Norwich City Vs Sheffield Wednesday — norwich city vs sheffield wednesday ends 2-0 as Canaries beat relegated Owls

norwich city vs sheffield wednesday finished 2-0 at Carrow Road as Mathias Kvistgaarden and Paris Maghoma sealed a routine victory for Norwich, a result that lifts the home side to 17th and eight points clear of the drop while compounding an already difficult week for relegated Sheffield Wednesday.

Goals and gameflow at Carrow Road

Mathias Kvistgaarden and Paris Maghoma were the Norwich scorers in a match the home side controlled from the first half. Kvistgaarden forced the breakthrough after an earlier left-foot finish was ruled out for a marginal offside; following Seny Dieng's save from Ali Ahmed and a header off the bar, Kvistgaarden nodded the rebound over the line. Maghoma, making his first league start, then marked the occasion with a powerful left-foot strike after a slick turn to beat Dieng, before curling narrowly beyond the far post moments later. Norwich could not add to their tally in a lower-key second half but had already done enough to be two up at the break.

Mohamed Toure injury and the Medic experiment

Norwich's evening began with an early setback when Australia international Mohamed Toure went down clutching his groin as he chased a long ball from Jack Stacey and had to be withdrawn in only the sixth minute; Toure had scored five goals in four games since arriving in the transfer window. Kvistgaarden replaced him, and later Philippe Clement substituted Kvistgaarden for Jakov Medic, a Croatian who is normally a centre-back and was sent to lead the line in an unaccustomed striker role. Medic offered a physical presence and a focal point up front, though he was not described as having the nimblest feet.

Vladan Kovacevic's clean sheet and defensive run

Goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic kept his fifth clean sheet of the campaign in the win, and said it was "a perfect evening" while urging the squad to take matches one at a time. Kovacevic noted Norwich are now eight points clear and that they must go "game by game, " adding that he does not constantly watch the table. He also stressed the team's defensive improvement, saying defensively they are now "much, much better" and that he now only needs to make one or two saves per game. The win put Norwich in a stronger position with 12 games remaining and two first-half goals separated by seven minutes put them in control for long stretches.

Since Boxing Day: a five-match sequence against lower sides

Since Boxing Day, Norwich have won all five matches against sides below them in the table, with victories over Charlton, West Brom, Blackburn, Oxford United and Sheffield Wednesday. Over that sequence the team conceded just five shots on target, a stat highlighted as part of the club's improved defensive record.

Wednesday's troubles: ownership fallout and sustained defeats

For Sheffield Wednesday the evening brought more bad news: earlier in the day the James Bord consortium pulled out of a deal to buy the club, and the Owls suffered their 11th successive defeat. The club's difficult season was underlined by those developments and on-field struggles; Dominic Iorfa returned to the Wednesday defence for the first time since 4 January but the team remained shot-shy as Philippe Clement's side dominated possession and chances.

Clement on the performance and next fixtures

Philippe Clement said after the match that he knew Sheffield Wednesday were "a team that had lost a lot of games - but a lot, I think, by only one goal difference, " and stressed Norwich produced the most chances and possession, with "two good goals" and room for more. He offered an initial assessment of Toure's possible lay-off and commented on the Medic experiment following the final whistle. The match ended with Wednesday coming closest late when Joe Emery headed wide from a free-kick, and moments earlier Jamal Lowe's pass found Charlie McNeill but a superb diving block from Kellen Fisher deflected his shot just wide. Both teams now prepare for their next fixtures: Wednesday will be at home to Southampton on Saturday, while Norwich travel to take on Leicester City.