ED BALLS has presided over some political disasters. Now even his football club is staggering into a crisis.
 |
| Eddie Howe's pumps the air with delight after Bournemouth cruised to victory at home to Norwich |
The ex-Shadow Chancellor took over as Norwich chairman on Boxing Day and helped spark a quick fix as the Canaries won their first two matches under his term of office.
But now they’ve lost three in a row and unless he can find the funds for a major defensive overhaul City could miss out on next season’s £80million Premier League jackpot.
The Canaries were hammered by fellow relegation rivals Bournemouth, £10million new boy Benik Afobe scoring his first Premier League goal. The defeat leaves Norwich just two places away from the drop zone.
Dan Gosling put the Cherries in front with a 10th-minute header. Sebastian Bassong managed to get in a clearance but the ball came out and Gosling beat Declan Rudd.
Bournemouth are known as quick starters – their first half goal was the seventh time this season they’ve scored within 15 minutes – and they were even faster out of the blocks after the break.
Less than 40 seconds after the restart, Marc Pugh sidestepped Bassong’s ineffective challenge but fired straight at the keeper.
It took a goal-line clearance to prevent Pugh getting on the score sheet but when the winger was pulled back by Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe a penalty was given.
Charlie Daniels stepped up to make no mistake and the third came from another touchline run by the full-back whose centre was expertly finished off by Afobe.
Cherries boss Eddie Howe said: “We never let the momentum drop, scored a key second goal at a good time and kept a clean sheet.”
Canaries manager Alex Neil admitted: “There are no excuses for today.”
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook Disqus