“Ridiculous” – Darren Huckerby slams “unacceptable” Norwich City for Sheffield Wednesday exploits
Norwich City legend Darren Huckerby has blasted his former side’s “unacceptable” capitulation to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday evening, which saw the Canaries hand away a two-goal advantage after the interval to fall to an eventual 3-2 defeat.
Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side entered the battle against a fellow play-off hopeful with a four-match unblemished sequence and appeared poised to extend that further when strikes from Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac placed them two goals to the good before half-time.
However, Norwich imploded following the interval and were promptly punished as Michael Ihiewke, Josh Windass and Djeidi Gassama all struck to complete a dramatic comeback for the Owls.
It represented a massive lost opportunity for Norwich, who have now seen their own ambitions of securing a second successive top-six finish dealt a devastating setback with Wednesday overtaking them in the league standings.
| EFL Championship league standings, as of March 12 | ||||
| Position | Team | P | GD | Pts |
| 6th | Coventry City | 37 | +4 | 56 |
| 7th | Bristol City | 37 | +7 | 54 |
| 8th | Middlesbrough | 37 | +9 | 53 |
| 9th | Blackburn | 36 | +4 | 52 |
| 10th | Sheffield Wednesday | 37 | -5 | 51 |
| 11th | Norwich City | 37 | +7 | 49 |
Norwich have been left in 11th position, seven points short of sixth-placed Coventry City with just nine games to spare of the regular league campaign.
Points are precious at this juncture of the season and to have returned from last night’s affair with none despite assuming complete control and a two-goal advantage before the interval is, understandably, a significant source of frustration for all those connected with the Canaries.
Darren Huckerby bellows at Norwich City’s Sheffield Wednesday collapse
It was a profoundly frustrating evening at Carrow Road and captain Kenny McLean labeled the defeat a “shambles”, with tensions naturally elevated in the immediate aftermath.
And now Huckerby, who is fondly remembered in Norfolk having turned out for the club on close to 200 occasions between 2003 and 2008, has weighed in on last night’s defeat.
The former winger spoke via his official X [formerly Twitter] account to slam Norwich for a “unacceptable” and “ridiculous” second-half performance, and he believes his old side failed to turn up after the interval.
“Well played Sheff Wed, excellent 2nd half and deserved the win BUT that is totally unacceptable from #Ncfc,” Huckerby wrote.
“2-0 up in complete control and not turning up at all after the break, ridiculous really! 😡 #Ncfc.”
Norwich City’s upcoming fixtures
It’s going to require a significant effort, and plenty of good luck in the context of results elsewhere outside of Norwich’s control, for the Canaries to seal a top-six finish.
Bristol City are next on the itinerary this weekend and Norwich definitely haven’t got the simplest fixture schedule to bolster their quest for a second shot at the play-offs.
Thorup’s side must still face four promotion prospects of various varieties in West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Burnley and Middlesbrough, while matches against relegation-threatened sides such as Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City on the final day could prove potential banana skins, too.
Their top-six ambitions were already dangling very much in the balance but have now been placed at an even more severe disadvantage from a defeat which, all things considered, simply should not have happened.
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