Norwich City: 5 Matches to Remember from 2012-13 Season

I think most Norwich City fans would agree that the 2012-13 season was a successful one, as it resulted in Premier League survival being secured for another season. Of course, it was a mixed season as tends to be the case in the Premier League.

But there clearly were highlights in there, so I thought it would be a good time to look back at some of those memorable matches. It may well be that the results and performances in these games that can act as inspiration for next season.

So, sit back and relax as I take you through some of my personal highlights from a season that finished on such a high.

The game against Arsenal was memorable for so many different reasons. Norwich had made a dodgy start to the season and things were starting to look a bit bleak, especially on the back of heavy defeats against Liverpool and Chelsea. The last thing that we really wanted was to play Arsenal, and most of us would have expected another footballing lesson of sorts.

However, this was the first game that we really saw Chris Hughton’s Norwich City taking place and his style nullified Arsenal superbly on the day. The game was won 1-0, thanks to Grant Holt’s goal and the Canaries were finally up and running. I think for all of these reasons the game against the Gunners has to go down as one of the most memorable.

Of course, it should be added that it’s no mean feat to defeat a team that qualified for the Champions League again. Hughton’s defensive tactics have been criticised by many, but it was the right approach on that day.

After the season, that the Red Devils had it was no mean feat to have beaten the Premier League champions at Carrow Road this season. I think it was a game that Chris Hughton played very smartly; he knew that his team would be punished if he just tried to defend and nothing else. It was a game that I thought he got the balance between defence and attack just about right.

It was another 1-0 home win in which the manager got his tactics spot on. I think it should be noted that the goal from Anthony Pilkington was superb, not purely because of the finish, but the long passing build-up that it all started from. It’s fair to say that there can’t have been many better team goals in the EPL all season.

Up to this point, it didn’t look like Norwich would get many results away from home, and to be fair that trend has largely continued throughout most of the season with only two away victories. However, this was one of the few occasions when the team really performed on the road.

The first half was a joy to behold with three superb goals, giving Norwich a seemingly decisive lead. However, the Swans came storming back in the second half, and Norwich fans would have been worried of throwing away the result. Robert Snodgrass’ goal in the second half proved to be really important as his team won 4-3.

It’s fair to say that Norwich fans were seriously concerned about relegation when we played West Brom in our final home game of the season. However, they didn’t need to worry because the boys took care of business with a 4-0 win to take the team clear of the relegation zone.

It was a superb attacking display and the sort of football that fans would have liked to have seen more of during the course of the season. The fourth goal scored by Jonny Howson was a joy to behold and showed the sort of football that the Canaries are capable of.

This rounds of a hat-trick of victories against the big clubs, few of us would have expected anything out of this game, never mind a priceless final day victory. Anthony Pilkington and Grant Holt both scored good goals as Norwich twice took the lead, before being pegged back by Jack Rodwell on both occasions.

However, Chris Hughton’s team were not to be outdone and stage was truly set for Jonny Howson to again steal the show. He did so by picking up the ball, running through the Man City team and still managed to find a finish. Quite simply, another superb individual goal that will give fans hope for what he can achieve next season.

Follow James Kent on Twitter and Facebook.