TEN-MAN Charlton survived a second half onslaught to claim a share of the spoils in an entertaining Boxing Day clash at Carrow Road.
The visitors had stormed into a first half lead through Chinese international Zheng Zhi's low shot.
Even then the scoreline was harsh on the home side, who had forced visiting 'keeper Nicky Weaver into a number of excellent stops.
But City were handed the numerical advantage on the half-hour mark when Sam Sodje received a straight red card for a horrible two-footed tackle on Darel Russell.
But Russell picked himself up to turn in a man of the match display, bagging the Canaries' leveller on 73 minutes with a flicked header from Darren Huckerby's corner.
As the game drew to a close, City camped themselves in Charlton's area hunting a winner, but it wouldn't come, with Huckerby, substitute Lee Croft and Ched Evans all going close.
All the same, it was another point earned by the Canaries in their quest to pull away from the bottom of the table and made it five games unbeaten.
Captain Mark Fotheringham was the most glaring omission from the team sheet when it was handed in shortly after 2pm.
The midfielder was presumably injured, leaving Darel Russell to take on the duties as skipper in his absence. Jamie Cureton was rewarded for his winner at Scunthorpe on Saturday with a place in the starting line-up at the expense of Dion Dublin, who dropped to the bench.
Ched Evans partnered him, with Jimmy Smith also restored to the starting line-up on the right side of midfield.
The visitors were without Danny Mills, who was starting a three match ban following his sending off against Hull on Saturday, robbing the home crowd of the chance to vent their spleen on a player they love to hate.
Chris Iwelumo recovered from an injury scare to start in attack alongside Luke Varney, a summer transfer target for the Canaries.
Before the game there was a minute's applause in memory of former City goalkeeper Ken Nethercott, who died last week aged 82.
It was Alan Pardew's Charlton side who kicked things off, looking to get their automatic promotion challenge back on track following their stalemate against the Tigers at the weekend.
Norwich meanwhile were looking to continue a run of form which had pulled them off the foot of the table and up to 18th position.
There were brief sights of goal for both sides in the opening three minutes, with Iwelumo first capitalising on Doherty's slip only to see the danger on the edge of the area snuffed out by Shackell, with Jimmy Smith almost latching onto Pattison's long pass before 'keeper Nicky Weaver cleared the danger.
Weaver was forced into action two minutes later, having to get down low to collect a Russell shot at his near post after Smith had headed back into the area following a Pattison corner in front of the Barclay.
At the other end Marshall had to be sharp to pluck an Iwelumo header out of the air after the former Colchester man had got the jump on Camara from Jose Semedo's left wing cross.
It was proving to be an open affair, with Evans pulling a 25-yard effort well wide on eight minutes after nice approach play by Huckerby.
On 12 minutes Pattison produced the best pass of the early stages, finding Cureton's head with a perfectly weighted pass, with the striker seeming to escape the attentions of defender Patrick McCarthy.
But the 32-year-old's effort was too close to Weaver, allowing the 'keeper to make a comfortable save.
Two minutes later though and Weaver was left as a spectator as City came within inches of taking the lead.
Huckerby got into the area and pulled the ball back onto his right foot as Bougherra went to ground too easily. The goal had suddenly opened up for him, and while his curling effort left Weaver rooted to the spot, it merely grazed the angle of bar and post on its way over.
Norwich were beginning to apply some pressure, and less than a minute later Weaver had to produce a stunning stop to deny Shackell his first of the season.
Sodje was forced to head over his own bar under pressure after Evans' cross was deflected into the air. And from the resulting corner Pattison picked out Shackell, whose bullet header was going into the far corner before Weaver stuck out a glove to push it wide.
It was a great save, and a great start to the game by the resurgent Canaries.
But on 21 minutes Charlton took the lead against the run of play.
Zheng Zhi collected the ball 35 yards from goal and went on a run in-field, going past the challenge of Doherty in the process.
He got to the edge of the D, and with Pattison and Shackell diving in, the Chinese midfielder struck a low left-foot shot into the far corner of Marshall's goal.
It was a body blow to a City side who had started the game the better.
The goal had lifted Charlton though, who with six away wins already this season would have fancied making it seven thanks to Zhi's effort.
And on 26 minutes Marshall had to be sharp to get down at his right post to gather Thomas' raking effort.
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MY BALL: Jason Shackell wins a towering header |
A minute later and some of the home fans were on their feet thinking they'd grabbed an equaliser. Cureton's speculative effort from 30 yards evaded Weaver and seemed to have found the back of the net. Unfortunately, it was purely an optical illusion, with the ball merely striking one of the net supports before nestling in the wrong side of the goal.
But on the half hour mark Norwich were at least given the numerical advantage when Sodje received a straight red card for a horror challenge on Russell.
