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Norwich City v Southampton - FA Cup Third Round
Steven Naismith celebrates scoring Norwich’s second goal against Southampton. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters
Steven Naismith celebrates scoring Norwich’s second goal against Southampton. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters

Steven Naismith rescues last-ditch draw for Norwich City against Southampton

This article is more than 7 years old

What should have been a hurdle well cleared became an afternoon racked with inconvenience for Southampton. There had been little suggestion that Norwich City would come back to stir a half-full Carrow Road into life when, 87 seconds into added time, an unmarked Steven Naismith flicked his team’s second equaliser into the far corner.

If Claude Puel’s side win the replay they will wind up playing nine games in January; they are out of form, stretched and fatigued and will count this as a missed opportunity to clear their heads.

The Norwich manager, Alex Neil, described the result as “fair-ish” and accepted his team were fortunate.

There was little they could do about the volley from Virgil van Dijk, who watched a Dusan Tadic cross all the way before cracking it past Michael McGovern, that gave Southampton a deserved lead seven minutes before half-time, but a stroke of fortune afforded them the goal that made the game’s course less predictable.

It marked a tough welcome for Southampton’s debutant goalkeeper, the 19-year-old Harry Lewis. He had been let off without a caution for carrying the ball outside his area in the first half but was less lucky after miscontrolling a harmless Van Dijk backpass in the 51st minute. His heavy touch was seized upon by Cameron Jerome, the subsequent foul on the Norwich striker was coming a mile off and Steven Whittaker beat him from the penalty spot. Having left Shrewsbury Town for Southampton in 2015, Lewis shares an alma mater with Joe Hart; the spotlight on their abilities with the ball at their feet seems an unfortunate coincidence.

Lewis’s error looked set to be a footnote when Maya Yoshida thudded a fine header past McGovern. Neil was annoyed that Timm Klose, his centre-back, had hobbled off the pitch and receive treatment for an achilles injury in the buildup. With Klose missing, the away side capitalised and until Whittaker found Naismith at the near post looked to be seeing things out with assurance.

Instead, Puel has to raise the confidence of Southampton, who arrived after three consecutive defeats, before Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool. “We did the most difficult thing [by scoring] the second goal and it’s our fault we gave them an opportunity to come back,” he said, but he has more on his plate than an analysis of his team’s failings.

Among Puel’s eight changes was the omission of José Fonte, who was revealed on Thursday to have requested a transfer. “I don’t want to give a reason, it’s just a particular situation with a player who has a question about his future,” Puel said, adding he would decide by Monday whether to consider Fonte for the match with Liverpool. The defender’s leadership might have averted the most irritating of outcomes here.

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