Norwich 1-0 Sunderland: Abdoulla Ba scores stunning long-range effort

03/12/2023

Norwich 1-0 Sunderland: Abdoulla Ba’s long-range strike stalls Canaries’ play-off push, as Tony Mowbray’s Black Cats climb to within five points

Norwich beat Sunderland 1-0 on Sunday afternoon to stall canaries play-off push
Abdoullah Ba’s long-range effort gave the away side an early lead in the first half
Norwich now sit two points adrift of Millwall who occupy the final play-off spot
Sunderland move to tenth in the league, and are five points off promotion spots

Good things come to those who wait, and Abdoullah Ba has had to wait longer than most.

The 19-year-old Frenchman finally scored for Sunderland for the first time since joining them from Le Havre seven months ago.

And that helped the Black Cats turn the form book on its head and put a massive dent in Norwich’s promotion hopes.

Ba’s winner ended the home side’s three-match winning run as the Canaries missed a chance to go fifth – and it stopped the rot for Sunderland, who had lost their previous three in a row.

Summer signing Ba was making his 23rd appearance for the visitors and scored a goal worthy of winning any game to leave Norwich two points outside the play-off places.

Abdoullah Ba opened the scoring for Sunderland within 15 minutes with a long-range effort

It was his first of the season, and it was a cracker, rolling between Grant Hanley’s legs

It was a welcome result for Tony Mowbray whose side have lost their last three games

They say possession is nine tenths of the law. But it was what you do with it that counted at Carrow Road in the first half.

Norwich, who went into the game in fine form, dominated the ball from the off against a Sunderland side who had just been thumped 5-1 by Stoke.

But while Max Aarons did have an early shot parried at the near post by Anthony Patterson, it was Sunderland who broke the deadlock.

Young Ba was only in the Sunderland starting line-up because of an injury to Amad Diallo, but he certainly made the most of it.

He collected the ball on the edge of the box in the 15th minute, turned Grant Hanley inside out with a stopover and then fired home into the far corner through his legs.

It didn’t stop there either as Joe Gelhardt was denied a second from point-blank range by a fine piece of goalkeeping from Angus Gunn.

So it was no real surprise to hear a few boos around the ground at half time despite Norwich managing 72 per cent possession.

It was a disappointing loss for Norwich who had the chance to go fifth with a win today

Match facts

Norwich (4-1-4-1): Gunn 7; Aarons 6.5 (Sorensen 55, 6), Hanley 5, Gibson 5, Giannoulis 6; McLean 4; Hernandez 5 (Marquinhos 55, 6), Nunez 6 (Tzolis 73), Sara 6, Idah 5 (Sargent 46, 6); Pukki 6.

Subs: Krul, Omobamidele, Gibbs

Sunderland (4-2-3-1): Patterson 6.5; Hume 6, Ballard 6, Batth 6, O’Nien 7; Neil 6, Michut 6 (Ekwah 66, 6); Roberts 6, Ba 7.5 (Gooch 66 , 6), Clarke 6.5; Gelhardt 7 (Lihadji 75)

Subs: Bass, Taylor, Bennetts, Anderson

Referee: Tim Robinson 6

Sunderland worked hard on and off the ball, despite Norwich having more possession

Sunderland will now take on second place Sheffield United at the Stadium of Light next week

But Sunderland continued to have the better chances in the second half, with Gunn diving to tip away a blistering long range effort from Jack Clarke.

Teemu Pukki briefly threatened for the home side but the longer Patterson went without being seriously tested, the more the frustration grew in the stands.

And although Norwich threw on a flurry of subs in a desperate attempt to rescue something, Sunderland dug in grimly and defended for their lives.

But Norwich were furious when referee Tim Robinson called play back for a foul by Pierre Ekwah in stoppage time when Josh Sargent looked like he might be through on goal.

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