Stiepermann does whatever he can to be a hero

James

Van der Hoorn Stiepermann

SPIDERMAN’S creator may have gone – but Stiepermann reckons those who have made him a Superhero are all around him at Norwich.

Marco Stiepermann helped spin a web Stan Lee would have been proud of and which proved far too sticky for the Swans.

But the German midfielder insists the team inflicting a radioactive bite on every opponent they meet are a collective of heroes, stronger than any one character.

“It was a team performance – always when we score goals, it’s never like one player does something extraordinary in the situation,” said Stiepermann.

“It’s more like we score team goals and that’s really great. I’m absolutely proud to be a part of this team at the moment.

“We are top of the league and that’s unbelievable. We really can enjoy playing football here at the moment.” Stiepermann scored the third and best of Norwich’s four goals – a simple tap-in after a flowing move had exposed a bewildered home defence.

It was the third game on the trot Daniel Farke’s side have scored four and the victory was their sixth in a row – statistics which make them super and heroic to Canaries fans.

If they have a current Superman, it’s Finnish striker Teemu Pukki, whose 14 goals so far this season include five in his last three matches.

Pukki scored Norwich’s fourth – to add to Mike van der Hoorn’s own goal, one from Emiliano Buendia and Stiepermann’s – to end hopes of a Swansea comeback after Daniel James had made it 3-1. “After half-time, Swansea were near to our goal, but we have Teemu Pukki in that situation,” added Stiepermann.

“It was a really important goal and the game REF: ATT:

was done then. It’s excellent to play with him.

“He’s always there when you need him. If you have the feeling he’s not really in the game, he’s always dangerous for the opposition. He’s a crazy striker!”

Norwich can extend their two-point lead over Middlesbrough at the top if they win at struggling Hull tomorrow.

Swansea, though, have the inconsistency of youth and it’s difficult to predict how they will react to this thrashing when they host West Brom on Wednesday.

After his Wales debut against Albania, James scored his first league goal but his tone was apologetic.

“I had hoped my first league goal would be under better conditions than 3-0 down as you cannot really celebrate the goal, and we owe the fans an apology to be fair,” he said. “But it’s a long season. We have a tough game coming up again on Wednesday so we have to let go of this result and make sure we react.

“We know we can make mistakes the way we play but we let the goal change our heads and that left us chasing the game.”

Mulder 6, Grimes 6, Van der Hoorn 5, Rodon 6, Naughton 5, Fulton 4 (Bony 45, 6), Fer 4 (Olsson 45, 6), James 6, Celina 5 (McKay 68, 6), Roberts 6, McBurnie 5

Krul 7, Aarons 7, Zimmerman 6, Klose 6, Lewis 6, Tettey 7, Leitner 7 (Rhodes 89), Buendia 7 (Vrancic 85), Stiepermann 9, Hernandez 7 (Cantwell 77, 6), Pukki 8