Clarets suffer a lack of Turf love as Canaries deliver KO
THIS was not a bad game of football — it just felt like it ought to be. A sparse Turf Moor was deathly quiet for much of the afternoon, roused only when mistakes or dithering deserved condemnation. It is another FA Cup defeat under Sean Dyche, who has won only five matches in the competition since taking over in 2012 and has made it past this round just once. Norwich, though, hope a cup run can act as a catalyst for Premier League survival as Grant Hanley and Josip
Drmic netted in the space of four second-half minutes. Norwich were worthy of their victory and only looked under threat when Erik Pieters slammed in with 18 minutes left.
‘We’re trying everything to work on our little miracle to surprise everyone and stay in the league,’ Daniel Farke said. ‘A cup run might help. Someone told me that the sixth round would be our biggest success for more than 30 years. I’m delighted. I’m in love with this group of players.’
The statistics —25 shots on goal between the two sides — suggest an exciting tie yet the feeling around the place, with an attendance of just over 8,000, did not match that.
‘It was a strange game,’ said Dyche. ‘The crowd isn’t there, it’s a weird sort of feeling. We’re used to full houses here. It adds a different feel to the game and the tempo can change.’
Dyche added that the actual football was ‘a bit of a ding-dong’ and he was not wrong — chances were plentiful. Burnley had James Tarkowski to thank for a courageous last-ditch block from Mario Vrancic.
The England international also had the presence of mind to dash beyond his goalkeeper, Joe Hart, to stop Sam Byram’s dink on the
line. Dyche’s side created bits and bobs. Tarkowski hit the bar and Jay Rodriguez should have scored but struck Ralf Fahrmann’s midriff.
Norwich led eight minutes after the break. Hanley powering a header beyond the rooted Hart from Vrancic’s free-kick.
Four minutes later, Jamal Lewis was allowed to meander into Burnley’s final third, laying a ball back to the cultured Vrancic and an unmarked Lukas Rupp met his cross. Hart clawed away the header, but Drmic followed in at the back post.
Norwich’s progress to the fifth round was briefly uncertain when Pieters seized upon dawdling defending but Burnley never threatened to force a replay. They will probably view that as a good thing, which says it all.