The Match
Both teams started the game brightly, each creating an opening in the first few minutes. Norwich took control of the game but fell behind against the run of play after 25 minutes.
Starting from the halfway line, Stearman, and then Kightly, ran 40 yards with the ball down the right-wing, unchallenged by both Howson and Lappin. As Kightly approached the byline, he produced a low cross towards Doyle but it was slightly behind him. Doyle still managed to get a glancing touch on the ball, diverting it into the path of Jarvis who had cut in from the opposite wing. Bennett failed to track Jarvis’ run inside, leaving him free to place his low shot calmly beyond Ruddy in the Norwich goal.
The goal highlights the main problem when defending in a 3-5-2 formation – the Norwich wing-backs were both exposed by the Wolves wingers. Lappin allowed Kightly run at him but couldn’t prevent his cross, whilst Bennett failed to track Jarvis’ run into the box from the opposite flank.
Norwich’s response was swift though and was more about individual play than formations. Jackson dropped into the hole to pick up a loose ball, causing Wolves centre-back Johnson to step up to challenge him. A simple ball over the top into the space vacated by Johnson was enough to release Holt, who calmly lobbed the ball over Hennessey before nodding the ball home for the equaliser. Poor defending from Wolves combined with excellent play from Jackson and Holt left the game all square again.
The Norwich winner was another great example of the ball being switched across the pitch into space. The build-up began with Whitbread and then Lappin down the left touchline. The ball was then played inside to Jackson (who had dropped deep) and then square to Howson. From a central position, Howson slotted a neat crisp pass to Hoolahan, who was occupying the space left by Jackson on the left edge of the penalty box. At this point, the build-up play down the left side had moved the Wolves defence over to that side of the pitch, leaving space down Norwich’s right flank. Hoolahan had the vision to see this and cleverly switched the ball out to the right where Bennett was completely free to run towards goal. Bennett’s subsequent shot was deflected away into the path of Lappin who pulled the ball back to Hoolahan. He took a first-time shot from the edge of the penalty area but it was handled by Jonnson, resulting in a Norwich penalty. Holt converted it to put Norwich 2-1 in front. Both Norwich wing-backs were heavily involved in the goal and the width they provided was key to creating the penalty.
Despite going in at half-time 2-1 up, Lambert decided to change the 3-5-2 to 4-4-2, with the aim of containing the Wolves’ wingers who had been dangerous in the first half. This change of system worked well and Wolves struggled to seriously threaten Ruddy in the Norwich goal, even in the last 10 minutes when Wolves pressed for an equaliser.
Norwich’s dominance from start to finish saw them end the game with over 62% of the possession – far higher than Norwich normally achieve. Clearly, the extra man in midfield helped Norwich to control the match. The statistics below confirm their dominance, even if goalscoring chances hard to come by:
[table id=58 /]
The crossing statistic is interesting as it shows just how much the two Wolves wingers featured in their attacking play, even if their crosses failed to reach another Wolves player.
