Norwich City beat Preston North End 2-0 on Saturday afternoon, as the Canaries look to build a playoff push.
The victory lifted Philippe Clement’s side to 12th position in the Championship and is their second win in as many games.
Ben Chrisene became the latest Norwich player to suffer an injury as he went down clutching his hamstring in the 60th minute and was duly substituted.
The left back position in particular has troubled Norwich City throughout the season, with all four now struck with injuries, and even led to Tony Springett, a right winger by trade, operating there earlier in the season.
This latest blow means Phillipe Clement must now deal with an injury list that totals fourteen first team players and it is clear that a further investigation into the injury situation will be needed at the club, as the external audit implemented by Ben Knapper earlier in the season clearly failed to get to the crux of the issue.
It is expected that Kellen Fisher will be deployed in the left full back positon in the coming weeks, with Sam Field and Kenny McLean the other available options for Clement.
Fresh off his 300th appearance for the Canaries last weekend, the highlight of this game was clearly Norwich’s second goal: a sweetly struck free-kick by the Canaries skipper in the 39th minute.
Norwich are lucky to have a player with the Scot’s experience, leadership and influence. He delivers consistent performances week in week out, running the strings and playing in all but 51 minutes of Phillipe Clement’s time in East Anglia.
Whilst nearly everyone around him has been plagued by injuries, McLean has offered a significant presence in the middle of the park and is now beginning to add goals back into his game.
His recent performances are arguably up their with the best he has ever had when wearing the yellow and green striped shirt and Norwich City fans will be delighted that he has triggered a one year contract extension.
Three points today took Norwich up to fifty-one points for the season and with nine games remaining, this is a remarkable position to be in considering where the Canaries were earlier in the season.
They now sit in the top half of the table for the first time this season, nine points off of the play off positions. Their exceptional recent form means they must be flirting with the play-off picture and a positive result against Southampton on Wednesday night would have them really breathing down the necks of the likes of Hull, Wrexham and the aforementioned Southampton.
Whilst much has been made of Norwich’s attacking threat, Norwich’s defensive game has also levelled up significantly in recent months. Saturday’s shutout makes it their fifth clean sheet in their last seven league games.
Jose Cordoba is the standout, with the Panamanian defender cutting an assured figure in the Canaries backline. This was the first time Kellen Fisher has not started under Clement and the promising McConville remains out injured, but the Norwich back four did enough today to register yet another clean sheet.
Even with the constant, often forced, shuffling of the pack the Norwich defence has become effective at limiting both the number and the quality of chances created by the opposition. This defensive solidity must continue if they are to achieve a play-off finish.
Norwich’s recent fortunes are in stark contrast to their opposition’s. When Norwich played Preston in the reverse fixture in December, the Lilywhites sat fourth in the table, yet after today’s result the Canaries leapfrogged them in the table.
Preston looked short of confidence; failing to capitalise on Norwich’s poor second half showing. Preston grew into the game with the home-side becoming sloppy, but both Andrew Hughes and the substitute Michael Smith missed big chances that could have led to a nervy finish at Carrow Road.
Norwich are very much eyeing up continuing their winning streak, whilst Preston have now lost four in a row and are winless in seven.
