• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Football Writer

My Football Writer Norwich City news… comment… analysis

Norwich City – news, comment and analysis

Find the best betting sites
  • Home
  • About us
  • The Team
  • Archives Index
  • Patreon
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contact us

City all-but cruise it as Holt and Hoolahan floor the Latics within the first half-hour

5th December 2009 By Tom Haylett Leave a Comment

Please share

City’s strengthening hold on the top three of League One showed little sign of easing at Carrow Road this afternoon as Paul Lambert’s men racked up an all-too comfortable, 2-0 win over Oldham Athletic.

First-half strikes from skipper Grant Holt and Wes Hoolahan all but ended the game as a contest long before the break as Norwich continue to look too good for present company.

They look strong, organised, settled and confident.

The fact that you barely noticed Russell Martin’s home debut at right-back proved that point; he looked as if he had been playing in that role all season – that’s what happens when you step into a winning machine.

Purring sweetest of all are the three-man strike force of Holt, Hoolahan and Chris Martin who once again had far too much to offer an Oldham defence leadenly marshalled by an ageing Sean Gregan.

Afterwards and City chief Paul Lambert was duly delighted. His side are churning out wins with a pretty brutal efficiency.

“I thought they were brilliant,” said Lambert, with today’s result merely strengthening Norwich’s grip on third spot.

“I thought some of the football we played was excellent against a well-organised team.”

At the heart of City’s success, however, lies their ability to score goals by the bucket load – even if newly-crowned November Player of the Month Fraser Forster was called upon, eventually, to flick the ball away low to his right to deny Danny Whitacker.

“We switched off at a vital time,” admitted Lambert. “Even though you’ve got that much dominance of a game, it just shows you you can never rest until its finished.”

In part that was the product of the scoreline; 2-0 is always one of those where the question is to either stick or twist. All too often in season’s past, Norwich have come a-cropper as a result.

Times, maybe, are a-changing.

“That’s the nature of the game – you have to try and see it through and get the job done. Sometimes teams will have a go at you – and you have to be switched on.

“If it goes to 2-1 it can make you a bit nervy; it can make the crowd a bit nervy – with the size of the crowd that we’ve got. So it can do – but all credit to the lads. I thought they were great.”

The headlines, of course, will belong to the usual trio as the combination of Holt, Martin (Chris) and Hoolahan take their combined tally to the season to 40.

Given this is still only the first week in December, that is quite some achievement. And should events continue to pan out as all hope, will be one of the principal reasons why the Norfolk side make such light work of the third tier of English football.

All three were evident in City’s two, decisive goals before the break.

Martin broke purposefully down the right in the 21st minute before delivering a dipping cross to the far post where Holt re-adjusted superbly to head his 19th goal of the season into the roof of the net.

A diving header off a bouncing ball – never an easy technical feat. But the City skipper made it look just that; further evidence that he remains in prime striking form.

Hoolahan’s 11th was more of his own making as he released Martin away down the left with a superb, 30-yard pass.

Ball pushed back to the supporting Adam Drury, the Dubliner was there on the right-hand corner of the box to first accept the cross, then push it first touch beyond his marker; second touch to sweep it left foot away inside Darryl Flahavan’s right upright.

The fact that Sean Gregan got the faintest of touches to the ball en route made little difference. It was Hoolahan’s magic at work; no-one else’s.

After the break and it was all a bit second-to-third gear stuff.

Norwich never really saw the whites of the keeper’s eyes again; but then they didn’t really need to. The job had long been done.

Anthony McNamee was granted his first start in a City shirt since his switch from Swindon Town – time enough to suggest that there was a spot of pace and trickery afoot as and when Lambert and Co ever fancied switching to a flat four across the middle in Hoolahan’s absence.

But credit to the travelling Latics faithful – all 120-odd of them – ‘We only want one shot…’ was their mournful call come the hour-mark.

That they had just one to take home with them up the M62 before the end – that and the tamest of downward headers five minutes from the end – summed up just how far Norwich have come of late – and just how routine occasions like this are starting to become.


Please share

Filed Under: Latest news

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FIND MY FOOTBALL WRITER ON

As featured on NewsNow: Norwich City news” style=

Norwich City News 24/7

#NCFC LATEST

ryanpearce5 Ryan Pearce @ryanpearce5 ·
3 Apr

If usual tricks = being kicked in the penalty area and not getting a penalty then yeah 😂 #ncfc

Reply on Twitter 1642899144267243522 Retweet on Twitter 1642899144267243522 Like on Twitter 1642899144267243522 1 Twitter 1642899144267243522
norwichcityes Norwich City FC en español @norwichcityes ·
3 Apr

Partidazo el que nos espera este viernes 🔥🔥🔥.

Vamos con todo por esos tres puntos #NCFC 💛💚

Reply on Twitter 1642897241835798529 Retweet on Twitter 1642897241835798529 Like on Twitter 1642897241835798529 2 Twitter 1642897241835798529
fan_banter Fan Banter @fan_banter ·
3 Apr

Boreham Wood mocked over bizarre announcement parting with stadium caterers - https://fanbanter.co.uk/boreham-wood-mocked-over-bizarre-announcement-parting-with-stadium-caterers/

#watfordfc #ncfc #twitterclarets #safc #rufc #wafc #bcfc #rovers #utmp #bristolcity #ccfc #pusb #htafc #hcafc #coyh #boro #millwall #qpr #readingfc #twitterblades #scfc #sufc

Reply on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Retweet on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Like on Twitter 1642893716791894019 Twitter 1642893716791894019
norwichcityfc Norwich City FC @norwichcityfc ·
3 Apr

🤝 Connection with the club
📈 Growth of women's team
🏟 Carrow Road fixture

@NorwichCityWFC general manager Flo Allen answers your questions in the latest episode of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ⬇️

#NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1642889121868783616 Retweet on Twitter 1642889121868783616 2 Like on Twitter 1642889121868783616 18 Twitter 1642889121868783616
norwichcityacad Norwich City Academy @norwichcityacad ·
3 Apr

🏟️ The Under-21s make their return to Carrow Road later this month in a #PL2 clash against Southampton 👊

Secure your FREE ticket for our final game of the 2022/23 campaign ⬇️

#NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1642886378743537666 Retweet on Twitter 1642886378743537666 Like on Twitter 1642886378743537666 1 Twitter 1642886378743537666
Load More...

Copyright © 2023 21VC Ltd | All rights reserved | Not to be reproduced without prior permission.

Disclaimer: The information on this website consists of personal opinions. Whilst we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained on these Web pages is accurate and correct at the time of writing we do not accept any liability whatsover for any loss or damage caused by reliance on this information.

We do not accept any responsibility for information contained in other websites to which this site links. We strongly advise users to check any information before acting or relying on it.

Developed and Hosted by