£9m Rashica gives Norwich something to cheer at last

NORWICH toiled for 40 days and 40 nights without a goal like a team committed to abstinence, giving up on the hope of scoring for their very own midwinter version of Lent. Then, with just 11 minutes remaining at the Valley, Milot Rashica swept a cross from Teemu Pukki into an empty net and settled a tie drifting towards extra time. ‘It gives everybody a boost to break the cycle,’ said boss Dean Smith. ‘But I don’t think the last three games have been a fair reflection of us because the squad has been decimated.’ It was Rashica’s first goal in his injury-hit first season following a £9.4million move from Werder Bremen, bringing relief and sparing more than 2,000 long-suffering souls in the away end from further embarrassment. One of the Norwich supporters ran on to the pitch as the players celebrated the goal and appeared to confront them. ‘Just a daft fan,’ said Smith, more concerned with his side’s first-half display. ‘I was annoyed, we got embroiled in a scrap and we can’t play like that. ‘We gave away free-kicks, allowed them to put balls into our box, and it made it a real tough first half. Our back four were too deep, little things we needed to iron out. We weren’t good enough.’ The team from the bottom half of League One dominated for an hour, denied any form of reward by the excellence of Norwich keeper Tim Krul, who denied both Elliot Lee and Alex Gilbey. When Kenny McLean fired over just before the interval, Norwich fans celebrated and sang: ‘We’ve had a shot’. There has been little to cheer this season. They have seen their team score eight times in 19 Premier League games and had not found the net since November. They improved after Smith’s triple substitution at half-time and Rashica struck in the 79th minute to end the drought and Norwich could have extended their lead. Charlton slowly ran out of steam but still missed a wonderful chance from a set-piece in stoppage time. Ben Purrington climbed high in front of goal only to head against the bar. ‘I’m frustrated and disappointed,’ said their boss Johnnie Jackson. ‘I didn’t feel we deserved to lose. We were the dominant team for a lot of the match and weren’t able to turn it into goals. ‘It’s got to go in the net and we haven’t done that. That’s our fault.’ Smith said Billy Gilmour’s absence was down to an injury and he is unlikely to be fit to face West Ham on Wednesday.