Norwich City 1 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Norwich City 1 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Norwich had taken heart from the fantastic performances of late and finally converted one into a victory. A hard earned, well deserved three points to put in the bank and fuel the surge to safety. Spurs were not at their best, nor did they play like a team in the hunt for fourth spot. But credit to Norwich for capitalising on this and showing the teams around them that they are up for this relegation scrap.

Norwich perhaps edged the first half, which was 45 minutes overloaded with errors and poor judgement, offering little for both teams. An early substitution for Spurs as Capoue limped off with injury forced them to reshuffle their midfield with Chadli coming into the fray, maybe causing their game plan to be changed slightly.

It was not for lack of endeavour though as Norwich pressed and harassed Spurs high up the pitch, a component of their game rarely seen under the reign of manager Chris Hughton. An almost full strength side allowed Hughton to play with Tettey and Johnson holding whilst Fer pushed up the park and supported van Wolfswinkel where possible.

Tottenham’s wide players were rarely in the game. Full backs Martin and Ollson quelled the danger and allowed Snodgrass and Redmond to play with more freedom than they are used to. This provided a noticeable expansion in Norwich’s play. Something which is not usually seen due to Hughton’s insistence of being tight, compact and defensive.

Spurs did provide a threat with the in-form Adebayor. A constant shadow to Bassong, Adebayor chased the centre-backs and keeper and gave them no time to rest on the ball. He was not to have his chances until the second half but his hard work allowed Spurs to regain the ball often and force Norwich to rethink their approach.

Shortly after the restart Norwich found their first goal from a swift passing move which was started when van Wolfswinkel made a tidy interception on the half way line. Bradley Johnson played a perfectly weighted ball through to Snodgrass who curled the ball into the bottom corner. As a fan who watches every Norwich match it was a welcome sight to see a goal created from a through ball. One of the many shackles on Norwich City is their rigid approach to attacking. The through ball added a different dimension to City’s play and would certainly not have been in the minds of the Spurs defenders when preparing for the match.

The second half was a well battled and fast paced affair. If critical of Norwich it could be said that they relied too heavily on playing through Snodgrass which made them more susceptible to counter attacks when Spurs anticipated the move but credit to the defence which held firm and swept up most attacks that came their way.

Bradley Johnson was supremely unlucky not to have scored from a direct free kick. A shot reminiscent of Safri in the way it flew like a bullet and cannoned off of the bar, yet Johnson was unlucky to see it bounce on the line and out.

Gary Hooper was fantastic at powering past the Spurs defence and slotting the ball across for Tettey to caress into the open goal, however a combination of bad luck and mistiming saw the ball sail harmlessly across the face of the goal.

Norwich’s performance could be described as resolute, dogged and yet still progressive. A good balance of expansive play using the pace of Redmond and the crossing ability of Snodgrass, with the ever energetic van Wolfswinkel and then Hooper offering a target at all times. The midfield offered a good blend of energy and shape, closing the Spurs players down well and forcing errors higher up the pitch. The defence were reliable and allowed the players to play with more confidence as the game progressed, always causing Tottenham problems.

This was a game for Hughton to celebrate. He got the tactics spot on and reaped the rewards. He was unlucky not to see his side go on to score two or three but it was a win that will send the confidence of the players sky high.

Next up is Aston Villa away. Another game that procuring points from is an absolute must. Hughton must not allow the hard work of today go to waste and aim to replicate the ten match unbeaten run his Norwich side went on last season. Anything is possible in football, confidence is key.