Norwich City host Nottingham Forest at Carrow Road on Wednesday night, and if it’s anything like this fixture’s previous meeting then we’re in for a treat!
City remarkably came from 3-0 down in the 76th minute to draw 3-3, with two goals coming in stoppage time to go 12 unbeaten!
Norwich City 3-3 Nottingham Forest
December 26, 2018
Sky Bet Championship
Carrow Road
What was on the line?
More important points as City hunted top spot in the second half of the season. After a slow start, which culminated with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, Norwich lost just once in three months, going into this game off the back of a 1-0 win at Blackburn Rovers.
For Forest, they were more concerned with battling for the play-off places. Following a 2-0 win against Ipswich at the start of December, Aitor Karanka’s side went through a barren spell of three games without a goal, leading to one draw and two defeats.
How the game unfolded
Matty Cash gave Forest the lead on the brink of half-time, dispossessing Max Aarons and finding the bottom left corner with pace.
Mid-way through the second half, Jack Robinson got on the end of a rebound from a free-kick to smash the ball into the roof of the net for 2-0.
With just over 15 minutes to go, Cash put the game to bed with his brace, picking out the bottom right corner from inside the 18-yard box.
Or not! For many teams, scoring in the 77th minute at 3-0 down would be a consolation, but Norwich knew Mario Vrancic’s deflected strike signalled the start of an incredible comeback.
Talk about leaving it late, but no-one was departing early having seen what the Canaries were capable of in 2018/19! Onel Hernandez cut in from the right wing and squeezed the ball in at the far post for 3-2 in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The Cuban then wrote himself into Norwich City folklore, scoring again in the 98th minute to equalise, reading Timm Klose’s dummy and burying the ball into the net before topping it off with a signature front flip! One of the greatest moments Carrow Road has ever witnessed.
City XI: Krul, Aarons, Godfrey, Klose, Lewis (Srbeny 72’), Tettey, Vrancic, Buendia (Rhodes 71’), Stiepermann, Cantwell (Hernandez 63’), Pukki
Unused substitutes: McGovern, Trybull, Hanley
What happened next?
City lost 4-3 at home to Derby County, but then were defeated just once between January and June 2019, eventually putting 94 points on the board and lifting the Championship title.
Forest spent the rest of the season in and around the top half of the table without ever challenging for the play-offs, eventually coming ninth in the division.