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Second-half and City hit a new high this term. Definitely onwards and upwards…

14th January 2008 By theexpert Leave a Comment

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You know I had my concerns?

?Had done for a few weeks to be fair, only to be more than a tad surprised when after a few weeks of unconvincing displays from the Canaries they promptly delivered one of their very best for some time in arguably their most difficult match at Selhurst Park on New Year's Day.

I don't think any of us saw that one coming, especially not after the two preceding home games against Charlton and Wolves had only yielded two points courtesy of two, unimpressive 1-1 draws, but then of course, they almost went and botched it big time against Bury in the FA Cup four days later.

And so despite being afforded every reason to feel optimistic these days when travelling to away games ? something that, let's face it, before Glenn Roeder's appointment had simply become one of those old, fond emotions that are sadly difficult to recapture over the passing of time – it was nevertheless difficult to escape an overriding feeling of concern and a certain foreboding on the journey north to Barnsley this weekend.

But similarly as at Crystal Palace almost two weeks ago, we needn't have worried, seeing as the Canaries produced a scintillating, second-half burst of attacking football to completely sweep a shell-shocked Barnsley aside.

Unlike at Selhurst Park two weeks ago though Norwich didn't slip into gear straight from the off, and for 45 minutes they were decidedly second best to a Barnsley side that, while not overly-blessed with attacking quality, did more than enough to cause the Canaries a few problems when they moved forward while experiencing precious little coming back at them in return.

Indeed, given the sub-standard manner in which the Canaries were going about their business in the first-half, it in no way provided any clues whatsoever of what was about to unfold after the interval.

But once Roeder had been given the opportunity to address the situation at half-time, and maybe remind a few of his charges of the standards that are now required here at Norwich, it became a completely different story.
Because City ripped Barnsley apart at times in that second-half.

They scored three goals, could have grabbed at least three more, and generally dictated on their own terms. It was such a contrast from the opening half and a joy to watch.

Individually and collectively the City players rolled their sleeves up and got down to some serious business.

Midfielders Fotheringham, Russell, Bertrand and Croft were now providing the energy and drive that was so evidently missing early on, and that enabled strikers Dublin and Evans to have a greater impact on the game themselves.

The pace of City's play increased, their desire intensified and accordingly their quality shone through, and it was simply all too much for a home side that given the balance of play in the first half could easily have been forgiven for thinking at half-time that they would be in for an easy afternoon.

I did say beforehand that City were probably at a crossroads in their season, where a poor performance and result on Saturday could easily steer them in the wrong direction in much the same way that a decent effort could push them onwards and upwards.

Well, it was a fantastic second-half performance and ultimately a terrific result for the Canaries at Oakwell, and so hopefully it'll now be a case of no looking back…


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