It’s Josh the job for on-song Canaries
NORWICH put a huge dent in Aston Villa’s automatic promotion hopes with a big win at Carrow Road.
The mid-table Canaries had lost their previous two games but put in a great effort against Steve Bruce’s side.
A superb long-range effort from Josh Murphy broke the deadlock in the first half and Dennis Srbeny added a second just after the break.
Villa had a chance to close the gap at the top after second-placed Cardiff lost to Wolves on Friday night.
And Jack Grealish gave them a glimmer of hope when he pulled one back in the 67th minute. But Norwich made sure of the points five minutes later through top scorer James Maddison.
Norwich star Murphy said: “We were brilliant today. Everyone worked so hard and we dominated
“It was a delight to get the goal. Sometimes it ends up in row Z, sometimes it ends up in the top corner.”
Canaries boss Daniel Farke said: “Every game is different but today was a really good performance. We could have scored four or five goals.
“I’m delighted for Josh Murphy. He was outstanding today. He is a young player and we need to support him.”
With Villa seemingly content to sit back, Norwich took charge and were rewarded two minutes into first-half added time.
Murphy cut inside the box and worked himself some space before firing home.
And the hosts made it 2-0 eight minutes after the break.
Harrison Reed chipped in a perfectly weighted pass which Srbeny bundled home for his first goal for the club.
Villa desperately needed a response and in the 67th minute Grealish fired in a powerful low shot from the edge of the box which took a slight deflection.
But Norwich soon restored their two-goal advantage as Murphy rode several tackles before squaring the ball to Maddison for his 15th goal of the season.
Villa boss Bruce said: “We weren’t good enough on the day and that’s disappointing in such a big game.
“There’s times when you have to dig in and I didn’t see enough of that today.”