The ball was certainly there to be won halfway inside the Charlton half, but Sodje's two-footed lunge was both illegal and dangerous, and the defender had started to head off the pitch even before referee Mick Russell could produce his red card.
The incident had certainly livened up the home fans, who almost saw Norwich equalise from the resulting free kick, with Otsemobor's deflected effort going a yard wide of Weaver's left post with the 'keeper flat-footed.
The game was beginning to get physical, and Evans was the next on the receiving end, left clutching the back of his head after a robust challenge from veteran defender Chris Powell.
It earned a free kick for the Canaries 20 yards out, slightly right of centre. And Camara's sent a well struck free kick over the wall which Weaver had to punch clear.
With the extra man, City were predictably seeing more of the ball, but had yet to get that crucial equaliser, although Russell again had Weaver scrambling across his line on 42 minutes as his low stinger skidded just wide.
Half time: Norwich City 0-1 Charlton
The teams returned to the pitch with 10-man Charlton re-jigging things, replacing Iwelumo with Izale McLeod.
Norwich were on the front foot inside the first two minutes of the second period, with Cureton producing a delightful turn on the halfway line to leave Powell in his wake.
He got to the edge of the penalty area, but his cross to the far post evaded Evans, who had gambled on a near post delivery.
On 50 minutes City came desperately close to grabbing an equaliser. Smith won a free kick after Powell handled his attempted cross from the right, leaving Pattison to use his left foot for an in-swinger.
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PHYSICAL CHALLENGE: Doc battles with Charlton striker Chris Iwelumo |
The delivery was first class, causing a real melee in the visitors area. Huckerby managed to toe-poke the ball beyond Weaver as he came off his line to collect, but as the ball bounced towards the line Powell was on hand to hack clear for a corner.
On 56 minutes Doherty earned a yellow card for a tackle from behind on McLeod. The City man got the ball first, but with Sodje's red card still fresh in the memory and the away bench calling for some heavy punishment to be handed out, referee Russell took Doherty's name.
On the hour mark Charlton handed a warning that they still possessed an attacking threat when Thomas cut infield past Otsemobor and had Marshall worried with a curling effort which went just over the angle.
With City enjoying virtually all of the ball but not putting Weaver under any degree of pressure, Roeder made his first change of the match on 62 minutes, replacing Smith with Lee Croft on the right of midfield.
Pattison was next in the referee's notebook for a painful looking clash of heads with goalscorer Zhi just over the halfway line.
With Charlton keen to disrupt City's flow, Varney went down - apparently with cramp - on 67 minutes. The injury did not wash with the home fans, who clearly sensed some gamesmanship as the visitors gingerly protected their one goal advantage.
On 70 minutes Croft turned provider, latching onto Russell's excellent crossfield pass before picking out Evans, who had lost his man on the penalty spot.
Unfortunately the teenager appeared to jump too early for the ball, connecting with it on the way down and sending it wide of the right post.
A minute later and another chance went begging. Camara did well to get past his man on the left by-line, and he fizzed a cross across the area which was only cleared as far as Huckerby on the corner of the six-yard box. But sadly his left-foot effort sliced tamely into the side-netting.
But on 73 minutes Norwich finally took one of their many chances to grab an equaliser.
City won a corner away on the left, and Huckerby produced a perfect delivery with his right foot to find Russell six yards out to flick the ball over Weaver and into the roof of the net via the despairing dive of the man on the line.
It was Russell's first league goal since his summer return to Carrow Road, but had been taken as well as any 20-goal-a-season striker.
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GET IN: Russell celebrates his leveller |
The celebrations began inside Carrow Road, with manager Roeder apparently going to the home supporters to plant a Christmas kiss on the cheek of a female fan.
With City now pushing for a winner, Roeder bolstered his attack with some physical power, swapping Cureton with Dion Dublin.
It really was all Norwich now, with Charlton really against the ropes, and on 82 minutes Huckerby flashed a first time volley wide after Croft had found him with a cross from the right.
With the game in the final minute City were camped on the Charlton box. In one crazy 10 second spell shots came in from Evans, Pattison and Croft, with the first saved by Weaver, the second blocked and the third wide as lady luck again denied Norwich what would surely have been a deserved winner.
But it wouldn't come, with the 10-men holding on for a share of the spoils.
Norwich City 1-1 Charlton
Norwich City: Marshall, Otsemobor, Shackell, Doherty, Camara, Smith (Croft 62), Russell (c), Pattison, Huckerby, Cureton (Dublin 80), Evans. Subs not used: Arnold, Spillane, Martin.
Charlton: Weaver, Sodje, Zhi, McCarthy, Holland (c), Varney, Thomas, Powell, Iwelumo (McLeod 46) (Samm 83), Bougherra, Semedo. Subs not used: Randolph, Racon, Dickson.
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