Canaries climb higher as Spurs stall

Norwich City 1 Tottenham 0

Robert Snodgrass scored early in the second half to earn Norwich City a precious 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and ease the pressure on under-fire manager Chris Hughton.

Media reports emerged during the week that Hughton's job was under threat with his team having picked up one win from 13 matches in all competitions. However, Snodgrass's calm finish after being put through by Bradley Johnson earned his side a well-deserved win against a sluggish Spurs team who had to travel to Ukraine for a Europa League match on Thursday.

The defeat meant Spurs fell six points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, 4-3 winners over Swansea City earlier on Sunday, while Norwich moved up to 14th, four points above the relegation zone.

Snodgrass made the second-half breakthrough with a fine finish, and team-mate Bradley Johnson hit the underside of the Tottenham bar with a fine free-kick.

Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood said his team were “not good enough”, as they only began to play after Norwich broke the deadlock.

“We weren’t brave enough on the football and didn’t take enough risks,” said Sherwood. “It was difficult but we had some clearcut chances to score. If you don’t take those you can’t win football matches.

“It’s bitterly disappointing for us that we’re coming away with nothing and possibly never deserved it.”

Roberto Soldado missed two clear chances, and Sherwood said of the goal-shy striker:

“He just needs one to go in. The chances are coming he just needs to take it and hopefully we can see the player that he is.”