot. It all got a bit fingernail biting as the seconds ticked slowly away but City's talisman was on hand to calm shredded nerves when Norman picked him out inside the box with five minutes left. Ice cold calmness and a low accurate shot into the bottom right hand corner gave Pope no chance. There was still time for Krul to pull off a fine diving save to his left to wrap up a rare three points and clean sheet for the Canaries.

They were all pretty good today. Kenny, lots of chasing and tackling, Dimi, looked lively and Pukki and Rashica were always a danger but this win was due to some solid defensive  work so my MOM goes to Grant Hanley.

 

 

 

At least they weren't playing dirty. 

[ricardo 7,385]

19 minutes ago, keelansgrandad said:

I thought it was a treat to watch an open game for 0nce, not all huddled together in the centre circle. PLM showed us what he can do with space and if Rashica had a good final ball we could well have won by more.

Disappointed that Burnley didn't really show the fight that epitomises their game. I thought we showed far more spirit and illustrated by MOTM Hanley although Gibson got it I believe.

To be fair, both central defenders were excellent against some very big and physical forwards. 

[Midlands Yellow 3,980]

As always, excellent report again Ricardo. 

[Newtopia 517]

That was a great summary, I know it is not reflected in assists or stats, but I felt Dowells set pieces were a real threat today, on top of that Dowell, PLM and Normann were looking to break the line, with reasonable affect, albeit against one of the weaker sides in the league.  I did wonder if Burnley allowed us to have more time in those central areas than other sides.

[MooreMarriot 310]

10 hours ago, ricardo said:

To be fair, both central defenders were excellent against some very big and physical forwards. 

Ben Gibson made Garth Crook's team of the week !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61061068

 

[Don’t be Krul 399]

What pleased me the most was the effort. In weeks gone by when play broke down the midfield (especially wee Billy Krankie) couldn't be ar$ed to track back but yesterday there was a willingness to get behind the ball. Going down with no effort is unacceptable, going down with a fight will be forgiven

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

13 hours ago, ricardo said:

To be fair, both central defenders were excellent against some very big and physical forwards. 

Gibson got in Garth Crook's team of the week

Sorry, didn't know it had already been said.

Edited April 11, 2022 by keelansgrandad

[shefcanary 2,403]

6 hours ago, Newtopia said:

That was a great summary, I know it is not reflected in assists or stats, but I felt Dowells set pieces were a real threat today, on top of that Dowell, PLM and Normann were looking to break the line, with reasonable affect, albeit against one of the weaker sides in the league.  I did wonder if Burnley allowed us to have more time in those central areas than other sides.

Dowell's set pieces were such an improvement on the dross that has gone before.  Will that be what keeps him in the team at the expense of wee Krankie?

[Newtopia 517]

4 hours ago, MooreMarriot said:

Ben Gibson made Garth Crook's team of the week !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61061068

 

Seems odd that it was Gibson and not Hanley, especially when the impressive stat to support his selection was that he made the second most clearances, behind Hanley