Ruddy’s involvement in the defensive play snuffed out quickly.
Norwich controlled the opening stanza of this match, after taking advantage of Mark Noble’s error. Once they were a goal to the good, they found it easy and breezy to keep the ball, passing it with fluidity and accuracy from defence to midfield. John Ruddy, the Norwich goalkeeper, acted as an extra man during the moments when the ball was shuffled across the back four. 12 times in the first half, he was called upon to receive and recycle the ball, and every time he intervened, it acted as a pressure release valve for the visitors. Diafra Sakho is a tireless chaser of lost causes, and will pressure defenders looking to play dosie-doe until the full 90 minutes have expired. As soon as Bilic ordered more of his attackers to pressure the Norwich defence, helping Sakho, the effortless passing around defence dried up for Norwich, leading to some half-decent opportunities for the Hammers. Ruddy had only two passes after half time. An astute tactical move from Neil, and then an equally astute adjustment from Bilic.
