The Canaries were denied all three points in their opening Premiership home game by a last gasp Stoke equaliser in a game that they had done enough, just, to win, writes John Maiden & Mark Burchett
City had deservedly taken the lead with Ritchie De Laet's 37th minute header. But the defining moment of the game came in the 63rd minute when Leon Barnett was harshly dismissed for bringing down Jon Walters. But John Ruddy restored some justice by saving the penalty!
The Canaries then performed exceptionally well with ten men for the remaining 30 minutes, restricting Stoke to mainly long-range shots that certainly didn't trouble John Ruddy. Until a very cruel twist of fate saw Kenwyne Jones equalise in the dying minutes of the game.
Paul Lambert had surprised many with his team selection, making six changes to the side that performed admirably at Wigan to get that 1-1 draw on the opening day in their first game back in the Premiership.
Having played in Switzerland on Thursday, Tony Pullis side had come straight to Norfolk after their 1-0 win at FC Thun in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier and for long periods in the first half, his players did look tired.
To those of us sitting in the City Stand, the alleged foul by Leon Barnett on Jonathan Walters looked to be nothing more than contact between two players making an honest attempt to play the ball, when it was at least a yard outside the penalty area! True enough, once he had lost his footing, Walters did end up sprawling inside the box, but referee Neil Swarbrick was not in a good position to see exactly what had happened, let alone award Stoke a penalty.
His assistant on the touchline seemed to be no better placed to offer an opinion had he been asked for one, but he did not appear to put his flag across the chest, as he should have done if he thought a foul had been committed by Barnett inside his penalty area.
If this was cruel misfortune for Barnett and for Norwich, it was even harder to stomach, because in the ninth minute of the game Barnett appeared to be on the receiving end of a foul by Robert Huth, right in front of the Barclay Stand, but on that occasion Mr Swarbrick had waved away appeals for a Norwich penalty.
It is bad enough when there is inconsistency in the way different referees interpret the rules of the game, but it is even worse when a referee applies a different yardstick in the same game.
However, none of this should be allowed to detract from an excellent performance from the Canaries, which saw them go in at half-time with a well-deserved 1-0 lead, thanks to a glancing header by Ritchie De Laet, from Bradley Johnson's right wing free kick, which beat the Stoke keeper at the far post in the 37th minute.
HALF-TIME: City 1 Stoke 0
Following the controversial penalty decision in the 65th minute, John Ruddy foiled Walters by diving to his left to beat away the former Ipswich striker's powerful spot kick. The Norwich keeper was quite rightly named man-of-the-match for making several good saves. It was just unfortunate that Jones snatched a point for the Potters, deep into five minutes of added time, when he out-jumped the Canary defence to plant a firm header beyond Ruddy's despairing dive to his left.
But after their two opening fixtures, despite only picking up two points, they sit bang slap in the middle of the Premier League table with their pride well and truly in tact.
The Canaries could have few complaints about conceding a goal late into stoppage time as it was a fate they bestowed upon many teams in the Championship last season!
Tuesday night's Carling Cup tie with MK Dons should see another good gate at Carrow Road, because ticket prices have been slashed, so that under-sixteens will be admitted for just £5 while all adults, including over- 65's, will only have to pay £10. If the Norwich performance in the cup tie is half as good as it was against Stoke, the home fans could be in for a real treat...
FULL-TIME: City 1 Stoke 1