Sky Sports pundit almost has ‘fit’ over ‘unbelievable’ Norwich v West Brom chaos
Norwich City claimed a vital win over West Brom in the Championship play-off race, but one incident in the game was almost too much for Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood.
Both teams are currently in the hunt for a top six spot in the second-tier with the games running out until the end of the season.
That ensured this meeting between the pair at Carrow Road on Saturday (29 March) looked like being a crucial one.
In the end it was Norwich who ran out with a 1-0 victory, but the hosts would have to do things the hard way in order to secure all three points.
Tim Sherwood pushed to the edge by Angus Gunn
With the game still goalless at the end of normal time, the Canaries then struck in stoppage time to finally break the deadlock.
Talk of a move to Leeds United for Josh Sargent this summer have been played down recently, but the American again showed his quality to put Norwich ahead in the dying seconds.
There was though still time for West Brom to go close to an even later equaliser, only for Kyle Bartley to be denied when his header at the back post produced a point blanc save from Angus Gunn.
Having joined Norwich on loan from Brighton in Janaury Ruairi McConville then made a key intervention to keep out Grady Diangana’s follow up on the line.
| Norwich last five games | Result |
| Blackburn Rovers (A) | Drew 1-1 |
| Oxford United (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Sheffield Wednesday (H) | Lost 3-2 |
| Bristol City (A) | Lost 2-1 |
| West Brom (H) | Won 1-0 |
All of that produced a stunned and frantic response from Sherwood, who was reporting on the game on Sky Sports‘ Soccer Saturday.
As West Brom saw that chance come and go, the former England international could be heard crying out in shock, before describing the incident when asked what had provoked his reaction (4.56pm): “Woah, look, I nearly had a fit there… the goalkeeper, Gunn, has made an unbelievable save.
“It’s dinked [by Johnston] to the back post, first header Bartley comes in, save! Second one, save off the line! Third one, should have done better, wow!
“Wow, incredible.”
Norwich City claim vital win
Football Insider Verdict
This result means that Norwich are now tenth in the Championship table, five points behind West Brom who currently occupy the final play-off spot.
With just seven games of the regular season now remaining, this match will have been viewed as must win for the Canaries if they were to have any hope of finishing in the top six.
Consequently this scoreline means they will now feel they still have a glimmer of hope of reaching the play-offs, and with it claiming the major prize of promotion.
As a result there is unlikely to be anyone connected with Norwich who will be in any way worried by the way this match played out.
This is the stage of the season where results are much more important than performances, and Johannes Hoff Thorup‘s side made sure they did what they had to in that respect.
Indeed, winning in this way may add to the confidence, momentum and team spirit at the club given how hard they had to work for it, which could be a useful springboard for these final games of the campaign.