Albion 0, Norwich 1
Albion's first home defeat in five matches emphasised the fine margins of the Championship.
The difference between the team they currently are, too good to go down but not good enough to go up, and a side like Norwich.
Chris Hughton is convinced his old club will claim one of the two automatic promotion places back to the Premier League.
Albion competed with them for two-thirds of a tight encounter in two-thirds of the pitch.
Apart from the first period of the game, which Norwich bossed, they were on a par with them.
The final third is where they were once again found wanting and where Norwich were able to produce one moment of quality to claim three more precious points.
The gap is not as big as the 28 points now dividing them suggests.
Look at the goals against column. Albion have conceded only four more than the Canaries.
Now look at the goals for column. Norwich have scored 77, the Seagulls 43. It showed.
In the opening period, when Norwich dominated possession and looked more like the home team, Albion demonstrated the defensive resilience instilled by Hughton since his appointment.
Aided by two smart saves by David Stockdale, from Bradley Johnson's 25-yard free-kick and an angled shot squeezed towards his near post by Wes Hoolahan, they held firm.
If Norwich had scored during that period they would probably have won with a good deal more comfort.
Instead Albion grew into the game, enjoying their best spell before half-time. They needed to score then and they should have.
Joao Teixeira had one of those afternoons which highlighted the stage of his career he is at with the responsibility of being the playmaker - a young talent with bags of ability prone to inconsistency, not just from game to game but during a game.
He started sloppily then came alive. For a ten-minute stint, started by wastefully shooting wide after Beram Kayal latched onto a mistake by Sebastien Bassong, the Liverpool loanee looked dangerous.
He forced John Ruddy into an all-too-rare save with his feet before drifting out of the game again after the break aside from optimistic penalty appeals, the replay showing it was more of a slip on the greasy surface than contact from Bassong which upended him inside the box.
The game was won and lost in a second half of far fewer chances for either side by one decisive thrust involving Nathan Redmond and Johnson.
Hughton knows all about Redmond, having inherited the winger at Birmingham and signed him for Norwich.
He scored last week for the England under-21s in their 3-2 victory over Germany. Alex Neil, the Scot under whom Norwich have now accumulated 36 points from a possible 48, had the luxury of bringing him on in place of the well-shackled Hoolahan.
Redmond turned provider, getting the better of Joe Bennett to drill a low cross which Johnson, on loan to Albion from Leeds during the Withdean era, met with a composed finish into the roof of the net.
It was Johnson's 11th goal of the season, not bad for a left-sided midfielder, the kind of tally Hughton will be hoping for next season from a fit-again Dale Stephens or Beram Kayal, who impressed again in the engine room.
What Hughton needs, more than anything, in the summer is a striker or two to provide a goal threat.
Somebody like Cameron Jerome. He was snuffed out by Gordon Greer and my man-of-the-match Greg Halford but has contributed 19 goals this season.
When Jerome was taken off in the closing stages Neil turned to ex-Celtic goal machine Gary Hooper. He has further firepower in former Albion target Lewis Grabban, currently out injured.
When Hughton was looking for an equaliser he withdrew Chris O'Grady (one goal in 23 Championship outings) and Kayal to introduce Craig Mackail-Smith (one league goal in 24 appearances) and Leon Best (0 in 9).
Holes can be picked in Bennett's defending against Redmond for Norwich's winner and were by Hughton, who knows a thing or two about being a left-back.
The defence, however, needs tinkering with, rather than transforming if Hughton is to turn Albion back from the relegation candidates they have been for most of the season into top six contenders again.
That is not where the real problem lies. Hughton knows the aspect in which Albion are falling well short.
He said: "Norwich score a lot of goals and have got a lot of players that can score goals. We got into areas and we could have tested the keeper a little bit more, hit the target.
"I suppose that's what they have got in a Jerome, even though he didn't score, somebody that has scored a lot of goals this season.
"That is Bradley Johnson's 11th goal this season so they have got players used to scoring goals. At this moment we haven't and probably that's the difference in the two teams. "We had some real good spells, really threatened, but unless you get that goal there is always a chance you are either going to make a mistake or they are going to show a bit of quality to win the game and that's how it panned out.
"Norwich probably didn't show me anything I didn't already know. They are a team I felt at the start of the season would get promotion and they are a team I think will get automatic promotion.
"I think they are the best team, I think they've got the best squad.
"For us it's about making sure we can compete in these games against the top teams. We did that and I thought gave a real good account of ourselves but they are the margins that push you on. Norwich have got the belief to be able to score goals."
So have two more promotion-chasing visitors to come, Bournemouth and Watford. That is what Albion need to find to change narrow defeats, like this seventh by a single goal margin in 18 games under Hughton, into more victories next season.
