SOCCER: Portsmouth 0 Norwich City 1:IT WAS the most well-behaved and boisterously good-natured of delirious pitch invasions. At the final whistle the entire Norwich bench, the players and what rapidly became an unstoppable surge of yellow replica-shirted fence-leapers danced on the Fratton Park turf, and in the directors' seats Delia Smith allowed herself an unusually dignified jig.
Norwich City have been promoted to the Premier League: an initially fretful, but increasingly boisterous 1-0 defeat of Portsmouth enough to seal the second automatic spot behind Queen Park Rangers and send a 2,500-strong travelling support into uncontained contortions of delight.
Expertly-drilled by the austere and scholarly Paul Lambert, this has been a superbly sustained run from the pack since Christmas, and a surge to successive promotions based around an agreeable brand of neat, energetic collective endeavour. In the event Simeon Jackson’s second-half winner, his seventh goal in nine games, was a rare moment of incisive quality in a game of few chances, but Norwich had earned the right to cling on rather anxiously towards the end as Portsmouth pressed.
As the match kicked off the away end was already a riot of balloons, giant bananas, Frisbees and pre-emptive triumphalism engendered by Cardiff’s surprise 3-0 defeat in the afternoon. It might have been the perfect start too as Zak Whitbread, unmarked from David Fox’s deep free kick, headed wide from four yards in the second minute. After which Norwich seemed to go into their shell, spooked perhaps by the proximity of their own entry into the domestic game’s platinum VIP lounge.
As Portsmouth eased their way into the game with some silky possession football Lambert cajoled his players energetically from the touchline, a distinctive, occasionally frenzied figure in tracksuit, glasses and Brian Clough-tribute upturned green collar.
Lambert has been the central figure in a thrillingly relentless rise that effectively began in August 2009 with the 7-1 League One home defeat by Colchester that saw his predecessor, Bryan Gunn, sacked. Within three months a collective turbo-effect had kicked in and Lambert’s Norwich set off on a run that would see them take the League One title by nine points.
This season began more cautiously, but since Christmas Norwich have been relentless, developing an unerring habit of scoring in the final minutes.
It took until seven minutes before half-time for Norwich to create another clear chance, Grant Holt tricking his way around Aaron Mokoena and scuffing the ball past Jamie Ashdown, but without enough power to propel it across the goal line.
It was a more bullish Norwich that emerged for the second half and within a minute Jackson had a golden chance: put through clear on goal by Wes Hoolahan’s pass he could only snatch a weak left-footed shot wide. Jackson made amends gloriously three minutes later. David Fox curled in a glorious deep cross from the right wing and Jackson nipped in behind a sleepy Portsmouth defence to head powerfully home from five yards out.
Norwich supporters might say this is a return to their natural level: they were, after all, third-placed finishers in the first ever Premier League season, 1992-93. Much has changed since then but their rise from League One to the top tier is at least a reminder that such small-town success stories are still possible.
GuardianService
PORTSMOUTH: Ashdown, De Laet, Halford, Mokoena, Hreidarsson, Mullins, Hogg, Nugent, Ward (Cotterill 82), Dickinson (Lawrence 68), Kanu (Webber 84). Subs not used: Flahavan, Ciftci. Booked: Mokoena, Hreidarsson.
NORWICH: Ruddy, Russell Martin, Whitbread, Ward, Tierney, Fox (Lansbury 78), Crofts, Hoolahan, Surman (Lappin 87), Holt, Jackson. Subs not used: Rudd, Edwards, Chris Martin, McNamee, Pacheco.
Referee: Andy D'Urso (Essex).
