Jul 24, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Norwich City midfielder Wes Hoolahan (14) goes after a ball as Portland Timbers defender/midfielder Rodney Wallace (22) closes in during the first half of the game at Jeld-Wen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Norwich earned a promotion back into the Premier League only one year after being demoted. They’ll join Championship victors Bournemouth and runners-up Watford when the English top flight season begins again in August.
The Canaries’ unlikely promotion campaign only began in earnest with the appointment of manager Alex Neil. Still only 33 years old, Neil served as a player-coach for Scottish side Hamilton Acadamical in their promotion campaign to the Scottish Premier League last term. His success with Norwich came immediately with his unexpected descent from the stands to lead Norwich to a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on January 10th, despite that fact that he wasn’t due to take over until the next day. From then until the Championship play-off final win over Middlesbrough Monday, Norwich lost only three times.
Prior to facing Middlesbrough, the Canaries played Ipswich in the Farm Derby for the first round of play-off games. Over two legs, they proved themselves the better of their local rivals, beating them 4-2 on aggregate.
Coming into Monday’s game it’s fair to say that Middlesbrough were the favorite. They’d played much of their season in indomitable fashion, only succumbing to a slump toward the season’s end that kept them out of automatic promotion. Though they controlled both legs of their tie against Brentford in the first round playoffs, it seems as if their slump came back to haunt them against Norwich.
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Which is not to take away from Norwich’s fine display. They were in full flight for the opening twenty minutes of the game, jumping on loose balls and pushing Boro back. The first goal came after Middlesbrough defender Daniel Ayala waited for the whistle after a perceived foul by Cameron Jerome only to watch the Norwich forward slot home. Nathan Redmond scored a second minutes later after a wonderful build-up that cut through Boro’s midfield and defense in a succession of quick, deft passes.
It was a display that made Norwich look like a Premier League team. Indeed, ten of their starting XI had either been with Norwich prior to this season or otherwise had top flight experience.
The game slowed after than initial flurry, but was no less compelling throughout. Middlesbrough improved but failed to take advantage of superior chances and what chances they were given.
Alex Neil’s rejuvenation of this Norwich side despite his relative inexperience is about as remarkable as a promotion campaign gets. The club will no doubt be delighted with the sizable reward that comes with promotion, but should also be encouraged by their prospects for the next campaign. Canny leadership and the side’s experience should hopefully combine to make Norwich’s return to the Premier League stick.