Norwich City vs Preston North End. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow RoadAttendance26,239.
Saturday 22 October 2016 18:56, UK
Norwich's run of five successive home wins in the league came to an end in surprising fashion as Preston claimed a 1-0 victory at Carrow Road.
The visitors had to soak up plenty of pressure but defended well and were good value for the victory given to them by Alex Baptiste's second half-header.
The Canaries were guilty of some terrible marking as the defender found the back of the net from a free-kick, and struggled to create at the other end, although Cameron Jerome saw an effort come back off the woodwork.
Norwich almost got off to a sensational start, with 'keeper Chris Maxwell needing to produce an excellent stop to keep out Jerome's fiercely-struck rising drive after just 14 seconds.
The visitors also had a good early chance as a routine pass from Ben Pringle put Jordan Hugill clear, only for Michael McGovern to make a smart block.
It was the hosts who had the better of the early stages however and Graham Dorrans twice tested Maxwell as the Canaries gradually built up a head of steam.
But with Preston well organised at the back it was proving hard work for a team who had swept aside virtually all before them at Carrow Road during the opening months of the season.
The home crowd finally had something to cheer midway through the half when Pritchard's curling free-kick was tipped behind by Maxwell but the smiles did not last with Preston taking the lead on 75 minutes.
The visitors won a free-kick near the right-hand corner flag and when Daniel Johnson whipped the ball in Baptiste was in acres of space to power a header home.
Norwich almost equalised immediately when a shot from Jerome came back off an upright, and the striker was denied again by Bailey Wright as he prepared to convert from close in.
Norwich boss Alex Neil:
"It was really, really sloppy. We have defended set-pieces well all game and then we allow Baptiste to have a free run from a central area and head the ball in.
"In those sort of situations defending players have to take individual responsibility to get there first and get their heads on it and that didn't happen. It was a very frustrating game for us because although we had a lot of the ball we didn't do enough with it."
Preston boss Simon Grayson:
"Obvously I am thrilled to bits with the win. When you play a good team like Norwich you need all your players to go out there and do the job that is required of them and that's exactly what happened today.
"I am really proud of each and every one of the players and I am also pleased for the travelling fans. Hopefully this will make a very long journey home seem a little bit shorter."
