Norwich City - 1 (Huckerby 16.)
Crystal Palace - 1 (Johnson 73.)
A shot on goal from Joonas Kolkka was blocked by Craig Fleming, whilst at the other end Bentley sent in a cross that eluded everyone and went out of play for a Palace throw-in. Sandor Torghelle then tried a shot that went wide of the mark, and almost immediately after Thomas Helveg sent in a cross that Emmerson Boyce did well to clear from our danger area, conceding a corner in the process. Bentley sent that in, but Julian jumped well to pluck the ball away from any danger to our goal, and then Gary Holt tried a shot that was stopped by Tony Popovic, the Palace stand-in captain.
Two corners in a row to Norwich were cleared by the Palace defence, before we got the ball clear only to see Sandor caught offside. Wayne Routledge put a cross into the centre, but Robert Green cut out the danger, and at the other end of the park Tony put a cross in to Sandor, his header from nearly 20 yards out missing to the right of the upright. Darren Huckerby was then caught offside, but shortly after Mathias Svensson sent in a cross from the left that Huckerby smashed into the back of the net, giving Julian little chance, though a hint of a foul on the way was turned down by Mr Walton, the man in black.
Huckerby was again caught offside, and as Michael Hughes sent in the free kick Simon Charlton was on hand to clear the danger to the home goalmouth. Joonas sent in a cross that Adam Drury fired behind for a corner to Palace, which was taken by Wayne, though the defence cleared the chance once again. Damien Francis tried a shot that was well stopped by Julian in the Palace goal before Sandor tried a shot that once again was forced behind for another Palace corner.
Wayne sent this one in, and it was forced out on the other side, for Danny to send back in. Charlton cleared this one, but only as far as Joonas, his shot being cleared by Svensson, who was back helping out the defence. Michael tried a cross that was cleared by Helveg, and Huckerby tried the same at the other end, only to see the ball beaten away by Tony. Fitz Hall fouled Francis, the free kick being taken by Craig Fleming.
Svensson sent in a cross that was cleared by Danny, but the following corner, taken by Bentley saw a shot by Charlton go fractionally over the top of the bar. A couple of crosses into the area by Palace failed to find an attacking player, and when Wayne finally got a good ball into the centre it was Helveg who cleared the danger for the home team. Sandor was caught offside, and then Mark Hudson conceded a corner from a Drury cross, though the ball went straight out of play from the corner kick, giving Palace little to worry about.
Charlton blocked a shot from Fitz before Andy Johnson was caught offside, though shortly after he was back in the action, this time firing in a cross that Green did well to hang on to. Another long-range shot from Fitz went over the top of the bar. As the first half came to a close Palace piled the pressure on in an attempt to get back on level terms in the match, and following a couple of corners it was finally Michael who fired in a shot that missed to the right of the upright, and the whistle sounded for the end of the first period of play.
What Iain Dowie said to the side during the break will forever remain a mystery, but it seems to have had the desired effect, as can be seen from the action in the second half.
Norwich got play underway once more, and they immediately attacked, Bentley getting a cross through to Svensson who headed the ball over the top of the bar. Sandor then tried his luck, his shot being saved by Green before a foul on AJ by Helveg saw Danny fire the free kick in, Mattias Jonson clearing the danger for the home side. A series of corners and throws followed for Palace, before finally Green managed to hold on to the ball, bringing the sequence of chances to a halt.
Gary Holt sent in a cross that Wayne was back to clear away, and then a foul by Danny on Jonson saw the first, and only, yellow card of the match awarded for unsporting behaviour. Bentley took the resulting free kick, but Julian held on to the ball well to avert the danger. Emmerson sent in a cross that was cleared by Drury before a corner to Palace was fired in by Wayne, the keeper pulling the ball out of the air before any attacking Palace player could pounce, and once again the chance was gone.
Huckerby tried a shot that Julian did well to hang on to once again, and then he had to be just as good to keep out a shot from Bentley. Another shot from Huckerby went over the bar, whilst at the other end Tony tried a header that went wide of the post once more. At this point Jonson made way for Paul McVeigh for the home team, and his first action was to fire the ball into our area, Mark being on hand to clear the danger, and as the ball came back courtesy of Bentley it was Julian that held on to the ball to ensure the scoreline did not get any worse for the visiting Palace side.
Another corner to Palace saw the cross cleared by Francis, and Norwich decided to make their second change, this time Bentley making way for ex-Palace favourite Marc Edworthy. Huckerby was caught offside once again, and as Michael played the ball forward Wayne got a cross in that found AJ about 20 yards out, and this time he made no mistake burying the ball in the bottom right hand corner of the net. Back on level terms, and everything to play for in the final 20 minutes.
AJ was immediately back, trying to net his second, but Fleming blocked his shot, and from the resulting series of corners Tony put his header just wide of the mark. A corner to the home side was cleared by Tony in the heart of the Palace defence and Palace decided on a double change, with Aki Riihilahti replacing Fitz whilst Shaun Derry took the place of Joonas. Helveg sent in a cross that Julian held on to before a shot at the other end, by Sandor, was cleared by Fleming, and Norwich decided to make their final change with Leon McKenzie coming on for Svensson.
Julian had to be on his toes to beat out a free kick to the home side, but as McKenzie sent his header back in our keeper was ready to pick up the ball once more, and avert any danger to our position. Huckerby then tried a shot that Julian once again held on to before Francis hit a poor shot that gave the Palace defence little trouble, as they watched it run wide of the posts. Palace made their final change, and it was obvious that Iain was going all out for the win, as it was Dougie Freedman who came on to replace Michael - a very attacking move indeed.
Dougie's first touch almost brought a goal, but the keeper did well to hang on to the ball as his header flashed goalwards, and at the other end of the park McKenzie drilled a shot towards the goal, Julian being more than equal to the task, snatching the ball out of mid-air with little apparent trouble. Time was up, but injury time brought just a final chance to Palace, as Shaun played AJ in, his shot being well saved by the keeper just as it looked as if he may have misjudged the flight of the ball.
The final whistle went, and it was honours even for the opening day of the season. Considering our recent record at Carrow Road perhaps one should be happy with the result, so we will all get ready to entertain Everton next week at Selhurst Park. Gee, it's great to be back in the Premiership!
Colin Pryce
Norwich City: Robert Green, Thomas Helveg, Craig Fleming, Simon Charlton, Adam Drury, Mattias Jonson (Paul McVeigh 64), Gary Holt, Damien Francis, David Bentley (Marc Edworthy 71), Darren Huckerby, Mathias Svensson (Leon McKenzie 82).
Substitutes not used: Ryan Jarvis, Darren Ward.
Crystal Palace: Julian Speroni, Emmerson Boyce, Tony Popovic, Mark Hudson, Danny Granville, Wayne Routledge, Michael Hughes (Dougie Freedman 89), Fitz Hall (Aki Riihilahti 78), Joonas Kolkka (Shaun Derry 78), Andrew Johnson, Sandor Torghelle.
Substitutes not used: Gabor Kiraly, Tommy Black.
Attendance: 23,717
Referee: Mr P Walton