City defender Adam Drury couldn't hide his frustration yesterday as the Canaries saw their winning run ended by a stubborn Walsall outfit.
OK, it might have only been a two-game run, with a Johnstone's Paint Trophy win on top of that, but there was, and still is, a real feeling that the Canaries have turned the corner.
They are still on the right track � three clean sheets in a row is proof of that � but many would have had Walsall (h) down as a banker yesterday.
And long-serving left back Drury, a Canary since 2001, admitted that the dressing room saw it as two points lost.
“Frustrating � that's the main word for it,” he said afterwards. “Walsall have come here and set their stall out to get a point with the way they played.
“We didn't really create any chances which is frustrating. You're happy to keep a clean sheet, especially after conceding a few at the start of the season. But obviously at the other end we've got to all help and get ourselves a goal.”
Getting that winning goal isn't always going to be as easy as many think � there was a definite swagger in the City support yesterday after recent results.
But the Canaries are still a big scalp in League One, despite their early season hammering at the hands of Colchester.
Playing in front of 23,000 is going to provide a huge boost to most in this division and the sooner City get used to that the better.
Raising their game is certainly not going to be a problem for the visiting sides at Carrow Road this season…
“It's a big thing we've got to deal with,” Drury admitted. “It's frustrating for us and obviously it's frustrating for the crowd. Teams are just going to get behind the ball and stop us from playing.
“It's not always going to be easy and sometimes we're going to have to wait towards the end of the game, where you might nick it 1-0.
“But they are the sort of games where we have to grind it out and nick it 1-0, that's how it's going to be. It's up to us to break teams down but we just couldn't do it today.”
However, if it wasn't for a dubious decision to disallow Michael Nelson's header for a foul on the goalkeeper in the second-half, we could be sitting here talking about another three-point haul.
These are fine, fine lines; it's important no one gets carried away � even if Drury was left perplexed at the decision to chalk off Nelson's 'goal'.
“I was near the halfway line but I couldn't really see what the problem was. Holty [Grant Holt] said he stood his ground and didn't interfere with the goalkeeper. But obviously refs give the foul straight away these days.
“Cody McDonald's penalty shout was another one but we're clutching at straws if we're looking at things like that. We need to stamp our authority on the game.
“You've got to keep pushing and pressing but at the same time you've got to be careful that you don't get caught out at the other end of the pitch and concede.
“We can't get carried away with it but at the same time we've got to learn how to deal with it. You can tell everyone gets anxious and thinks 'are we going to score?'”
And that is where the crowd can play their part. A moan here and a groan there can affect a fragile player – the frustration from the terraces undoubtedly seeps down on to the pitch.
But that's natural, of course. And Drury can see where they're coming from.
“You can understand the crowd getting edgy. They're watching a game and they are just seeing that other teams are just sitting back and inviting us on.”
Yesterday's stalemate also saw Drury in the wars � not for the first time in recent seasons. But he revealed afterwards that there was no permanent damage. Well, he hopes so anyway.
“The first one was a bit of a dead leg but that's OK. The second one, I went for a header and caught the back of their lad's head.
“I've got a bit of a lump on my face where I had a metal plate put in at the start of pre-season last year. Hopefully there is nothing damaged so we'll give it a couple of days and see how it is.
“You worry a little bit but because there's a metal plate in there, it shouldn't be broken. I should be alright.”
Tom Haylett
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