Goals from Rachel Lawrence and Ellie Smith were not enough to take all three points against high-flying QPR in a competitive match at Carrow Road.
Promotion-chasing Norwich City were looking to claim a vital three points in the FAWNL Division One South East to keep them within arm’s reach of current league leaders AFC Wimbledon.
With nearly 6,000 fans in attendance, there was a raucous atmosphere early on, with the home side passing the ball around comfortably in the middle of the park.
The first clear-cut opportunity of the game fell to the team in yellow in the fifth minute, as Lawrence stung the gloves of keeper Nicole Melling after superb individual play from forward Smith.
The deadlock was broken on the 17-minute mark, when ‘Rs forward Grace Stanley picked up the ball on the edge of the box and curled a looping effort past the diving Sarah Quantrill.
The visitors, fuelled by their early advantage, continued to ramp up the pressure on the Canaries defence, putting a free-kick just over the bar from the edge of the penalty area.
A sustained spell of pressure eventually paid dividends in the 31st minute, when QPR keeper Melling’s under-hit clearance fell into the path of midfielder Lawrence 40 yards from goal.
With one quick touch out of her feet, the City number 24 lofted an outrageous effort over the despairing Melling.
Within two minutes, the ball was in the back of the QPR net yet again, this time due to the hard work and persistence of City strike duo, Smith and Natasha Snelling.
The latter chased down her own heavy touch into the penalty area, evading the efforts of the QPR keeper, before swinging in a cross at the second attempt. The ball broke off of a retreating defender to the clinical Smith, who after a scuffed first effort, toe-poked the second into the empty goal, much to the elation of the 6000 fans inside Carrow Road.
The City joy was short lived however, as a defensive mix-up in the Canaries back line just before the half-time whistle saw QPR number nine Stanley chip in her second goal of the match, dinking an effort over the helpless Quantrill from inside the penalty area.
There was renewed sense of hope for the home side at the beginning of the second period, desperate to make amends for the disappointing end to the first half.
In the 48th minute, Larkins picked out Flye on the edge of the penalty area, who turned her marker superbly before picking out Scotland Under-19 international Eloise Morran on the edge of the penalty area, the latter firing just wide.
Larkins came closest to a third for the hosts on 58 minutes, with her driven shot comfortably into the palms of the QPR keeper.
This half-chance paved the way for a Canaries onslaught, with both Alice Parker and Lauren Tomlinson asking big questions of the visiting defence, the aforementioned only denied by the outstretched leg of a retreating QPR defender.
The home lead was almost restored on 68 minutes when incredible individual brilliance from Snelling saw her race through one-on-one with only the QPR shot-stopper to beat. However, the visiting goalkeeper stood her ground well and thwarted the strikers prodded effort.
The fresh legs of the subs almost worked, when, on 85 minutes, Freya Symonds released the ever-running Lawrence down the right flank, who’s deflected cross found its way to Holly Kennard, who in turn could only find the midriff of Melling.
It was QPR who had one of the biggest chances of the closing periods though, seeing a goal bound effort cleared brilliantly off the line by centre-back Hope Strauss.
The home team thought they’d won it late on when Kennard found the back of the net after a piercing counter-attack, but her fantastic turn and finish were cruelly denied by the offside flag.
The final whistle confirming the draw will bring more satisfaction to the away side than to the Canaries, with the singular point meaning that Norwich now have to rely on league leaders AFC Wimbledon dropping points in order to have a chance of occupying the singular promotion spot come the end of the season.
The Canaries are back in action on Sunday, March 31, when they travel to the Dons for a top-of-the table clash, with a now must-win three points up for grabs.
Norwich City: Quantrill; Flye (Hailes 74), Strauss, Larkins (C); Tomlinson (Kennard 64), Morran, Knights (Symonds 81), Parker, Lawrence; Smith, Snelling (Shaw 90)
Unused subs: Pernet
Goals: Lawrence (31), Smith (33)
Bookings: Smith (55), Parker (90+3)
QPR: Melling, Curr (Carolan 81), Searle, Owen (Hennessy 57), Blodgett, Lewin, Cohen (Nygaard Parsons 51), Hill, Stanley, Ward-Chambers (Webster 86), Petit (McCrae 81)
Goals: Stanley (18, 45)
HT: 2-2
FT: 2-2
Venue: Carrow Road
Attendance: 5,941