Chris Goreham: Why a squirrel stole the show for Norwich City at Hull.

It appeared that one of Norwich City’s star supporters may have had a role in their equalizer against Hull City.

Kellen Fisher’s dash down the right flank early in the second half was only matched by an unexpected cameo by a squirrel. As they rushed into the channel almost simultaneously, it appeared like they were on the same wavelength. It was reminiscent of a situation written by the great playwright and die-hard Canaries supporter, Philip Pulman.

I frequently write this piece while staring out our back yard at home. In an effort to help the local animal population throughout the winter, I have installed three simple bird feeders.

One of them includes peanuts and has become a popular service station stop for the area’s squirrel population. I never imagined that seeing them at work would help me write about a Norwich City match. They appear to be determined enough to get in anyplace. If they can get through the tiny beak-sized openings in a bird feeder, a Championship football stadium is easy pickings.

The fact that Norwich scored their solitary goal of the match while our new bushy-tailed buddy was able to partake in the celebrations ensures that it will go down in legend.

You may spend a long time coming up with thoroughly thought tactical approaches to a football match. But, let’s be honest, the first thing anybody who attended the game told their spouses when they went home was, “Norwich scored when there was a squirrel on the pitch!”

Deep statistical analysis of a match has its place, but the football media occasionally runs the risk of thinking and talking about going to a match in an entirely different way than the fans.

At least one national media report failed to mention the squirrel. The Norwich City goal was described as follows: ‘Josh Sargent nodded home his ninth goal of the season from Kellen Fisher’s cross. It is factually right, but it lacks the tiny piece of magic that made that goal memorable.

Animal interventions are typically enjoyable. whether you ask a Norwich supporter whether they remember how the Canaries fared on their previous visit to West Ham’s Upton Park, they may struggle to recall the score. Do anyone recall Jonny Howson saving a bird from the pitch during the same match? I believe they do. It was a 2-2 tie, by the way. I had to check it up just to be sure.

There was the time a bewildered goose wandered into Carrow Road during an evening match in late June. It began flying circuits of the ground, much to the joy of the fans, eliciting more applause than whatever was going on in the contest. Again, I recall the goose more vividly than the football. How about the Loftus Road fox? When Norwich City visited QPR last season, fans reported one leaping from the top deck to the away supporters below.

As far as we know, no animals were injured during any of these events.

Perhaps there are others who believe the squirrel has received too much attention and would rather to read a few more column inches on how Norwich City performed.

The problem is that we didn’t learn anything new from the Hull draw.

Johannes Hoff Thorup’s first 33 league games have resulted in 11 victories, 11 draws, and, yep, 11 losses. When they’re good, they’re good, but consistency is an issue, and when certain key players are out due to injury or suspension, they lack the depth to deliver on the promise of their better performances.

I could have told you all that before Saturday’s play, so I was thankful for the nice diversion of a squirrel on the pitch.

Football analysts sometimes claim, ‘You couldn’t write this stuff,’ but when covering a side that Philip Pulman loves, the bar for creative writing is much higher On the move…