On The Ball written by Gareth Payne and Joe Ferrari.
Full-time - Referee Scott Rushton blows the final whistle and goalscorer Chris Martin punches the air in delight. The result puts City top with Leeds not in league action today. They do have two games in hand now though. Fraser Forster is awarded the Anglian Home Improvements Man of the Match for some great saves, but the today's story is all about Chris Martin wrapping up his new contract with the only goal of the game that sees City top.
90+3 - The whistles begin around the ground as the City fans want the final whistle, which would mean City go top of the division.
90+2 - A high ball is held at far post by Weston, which Carl Cort meets with a header but straight at Forster.
90th - A minimum of four minutes of added time is to be added on. Brentford win a corner in the first of those minutes. O'Connor to take from the left. A huge roar of relief goes up around Carrow Road as Forster claims the ball.
90th - A foul on Chris Martin eases the pressure slightly for a few seconds. Kevin O'Connor vehmently disagrees with the decision and is booked for sharing them with the referee.
85th - Oli Johnson is booked for his second foul of the afternoon.
83rd - Brentford come very close to levelling. The ball is teed up for skipper O'Connor to drive from the edge of the area, which Forster saves well low down to his right. His palm away falls straight to Weston, but with Doherty sliding in on him, he side-foots wide across goal.
77th - Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Chris Martin celebrates his new contract with a fantastic goal. It owed much to the great skill and vision of sub Oli Johnson. The former Stockport striker with a step over or two out wide left, before slipping a superb pass in behind two defenders for the intelligent run of Martin. The Beccles-born lad took a touch before placing his left-foot shot between near post and 'keeper.
72nd - Doherty is called upon to make a fantastic block tackle on Myles Weston just inside the box.
71st - Johnson's first contribution is to hold off two defenders and spread it wide to Korey Smith - who is now playing right wing-back in the 3-4-2 formation. Smith brings it back inside to Simon Lappin. The Scot takes a touch out of his feet and takes on the shot but it flies just over the bar.
69th - Paul Lambert makes his second change of the afternoon, introducing Oli Johnson for Wes Hoolahan.
68th - Wes Hoolahan skips past two defenders down on the left and drills in a low cross, which is turned behind for a corner. Martin and Hoolahan turn to the referee and ask about the arm that it came off to go behind.
67th - Myles Weston delivers from the left and Marcus Bean ghosts in to head straight at Forster.
65th - Charlie MacDonald lays the ball off for Sam Wood. The midfielder takes it on a few paces before unleashing a ferocious drive, that cannons back off the post into the path of Carl Cort. The former Canary takes it around the prone Doherty and forced Forster to palm away his shot.
63rd - Adam Drury becomes the latest recipient of a card from ref Rushton. City were awarded a free-kick but Drury didn't seem to hear the whistle and went in for the next challenge.
61st - Free-kick awarded to City over on the right, about 20 yards out and Marcus Bean kicks the away. Referee Scott Rushton doesn't like that and prompts books the midfielder. Darel Russell swings in the free-kick, headed clear to the edge of the area, where Simon Lappin is waiting. He steadies himself but strikes his half-volley over the bar.
59th - A familiar face enters the fray as former Canary Carl Cort comes on for Diagouraga.
58th - City are chasing everything as they will have to do, roared on by the loudest Carrow Road crowd of the season. A deep ball to Chris Martin in the box sees the striker go down under the challenge from the 'keeper but shouts for a penalty are waved away.
55th - Chris Martin picks up the ball from Lappin and cuts in from the left of the box before unleashing a fierce low drive which Szczeny chests away awkwardly. City keep up the pressure and Darel Russell's shot from 22 yards is deflected behind for a corner. Lappin takes but Doherty's back-post header is well over.
50th - A dangerous cross from Foster beats Forster but Doherty is there to head over for a corner. O'Connor's kick is met with a firm downward header by Ryan Dickson but this time it's Forster with the goalkeeping heroics, diving low to his left to scoop the ball away brilliantly.
46th - From the free-kick the ball comes out to the left again. Lappin swings in a cross, Nelson heads it back across goal and Adam Drury's header is saved superbly at point-blank range by Szczesny.
46th - Hoolahan is fouled in a dangerous position. City have gone to 3-4-2.
Half-time - City are making a change, Zak Whitbread is coming on, replacing Russell Martin for his home debut. It looks as if Gary Doherty is moving out to the right of defence.
45+2 - There goes the half-time whistle and it will be intriguing to see how both sides respond to the situation after the break. Brentford have the extra man advantage of course - but the Canaries' are fired up and responding to the passionate response from the Yellow Army in the stands.
45th - Drury overhits a backpass to Forster and the City 'keeper is forced to slam it into touch under pressure from Bean - but Brentford fail to make anything of the situation and City are now looking to get to the break and regroup after the hammer blow of losing Holt.
44th - The temperature has certainly been raised here, this time the crowd are incensed as O'Connor is penalised for a high foot against Chris Martin - but no card.
41st - Drama and controversy as City's talismanic skipper Grant Holt is shown a straight red card by referee Rushton, who felt he jumped in to a tackle on Toumani Diagouraga. Fury around the ground and Holt is given a standing ovation as he reluctantly leaves the pitch - but City now have a real test of character as they are down to ten men.
