As Norwich City travel to Brentford Community Stadium looking to make it four league wins in a row, we’re looking back on a memorable fixture between the sides at Griffin Park in 2014.
Leaving it until the second-half to score all three goals in just 15 minutes, this fixture in the Bees’ old stadium was definitely an exciting one!
Brentford 0-3 Norwich City
September 16, 2014
Championship
Griffin Park
What was on the line?
Since the game came in September, not too much was at stake other than three points. Having only played six games of the 2014-15 season before this clash with the Bees, every point was more than capable of shifting a position in the table entirely, leaving City hungry to create that gap at the top early on.
A win for Brentford would have taken them to fifth at minimum, surpassing the Canaries in the table, whilst a win for City would see them go top of the division.
How the game unfolded
The first-half of this tie was a worrying one for the Canaries in attendance at Griffin Park, seeing a largely dominant 45-minutes from Brentford before the break. Andre Gray could’ve seen the game go a completely different route but missed a trio of chances to keep the scores 0-0 by half time.
Patiently waiting for their chances, the second-half was a completely different story for the Canaries, jumping on a frustrated Brentford to take the lead.
Now Burnley centre-half James Tarkowski mislaid a pass for City legend Wes Hoolahan to lunge onto, playing a neat through-ball for Alex Tettey in space to nestle his shot into the bottom corner past the ‘keeper, breaking the deadlock.
Just seven minutes later, Lewis Grabban tried his luck from distance, the saved effort falling to Steven Whittaker, who redelivered the ball into the box for Cameron Jerome to head home at the far post.
As if two goals in seven minutes wasn’t enough, Jerome added yet another just eight minutes after his first.
Teeing the ball up nicely on the edge of the 18-yard box, Jerome struck the ball well from distance, rocketing his effort into the top corner and finishing City’s scoring in style.
Norwich City XI: Ruddy, Hooiveld, Whittaker, Turner, Olsson, Tettey, Johnson, Redmon (O’Neil, 70), Hoolahan (Bennett, 86), Jerome, Grabban (Odjidja-Ofoe, 79)
Subs not used: Lafferty, Miquel, Murphy, Rudd
What happened next?
For City, the 2014-15 season would prove to be a fruitful one, going on to secure third-place in the Championship, therefore earning a play-off spot. Beating Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough, the Canaries would finish off their season on a high-note with promotion to the topflight.
The Bees weren’t too far off the Canaries in their outcome, also earning a spot in the play-offs after finishing fifth. The side wouldn’t go as far in said play-offs however, losing 5-1 to Middlesbrough on aggregate and remaining a Championship side in the following campaign.