Norwich 0-0 Middlesbrough: 10 man Canaries held at home
Norwich 0-0 Middlesbrough: 10 man Canaries held to a goalless draw in Championship clash by Neil Warnock’s side after Emi Buendia was sent off
- Norwich could’ve moved nine points clear of second placed Swansea with a win
- Emi Buendia was sent off for Daniel Farke’s side after two bookable offences
- The draw leaves Middlesbrough seventh, two points from the play-off places
- loan signing Yannick Bolasie made his debut for Neil Warnock’s side at Norwich
The main winners here were Swansea, Watford, Reading and the rest of the Championship chasing pack who feared Norwich were about to gallop over the hill to the promised land of the Premier League.
The Canaries could have moved nine points clear at the top with victory here – for a short time at least – but were left frustrated by both Middlesbrough and Emiliano Buendia’s second-half sending off.
Buendia, booked for a cynical foul before half-time, slid in for no real reason on George Saville and paid the price. Contentious, yes, but Buendia only had himself to blame.
Norwich players confront referee Keith Stroud after he sent off midfielder Emi Buendia
His manager Daniel Farke sat impassively on the bench as Buendia trudged off for an early shower on a bitterly cold afternoon but knew that moment of miscalculation from his best player had ended any chance Norwich had of breaching Boro’s stubborn resistance.
The visitors, themselves just outside the top six, couldn’t capitalise on their 28-minute window of numerical superiority but at least this point at Carrow Road halted their recent slide of two consecutive defeats.
Neil Warnock would certainly have shaken on a point here pre-match but they might have done more to press home their advantage in the closing stages.
Both teams lined up with new faces. Norwich’s signing of the Greece international left-back Dimitris Giannoulis from PAOK appears to be quite the coup given interest from Napoli, Porto and Monaco in recent months.
Norwich’s new Greek international Dimitis Giannoulis (left) started the Championship clash
Giannoulis is on loan at Carrow Road initially but Norwich will be obliged to sign him for around £6.2million if, as most expect, they win promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Yannick Bolasie made his Middlesbrough debut, playing more at centre forward than his familiar wide position.
Having not played a single minute for Everton this season, Bolasie needed a loan move away and Neil Warnock finally got a player he worked with at Crystal Palace after a loan fell through on deadline day in October.
He lasted just under an hour before Warnock replaced him with a more orthodox forward in Chuba Akpom.
On loan Everton winger Yannick Bolasie right) made his debut for Middlesbrough at Norwich
Giannoulis miscontrolled his first couple of touches in English football but then came close to setting Teemu Pukki through and would later flick on an Emiliano Buendia free-kick very nearly into Grant Hanley’s path.
As they do in most games, Norwich dominated possession and Middlesbrough’s supposed 4-3-3 system almost immediately reverted into a 4-5-1 to keep the league leaders at arm’s length.
And in the first-half it succeeded, with Farke’s side restricted to long range efforts or set-piece deliveries.
Mind you, Boro did allow Mario Vrancic to waltz right through the middle of their defence in the seventh minute and breathed a big sigh of relief when the Bosnian fired wide.
It was a frustrating day at the office for Norwich’s Teemu Pukki against Neil Warnock’s side
Vrancic would later shoot high, wide and not particularly handsome from outside the box before Lukas Rupp’s looping header dropped just over after Buendia had smartly lofted in an inviting ball from a centrally-located free-kick.
And the more time that elapsed without Norwich capitalising on their control of possession, the more Boro grew in confidence.
With Warnock and his assistants offering constant chatter from the touchline, they didn’t yield an inch to Norwich.
The frustration of the hosts manifested itself when Buendia cynically fouled Jonny Howson and was booked as Boro, forcing a succession of corners, ended the half on top. That booking would later prove significant.
Buendia (left) was booked for fouling Middlesbrough midfielder Jonny Howson in the first half
The Argentine received his second yellow after fouling Boro midfielder George Saville (left)
MATCH FACTS
Norwich: Krul, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis, Skipp, Rupp, Buendia, Vrancic (Placheta70), Cantwell (Hernandez 76), Pukki (Idah 87)
Subs not used: Zimmerman, Dowell, Sorensen, Mumba, Tettey, Barden
Booked: Buendia
Sent off: Buendia
Middlesbrough: Middlesbrough: Bettinelli, Fisher (Coulson 86), Fry (Watmore89), McNair, Bola, Spence, Howson, Morsy, Saville, Johnson, Bolasie (Akpom 57)
Subs not used: Hall, Wing, Assombolonga, Fletcher, Archer, Roberts
Booked: Saville, Howson
Referee: Keith Stroud
That didn’t last, with Norwich going close early in the second-half through Todd Cantwell’s low drive. From a short corner routine, Giannoulis popped a shot over the bar from a confined space.
Not that Boro were going to fold. They reminded Norwich of the danger they posed when Howson met Paddy McNair’s corner but could only direct it straight at Tim Krul.
And things became very interesting when Buendia was shown a second yellow card. The Argentine went to ground in tackling Saville in the middle of the pitch, catching the Boro man above the knee on the ground.
Play continued at first with referee Keith Stroud waiting for a break in play, allowing time to think over a decision that ultimately was detrimental to Norwich.
It wasn’t really a tackle that definitely warranted a booking but equally there was no reason for Buendia to go to ground in that situation.
Even with 10 men, Norwich posed a threat and Pukki slipped the ball through for Przemyslaw Placheta inside the Boro box but he fired across goal and wide.
But could Boro take advantage? Farke threw on Onel Hernandez not long after Placheta to ensure there was plenty of pace to keep Boro’s defenders occupied.
In truth, the Teessiders couldn’t apply any sustained pressure anyway. Howson carried the ball from the halfway line but then shot wastefully over trying to pick out the top corner.
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