Norwich City - 2 Manchester City - 3: Struggling Norwich City blew a two-goal lead in spectacular fashion last night. Manchester City recovered from their opening burst to draw level before the end of the half and, after Norwich were reduced to 10 men, won the game in injury-time when Robert Green could not hold Shaun Wright-Phillips's cross shot and Robbie Fowler tapped in.
City were rocked back by the sheer verve of Norwich's opening burst, not least because Dean Ashton's opener was as good a goal as will be scored this season.
The big centre-forward timed his run on to Adam Drury's long ball down the centre, and as it descended, guided rather than volleyed the ball over his shoulder and beyond David James's desperate dive into the far corner of the net.
Five minutes later Leon McKenzie, sent clear on the halfway line by Ashton's neat pass, outpaced Sylvain Distin and beat James with some ease.
It is, however, more than four months and 20 games since Norwich last kept a clean sheet, and it became apparent why when 10 minutes later Kiki Musampa picked up a corner that was cleared to him and hit a cross from the right. Norwich stood and gaped as Antoine Sibierski headed past Robert Green.
The next goal was not long coming, and it was an equaliser.
Wright-Phillips swapped wings to the left, and Sibierski picked out his run with a fine pass inside full-back Marc Edworthy. He crossed first time for Fowler to sweep the ball past Green for his 150th Premiership goal.
The ferocity of the Royal Marines' half-time demonstration of unarmed combat was eclipsed by the appearance on the pitch of Norwich's very own Delia Smith to exhort the home supporters to make more noise.
Certainly Norwich looked a little more organised than they had at the end of the first half, when they were running around like headless chickens.
Norwich's task became all the harder when Mattias Jonson was late on Joey Barton, picking up a second yellow card.
The arrival of Youssef Safri gave Norwich more bite and had a late chance fallen to Ashton instead of the labouring McKenzie, the Canaries might have snatched an unlikely winner. It was not to be, as in stoppage time, Green could only parry Wright-Phillips' close-range low cross and Fowler was on hand to stab the lose ball home.
NORWICH CITY: Green, Edworthy, Fleming, Shackell, Drury, Stuart (Safri 74 mins), Holt, Francis, Jonson, McKenzie, Ashton. Subs not used: Gallacher, Charlton, McVeigh, Henderson. Sent Off: Jonson (66). Booked: Stuart, Jonson. Goals: Ashton 12, McKenzie 16.
MANCHESTER CITY: James, Mills, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Bosvelt, Barton, Musampa, Sibierski, Fowler. Subs not used: Sommeil, Weaver, McManaman, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Flood. Booked: Barton, Jordan. Goals: Sibierski 25, Fowler 37, 90.
Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).