37th - Marcus Bean crashes to the turf after a challenge from Darel Russell - and referee Scott Rushton produces the game's first yellow card. Skipper O'Connor swings in the free-kick - and it's a let-off for City as Tommy Smith heads narrowly over from close range.
36th - Weston is furious as he robs Darel Russell of the ball in a dangerous position but is adjudged to have pushed the City midfielder in doing so.
33rd - Chris Martin battles well to win a corner. Lappin takes from the right and his far-post effort beats everyone before being collected by Hoolahan. The Irishman turns his marker inside out and then finds himself in space eight yards out - but the ball is on his right foot and he elects not to shoot, instead rolling it out to Darel Russell whose first-time shot is well over.
32nd - Weston shows goof feet for the visitors on the edge of the City box, cutting back inside Doherty before firing in a drive which Forster parries and collects at the second attempt.
29th - Appeals for a penalty as Chris Martin appears to be pushed in the back dribbling inside the Bees box, but nothing doing. It breaks outside the box to Russell Martin, who drags his right-footed shot wide of the far post.
28th - Ryan Dickson, up from left-back tricks his way into the City box, somehow emerges from two tackles with the ball, but his cross is deflected behind off the legs of Nelson. O'Connor's deep corner is plucked out of the air by the huge paw of Forster.
26th - Free-kick to Brentford for a foul by Darel Russell on Marcus Bean. Kevin O'Connor takes the free-kick, deep towards the back-stick, but Leon Legge can't make contact on the stretch.
24th - Charlie MacDonald get in behind the City defence a little too easily, but he tries to cut it back from the byline with the outside of his right foot but Fraser Forster is down low to scoop up.
21st - Lappin swings it another fantastic delivery on his left-foot from the byline and who is there to meet the cross from six yards? Adam Drury! Slightly reaching behind but still makes great contact but Szczesny, he just had to be busy didn't he, throws up a strong hand to palm over.
17th - Chris Martin receives the ball into feet about 25 yards from goal, takes a touch and hits a fantastic shot from distance, which whistles over the Brentford bar, a corner is given, must have taken a deflection en route.
16th - Myles Weston breaks out of defence and runs at Doherty. The Doc blocks the cross at source. Captain Kevin O'Connor takes the corner from the left and defender Tommy Smith rises highest but his header goes wide.
14th - Lappin delivers the resulting corner, Nelson beyond the far post heads it back across goal but the 'keeper is able to catch.
13th - Lappin delivers a superb corner from the left, left-footed, which Michael Nelson meets with a powerful downward header but new signing Toumani Diagouraga is doing his duty on the post to hack away. Keeping the ball alive, Lappin delivers into the box for Chris Martin, who gets behind the Brentford defence and opts for a first-time header, which the Polish 'keeper makes a good save to his left.
10th - The full-backs are able to play high up inside the Brentford half early on. It looks like Andy Scott might have matched up formations and gone with a diamond midfield, which is why Drury and Martin are able to get forward so much early doors.
9th - Hoolahan and Smith link up inside the Brentford area and the Irishman wins a corner. Lappin takes it short to Hoolahan but shot on the angle fails to trouble the big Pole.
3rd - Slight mix-up at the back between goalkeeper and left-back, Ryan Dickson expected his goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny - henceforth known as 'the big Pole' - to come and sweep up inside his area from a long ball forward but Dickson had to clear out for a throw-in under pressure from Chris Martin - he of a new three-and-a-half year contract. Read the full story here and there is an exclusive interview with Chris Martin on Canaries Player, where you can also listen to full match commentary.
2nd - "Drury's a starter thats good news, lets hope we pick up where we left off and thump Brentford as well." - briang0604
1st - Brentford in their change kit of all black get us underway at Carrow Road. City attacking the Norwich and Peterborough Stand first half.
You can be forgiven for thinking we've been here before. City have played Brentford already twice this season, in a three week period. Paul Lambert sat in the stands and watched the 2-1 defeat at Griffin Park, on the day he took over as manager. Then on September 1, the Bees came to Carrow Road in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and Chris Martin (see picture below) struck with the only goal of the game from a free-kick, fantastic strike it was too.
City remain unchanged for the fourth consecutive game, Adam Drury's ankle injury picked up against Colchester United has recovered significantly to allow him to play. Brentford leave former Canary striker Carl Cort on the bench and the talented teenager John Bostock on loan from Tottenham Hotspur - who scored twice on debut - joins him.
CITY: Forster, Drury, Nelson, R.Martin (Whitbread 46), Holt (c), Doherty, Hoolahan (Johnson 69), C.Martin, Lappin, Russell, Smith. Subs not used: Rudd (GK), Gill, Hughes, McNamee, McDonald.
Brentford: Szczesny, O'Connor (c), Dickson, Bean, MacDonald, Weston, Foster, Wood, Diagouraga (Cort 59), Smith, Legge. Subs not used: Price (GK), Phillips, Bennett, Hunt, Bostock, Strevens.
Referee: Scott Rushton
Att: 24,979
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