Norwich City Beat Setbacks To Salvage Point On The Road

Norwich City overcame a disastrous start at Deepdale to earn a 2-2 draw against Preston North End, salvaging a point after falling two goals behind in the opening 12 minutes.

Despite the early setbacks, Norwich rallied to level the match in the second half, maintaining their strong position in the Championship.

Preston’s Fast Start Stuns Norwich

Preston wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, with Sam Greenwood converting a penalty just five minutes into the match. Norwich goalkeeper George Long’s rash challenge on Emil Riis Jakobsen on the edge of the box left the referee with no choice but to point to the spot. Greenwood, on loan from Leeds United, calmly hammered the penalty down the middle for his first goal for Preston.

Things quickly went from bad to worse for the Canaries. Just seven minutes later, Duane Holmes doubled the lead after capitalizing on a Greenwood through ball. Norwich lost possession in the middle of the pitch, and Holmes made no mistake, firing past Long to give Preston a commanding 2-0 lead.

Norwich Respond and Take Control

Despite the shaky start, Norwich refused to abandon their game plan. Instead of retreating, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side stuck to their high-pressing, passing style and began to control possession. Their persistence paid off just before halftime when Borja Sainz found the back of the net. Kellen Fisher’s cutback was met by Sainz, who slotted home his eighth league goal of the season, giving Norwich hope heading into the break.

The second half saw Norwich continue to press for an equaliser, and they were rewarded just before the hour mark. Preston had a chance to extend their lead when Jakobsen fired wide on a counter-attack, but Norwich quickly regained momentum. A surging run from Shane Duffy combined with a clever return pass from Josh Sargent led to Duffy finishing calmly with a side-footed shot to bring the match level.

Both teams pushed for a winner in the final stages, but neither could find the decisive goal, leaving Preston to maintain their unbeaten home record under manager Paul Heckingbottom.

Writer’s View

Norwich will be relieved to have salvaged a point after such a disastrous start, but they’ll also feel disappointed not to have secured all three given their dominance after the early setbacks. Preston’s quick start was impressive, but they couldn’t maintain control once Norwich found their rhythm. A draw seems a fair result, but both sides will feel they could have taken more from this encounter.

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