Original article
Albion's first home defeat in five matches emphasised the fine margins of the Championship.
The difference between the team they currently are, too good to go down but not good enough to go up, and a side like Norwich.
Chris Hughton is convinced his old club will claim one of the two automatic promotion places back to the Premier League.
Albion competed with them for two-thirds of a tight encounter in two-thirds of the pitch.
Apart from the first period of the game, which Norwich bossed, they were on a par with them.
The final third is where they were once again found wanting and where Norwich were able to produce one moment of quality to claim three more precious points.
The gap is not as big as the 28 points now dividing them suggests.
Look at the goals against column. Albion have conceded only four more than the Canaries.
Now look at the goals for column. Norwich have scored 77, the Seagulls 43. It showed.
In the opening period, when Norwich dominated possession and looked more like the home team, Albion demonstrated the defensive resilience instilled by Hughton since his appointment.
Aided by two smart saves by David Stockdale, from Bradley Johnson's 25-yard free-kick and an angled shot squeezed towards his near post by Wes Hoolahan, they held firm.
If Norwich had scored during that period they would probably have won with a good deal more comfort.
Instead Albion grew into the game, enjoying their best spell before half-time. They needed to score then and they should have.
Joao Teixeira had one of those afternoons which highlighted the stage of his career he is at with the responsibility of being the playmaker - a young talent with bags of ability prone to inconsistency, not just from game to game but during a game.
He started sloppily then came alive. For a ten-minute stint, started by wastefully shooting wide after Beram Kayal latched onto a mistake by Sebastien Bassong, the Liverpool loanee looked dangerous.
He forced John Ruddy into an all-too-rare save with his feet before drifting out of the game again after the break aside from optimistic penalty appeals, the replay showing it was more of a slip on the greasy surface than contact from Bassong which upended him inside the box.
The game was won and lost in a second half of far fewer chances for either side by one decisive thrust involving Nathan Redmond and Johnson.
Hughton knows all about Redmond, having inherited the winger at Birmingham and signed him for Norwich.
He scored last week for the England under-21s in their 3-2 victory over Germany. Alex Neil, the Scot under whom Norwich have now accumulated 36 points from a possible 48, had the luxury of bringing him on in place of the well-shackled Hoolahan.
Redmond turned provider, getting the better of Joe Bennett to drill a low cross which Johnson, on loan to Albion from Leeds during the Withdean era, met with a composed finish into the roof of the net.
It was Johnson's 11th goal of the season, not bad for a left-sided midfielder, the kind of tally Hughton will be hoping for next season from a fit-again Dale Stephens or Beram Kayal, who impressed again in the engine room.
What Hughton needs, more than anything, in the summer is a striker or two to provide a goal threat.
Somebody like Cameron Jerome. He was snuffed out by Gordon Greer and my man-of-the-match Greg Halford but has contributed 19 goals this season.
When Jerome was taken off in the closing stages Neil turned to ex-Celtic goal machine Gary Hooper. He has further firepower in former Albion target Lewis Grabban, currently out injured.
When Hughton was looking for an equaliser he withdrew Chris O'Grady (one goal in 23 Championship outings) and Kayal to introduce Craig Mackail-Smith (one league goal in 24 appearances) and Leon Best (0 in 9).
Holes can be picked in Bennett's defending against Redmond for Norwich's winner and were by Hughton, who knows a thing or two about being a left-back.
The defence, however, needs tinkering with, rather than transforming if Hughton is to turn Albion back from the relegation candidates they have been for most of the season into top six contenders again.
That is not where the real problem lies. Hughton knows the aspect in which Albion are falling well short.
He said: "Norwich score a lot of goals and have got a lot of players that can score goals. We got into areas and we could have tested the keeper a little bit more, hit the target.
"I suppose that's what they have got in a Jerome, even though he didn't score, somebody that has scored a lot of goals this season.
"That is Bradley Johnson's 11th goal this season so they have got players used to scoring goals. At this moment we haven't and probably that's the difference in the two teams. "We had some real good spells, really threatened, but unless you get that goal there is always a chance you are either going to make a mistake or they are going to show a bit of quality to win the game and that's how it panned out.
"Norwich probably didn't show me anything I didn't already know. They are a team I felt at the start of the season would get promotion and they are a team I think will get automatic promotion.
"I think they are the best team, I think they've got the best squad.
"For us it's about making sure we can compete in these games against the top teams. We did that and I thought gave a real good account of ourselves but they are the margins that push you on. Norwich have got the belief to be able to score goals."
So have two more promotion-chasing visitors to come, Bournemouth and Watford. That is what Albion need to find to change narrow defeats, like this seventh by a single goal margin in 18 games under Hughton, into more victories next season.
Original article