Norwich earn first win
By Andy Clarke. Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Dean Ashton proved once again that he is a class apart from Championship level as he inspired Norwich City to a 2-0 win over Plymouth - their first victory of the season.
The £3 million striker scored one and could have had several more as The Canaries put the misery of the opening month of the campaign behind them with a comfortable success.
Mathias Doumbe's own goal, after Paul McVeigh's shot had been parried against his legs by Romain Larrieu, put Norwich ahead inside 20 minutes, before Ashton stole the show.
He easily evaded Doumbe's weak challenge to volley in Jurgen Colin's right-wing cross eight minutes before the interval and effectively put the result beyond doubt.
Ashton then crashed a right-foot shot against a post early in the second half before flashing another 20-yarder a whisker wide of Larrieu's goal.
Ashton apart, Norwich carried little threat in the absence of Darren Huckerby and Leon McKenzie, but the ease of their win will alarm Plymouth, who parted company with manager Bobby Williamson earlier in the week.
Jocky Scott took charge for this game but failed to break a losing sequence which now stretches to five games in which Argyle have failed to score.
They did have their moments, notably when Paul Wotton rattled a post from distance shortly before Doumbe's own goal and when the same player stung Robert Green's palms with another trademark piledriver.
But Micky Evans and Nick Chadwick laboured up front without troubling the Norwich defence and Kevin Lisbie might have added a third for City on his debut, only to be adjudged offside.
Matches
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npower Championship
Table
npower Championship
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 46 | 87 |
| 2 | Hull City | 46 | 79 |
| 3 | Watford | 46 | 77 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 46 | 75 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 72 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 68 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 68 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 67 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 65 |
| 10 | Derby County | 46 | 61 |
| 11 | Burnley | 46 | 61 |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 46 | 61 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 61 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackpool | 46 | 59 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 59 |
| 17 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 58 |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 58 |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 58 |
| 20 | Millwall | 46 | 56 |
| 21 | Barnsley | 46 | 55 |
| 22 | Peterborough United | 46 | 54 |
| 23 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 51 |
| 24 | Bristol City | 46 | 41 |
Dean Ashton
Mathias Kouo-Doumbe
