Norwich City secured a 3-1 victory over a misfiring Bournemouth side at Carrow Road last night to secure their first home win of the season.
The Canaries took advantage of a visiting side that for the first time this season looked behind the pace of the Premier League, leapfrogging Eddie Howe’s men into eighth on the Premier League table.
Norwich looked the stronger of the teams from the opening whistle. A break from the right-hand side led to the opening goal in the 35th minute, Wes Hoolahan making a mess of Steve Cook before squaring to Cameron Jerome. Having already brushed the side netting early on, Jerome managed to pip his marker to slot the ball home from close range.
Hoolahan would then turn to scorer for Norwich’s second goal, managing to shimmy and jinx his way into the opposition box before placing his shot out of the reach of the keeper.
Their trip to Carrow Road only got worse forthe Cherries after Matthew Jarvis managed to again exploit space on the left-side of the field, cutting inside of Steve Cook to fire his shot home in the 67th minute of the game.
Not having a great outing, Cook managed to peg one back for the visiting side with a powerful header from the edge of the box. Although it would not be enough to throw-off a Norwich side that managed to hold out for the remaining nine minutes.
Bournemouth dealing with defensive frailties
There were defensive blunders in the lead up to each of Norwich’s goals and that was eventually Bournemouth’s undoing come the final whistle. Their third string left-back, Adam Smith, struggled with the pace of the game at times and was observably caught out of position on a number of occasions, not to mention receiving a silly yellow card early on for a push on Hoolahan.
Smith’s inexperience, combined with Cook’s inability to cover the overwhelmed left-back, could explain why the Cherries conceded three goals for the second time in three games.
Simon Francis was his exceptional self over in right-back, but could do very little to hinder the Norwich attack that spread evenly when they broke at pace.
The speed at which the hosts ran with the ball constantly caught out a flat-footed Bournemouth defence. Hoolahan’s goal was seemingly the result of a center-back pairing that refused to challenge, for fear of being caught out and were unable to recover.
4-3-3 does not fit the Cherries
One of the positives coming out of Bournemouth’s season so far has been their ability to play their own style of football and very rarely conform to the tempo of their opposition – this was not the case at Carrow Road.
With Max Gradel, Tyrone Mings and Charlie Daniels out, Bournemouth would have to do some reshuffling, but switching to a 4-3-3 seriously hindered their ability to play the Bournemouth way.
Callum Wilson often found himself out wide, Matt Ritchie was playing like a central-midfielder and Adam Smith was just unable to match the work rate that Daniels brought to the team. It is the direct result of a Bournemouth side that under-recruited and are currently dealing with a bit of an injury crisis.
Wes Hoolahan creating an ideal transition into attack
What a game it was for Hoolahan. He has been a dormant figure in the Premier League of late, but he put on a show for the home fans on Saturday.
Small, agile and with an excellent close dribbling technique, Hoolahan was pulling the strings for Norwich in just about every attack – Providing the perfect link between a hard working midfield and an eager front line.
Strangely, despite his fantastic performance for the Canaries, Hoolahan was substituted for Graham Dorrans in the 73rd minute. His absence was notable, immediately after the 73rd minute mark, Norwich seemed to lack direction going forward.
Matt Ritchie needs to step up
Having been such a pivotal figure all last season for Bournemouth, the faithful will be hoping that Ritchie can find his feet soon at the top level.
With 15 goals and 17 assists last season, Ritchie was one of their go-to players when the going got tough, but against Norwich, he almost looked like a vice on their game. Poor dribbling selection, stray passes and a lack of accuracy when it came to crossing all attributed to what was a below-standard performance from the Scotland international.
Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League was largely based around the performances of Wilson and Ritchie and their surviving relegation will no doubt come down to the same thing.
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