Simeon Jackson's injury-time equaliser ensured Norwich avoided defeat at the end of a memorable 2011 in a 1-1 draw with Fulham.
Lambert's men finish 2011 with more late action
Simeon Jackson's injury-time equaliser ensured Norwich avoided defeat at the end of a memorable 2011, as Paul Lambert's side grabbed a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Carrow Road.
Orlando Sa's first goal in the Premier League looked set to give Martin Jol's visitors just a fifth away win in 47 attempts after the striker opened the scoring in the seventh minute.
But Norwich were not to be beaten and substitute Jackson's last-gasp header continued a familiar theme for late drama for Lambert's men and capped a year which has included promotion back to the top flight.
The Canaries manager had made four changes from the side easily beaten here by Tottenham on 27th December.
However, his side failed to keep a clean sheet as it took only seven minutes before their defence was breached.
Moussa Dembele was allowed to charge to the edge of the penalty area before feeding Sa, who drilled a low shot past John Ruddy into the bottom right corner.
The home side were almost 2-0 down before they could mount a recovery, with full-back Kyle Naughton on hand to clear an effort off the line from lively Portugal striker Sa.
Promising
Slowly Norwich managed to get some possession, and a spell of pressure saw Bradley Johnson set up just inside the Fulham box, but his sidefoot effort was deflected behind.
Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale then knocked the ball up off the underside of the crossbar from Zak Whitbread's header, before John Arne Riise blocked Steve Morison's close-range effort.
Norwich remained on the offensive, but continued to lack a telling final pass when in promising positions.
The visitors broke quickly on 32 minutes and came close to a second goal when Clint Dempsey's close-range header cannoned back off the crossbar from a right-wing cross by Stephen Kelly.
Kerim Frei charged forwards, brushing off Daniel Ayala far too easily before rifling in an 18-yard effort which John Ruddy beat away.
When Norwich finally managed to get the ball into the Fulham half, once again there was no outlet to support Morison.
Captain Grant Holt - the club's leading scorer with seven goals - was sent on for the start of the second half, replacing midfielder David Fox, as Lambert looked to inject new life into the Norwich attack.
Credit
Fulham, though, did not look too stretched by the change. The visitors continued to counter-attack well, with Sa their main threat.
When Norwich did get a man over down the left and Morison pulled the ball back across goal, Anthony Pilkington's effort was blocked by Riise.
Naughton shaved the top of the crossbar with an angled drive when the home side pressed again as the hour mark approached.
Sa was bundled over by Ayala to give away a free-kick some 25 yards out, just right of the penalty arc. The ball was touched back to Riise to strike, but Whitbread got his body behind it.
With 20 minutes left, Lambert made another attacking change when diminutive Canada frontman Jackson came on for Morison.
Andrew Surman flashed a 20-yard drive wide, as Norwich continued to press for an equaliser.
Stockdale soon had to turn away a curling effort from Jackson, before the Fulham goalkeeper then held onto Whitbread's towering header.
To their credit, Norwich continued to press Fulham back, as Holt headed over from close range.
Then, four minutes into five minutes of stoppage time, the pressure finally told as Jackson nodded in Bennett's cross to snatch a point.
| Norwich City |
Team Statistics |
Fulham |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 8 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 8 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 4 |
Corners |
3 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
7 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 82.7 |
Passing Success |
83.2 |
| 18 |
Tackles |
17 |
| 94.4 |
Tackles Success |
76.5 |
| 51.1 |
Possession |
48.9 |
| 61.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
38.6 |
| 467 |
Total Passes |
463 |
| 32 |
Total Crosses |
7 |
| 150 |
Lost Balls |
155 |
| 38 |
Recoveries |
55 |
| 49.9 |
1st Half Poss. |
50.1 |
| 52.5 |
2nd Half Poss. |
47.5 |
|
