NORWICH City's black September carried on through to October at Carrow Road in front of the Sky cameras as Burnley imposed a thoroughly miserable 4-1 defeat.
The Clarets took the lead after 32 minutes when James O'Connor slotted home from inside the box after a dummy by Micah Hyde.
And things got worse on the stroke of half time as Andy Gray rose highest in the box to power a header beyond the reaches of Paul Gallacher.
|
OFF: Gary Doherty is given his marching orders |
After the break, City's misery was compounded as Gary Doherty was given his marching orders for a professional foul.
And it was little surprise when Burnley grabbed a third through Gray.
|
CONCILATION: Earnie hit's his 8th of the Season |
Robert Earnshaw continued his excellent form by grabbing a consolation with eight minutes left, but Burnley completed the misery on 90 minutes, substitute Alan Mahon blasting home from just inside the box.
All in all it was a miserable afternoon for the Canaries and Nigel Worthington.
On 82 minutes Norwich were handed a glimmer of hope as Earnshaw grabbed his eighth goal in 10 games, firing in from the edge of the box after a great run by Huckerby.
But any doubt about the result was ended on 90 minutes when sub Alan Mahon fired past Gallacher from just inside the box to make the scoreline 4-1.
City boss Nigel Worthington looked set to switch to a 4-4-2 formation for the visit of the Clarets.
And there was a major boost prior to kick off when it emerged both Darren Huckerby and Lee Croft had shaken off their respective injuries to return to the starting line-up.
Dion Dublin was handed his first start alongside leading goalscorer Robert Earnshaw.
Dickson Etuhu was missing from the squad after picking-up an achilles injury in training, which meant Youssef Safri was partnered in midfield by Carl Robinson.
It was the Canaries who kicked-off proceedings, attacking the Barclay Stand in front of the Sky cameras.
In the second minute Burnley were awarded a free kick away on the left after some holding by Doherty.
And Dublin made the first contribution of his Carrow Road career, rising well to head away Wade Elliott's cross on the penalty spot.
Two minutes later and it was the Canaries on the attack. Earnshaw picked up a clearance just inside his own half and embarked on a scintillating run, leaving James O'Connor embarrassingly on his backside as he struggled to cover.
Earnshaw managed to get to the edge of the Burnley area, but a great covering tackle by McGreal.
But moments later and the Canaries had the woodwork to thank for keeping the scoreline level.
City's defence allowed a deep free kick from Frank Sinclair to drop in the box, and with the whole of the goal to aim at Michael Duff could only strike Gallacher's left upright, with the ball rebounding to safety.
It was a huge let-off for the Canaries - maybe a sign lady luck was smiling on them this lunchtime.
On 12 minutes City fans were given a glimpse of the Huckerby-Dublin combination which served the duo so well during their time at Highfield Road together.
A slack pass from Burnley gifted the ball to the winger, and he turned inside before picking out Dublin with an in-swinging cross.
Unfortunately, Dublin's touch was too slight, allowing Jensen to save easily.
Two minutes later and the Canaries wasted a great chance to open the scoring.
Norwich found themselves in a three-on-two situation, with Croft carrying the ball across the halfway line with Earnshaw and Huckerby for support.
From the stands, Huckerby looked the better option, but Croft instead found Earnshaw, who was more closely marked.
To his credit, he used his quick feet to create a shooting chance in the area, but his left foot shot ended up in the side-netting, with Huckerby furious the ball had not found its way to him.
It had proved to be an exciting end-to-end affair so far but, as yet, with no goals for the television viewers or the Carrow Road crowd to enjoy.
But on 23 minutes there was a real heart-in-mouth moment for the City fans and new-boy Dublin.
Steve Jones' cross from the left was met by Dublin, but he only managed to flick the ball goalwards, with Gallacher breathing a sigh of relief as it dropped to safety, all be it inches wide of the far post.
It certainly would have been some way for Dublin to have marked his home debut.
And on 27 minutes Gallacher was called into action. A nice passing move by Burnley ended with Micah Hyde finding himself with the ball at his feet in the box.
He unleashed a left-foot shot which looked to be flying into the far corner, but Gallacher - who won a recall to the Scotland squad on Friday - flung himself to his right to parry the ball to safety.
It was proving to be a match of many chances, with the next one to fall at the feet of Dublin.
Again Huckerby was the creator, swinging the ball in from the left wing. But Dublin was unable to properly connect with the shot, allowing Jensen to collect at his feet.
You sensed someone had to convert one of their chances sooner or later, and on 32 minutes Burnley did.
Steve Jones' cross from the left was dummied by Micah Hyde on the penalty spot, with James O'Connor stepped onto the ball to shoot low past Gallacher.
It was a neat finish by the former Stoke man, but arguably slack defending by Norwich.
City looked to hit back quickly, and on 38 minutes only a superb save by Jensen preserved Burnley's lead.
The ball found its way to Huckerby 20 yards from goal away on the left. He took a touch before bending a great shot towards the far corner.
It took a deflection off O'Connor on the way through, which made Jensen's one-handed parry all the more impressive.
But on the stroke of half-time things took a real turn for the worse when Burnley made it 2-0.
Once again the danger came from City failing to deal with a cross into their box, and Andy Gray rose highest to power a header past Gallacher.
And for the first time in the match there was a real air of unrest among supporters too, with City now facing a real mountain to climb.
Half time: Norwich City 0-2 Burnley
The Canaries returned to the pitch for the second half unchanged but knowing a huge improvement would be needed on a first half which had left them two goals adrift.
On 48 minutes Earnshaw was kicked to the ground in the D outside Burnley's box by Duff.
Unfortunately, his free kick was high and wide.
City were doing their best to get a foothold back in the match, and on 58 minutes a great chance fell Earnshaw's way.
He triggered the move, collecting long clearance from Boyle inside the centre circle before finding Croft on the right.
He turned Harley inside out before dinking a great ball back to Earnshaw in the box. But although his header was well struck, it lacked control and sailed over the bar.
But on the hour mark things took a real turn for the worst when City were reduced to 10-men.
A long clearance was missed by Doherty and fell straight to Gray, who was now left with a clear run on goal.
Desperate to make amends, Doherty could only drag Gray to the floor, leaving the referee with little choice than to give him his marching orders.
Gallacher clutched the resulting free kick close to his chest, but things were beginning to look bleaker and bleaker.
The sending-off prompted Worthington to make his first change of the game, replacing Boyle with Shackell and switching to three at the back as City's cause began to look more and more desperate.
And that desperation plumbed new depths as on 63 minutes Burnley grabbed a third.
Outnumbered on the pitch, Steve Jones skipped into the area and found Gray in acres of space, who slotted home with ease from 10-yards out.
On 65 minutes Dublin's game came to an end, replaced by Peter Thorne.
Burnley were exploiting their numerical advantage well, with City now struggling to get hold of the ball.
On 71 minutes Worthington made his final change, replacing Croft with Andy Hughes.
Four minutes later Burnley should have made it four. Gray controlled the ball in the six yard box, and looked to turn Colin. But the Dutchman was strong, blocking his shot on the turn for a corner.
Norwich City: Gallacher, Fleming, Huckerby, Croft (Hughes 71), Dublin (Thorne 63), Earnshaw, Safri, Boyle (Shackell 62), Colin, Doherty (c), Robinson. Subs: Camp, Ryan Jarvis.Burnley: Jensen, Harley, McGreal, Sinclair (c), Duff, O'Connor, Jones, Gray, Elliott (Mahon 75), Hyde, Noel-Williams. Subs: O'Connor, McCann, Lafferty, Foster.
