Gary Hooper scored one of the goals of the season so far to give Norwich City a point against Swansea City at home in Carrow Road.
Norwich City vs. Swansea City: Final score 1-1, Hooper wondergoal denies Swans
Norwich City perhaps should have won their game against Swansea City with the chances they created, but were reliant on a wonder-strike from Gary Hooper to earn even a point at Carrow Road.
Christopher Lee
Nathan Dyer had put the Swans ahead after a bad mistake from Sebastian Bassong before the game was marred by Dyer's leg injury. Hooper then struck back with an outrageous 30-yard volley to equalise. Although Norwich had the better of the game, they could not find a winner.
Neither side exactly flew out of the traps, and they were rather slightly sluggish in a scrappy start, but Swansea soon found themselves ahead courtesy of a terrible error from Sebastian Bassong. A long ball the big centre-back should easily have dealt with came in, but the former Spurs man instead made a terrible hash of things, allowing Nathan Dyer to get on the end of it and dink the ball over the advancing John Ruddy.
It wasn’t going to be a great day for Dyer, however. Shortly after the goal, the Swansea winger was withdrawn through injury, which the club later revealed to be a suspected fractured ankle.
Gary Hooper came close to an equaliser when he took advantage of some poor defending at the other end, bullying Ashley Williams and fairly dumping him to the turf to put himself clean through from an angle. Having cut inside Michel Vorm, he blazed high and wide.
Norwich were now creating opportunities, but Jonny Howson was the next to be guilty of wastefulness as -- on a break with options left and right -- he sent in an awful effort from long-range which Vorm collected with ease.
Norwich didn’t need a great chance to score their next goal, however. A long ball was chested down to Hooper, and the former Celtic man took it on his chest himself before lashing a brilliant volley which swirled over the head of Vorm and dipped into the net from 30 yards. A sensational goal which put Norwich back on level terms.
Swansea were now all over the place, and Nathan Redmond could have given the hosts the lead afterwards when he showed brilliant pace and trickery to dart inside from the right wing, but his finish could not live up to it, as he sliced a left-footed effort high and wide.
The frantic finish to the first half did not continue into the second as the game once again became bogged down in midfield. Michael Turner almost put the hosts ahead however when he struck the crossbar from a corner, the ball then going out for a corner after taking another bounce off Jordi Amat.
A half-cleared Norwich corner was then swiftly played back in to leave Gary Hooper facing goal just twelve yards out, but Vorm earned his week’s wages by pulling off a brilliant reflex save to deny what appeared to be a certain goal, tipping the former Celtic man’s shot around the post.
Wilfried Bony wasted a good Swansea chance to steal a winner late on as he opted to shoot from range rather than play in the better-placed Jonjo Shelvey, with the Ivorian’s effort flying just wide and earning the ire of his teammate. Yet neither side could find a way through for a second goal, as both sides went home with a point they will probably gain a slight dissatisfaction from.
Norwich City: Ruddy, Whittaker, Turner, Bassong, Olsson, Redmond (Muyrphy 83’), Howson, Johnson, Fer, Elmander (Becchio 78’), Hooper.
Goals: Hooper 45+4’
Swansea City: Vorm, Rangel, Amat, Williams, Davies, Canas, Shelvey, De Guzman, Hernandez (Lamah 84’), Dyer (Pozuelo 44’), Michu (Bony 75’).
Goals: Dyer 12’
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