Here is Samuel Seaman’s verdict on Norwich City, who lost a 2-0 lead to draw with relegation battlers Sheffield Wednesday.
Angus Gunn
Had a stellar evening for the majority of the game, but let his high standards slip with two corners he’ll have been disappointed with.
Made a string of saves and dominant claims to ease the pressure on City as the hosts turned up the pressure in the second half, but was nowhere to be seen as Michael Smith nodded home the equaliser in the 85th minute.
His passing out from the back remained cool and calm as his side looked to progress the ball up the pitch. 6
Jack Stacey
Dangerous in the first half, combining well with Norwich’s creative midfielders to drive forward as he often does. Also defensively solid in that opening 45, but will be frustrated with the second.
Missed a glorious chance to seal the game at 2-0 when he went through on goal and couldn’t make the most. 6
Danny Batth
Initially comfortable defensively even if he was panicked on the ball at times, with no real threat provided by a sterile and sloppy home side.
Struggled much more when Callum Paterson was introduced and balls went in behind him, a weakness for both Batth and his central defensive partner. Made a hash of it when the Owls striker went through on goal and was bailed out by Gunn. 5
Ben Gibson
Looked as suspect as Batth in a tricky second half, when the pressure of the loud home crowd affected not only his defending but his usually reliable distribution.
Could have been used when a barrage of direct balls were chucked into the box, but couldn’t get a grip of things as they went awry late on. 5
Sam McCallum
A similar story to his opposite full-back, with an impressive first half to enjoy but a second half dominated by shortcomings.
Combined well with Borja Sainz in the first half but didn’t get close enough as crosses went in consistently under little pressure. Caught too far inside multiple times. 6
Marcelino Nunez
Played a much more advanced role than he has in the majority this season, with Wednesday’s suicidal passing giving his excellent pressing the chance to flourish.
One such opportunity allowed him to tee Sainz up for a simple finish and the second goal of the evening, although the Chilean did have three chances to shoot himself and couldn’t finish any of them. 7
Kenny McLean
Got through plenty of work as usual, and minimised mistakes on the ball as the game went on. Added some physicality to the Norwich midfield in what was a battle of attrition at times.
Flashed one good cross into the box with no takers, and tried to hurry a revival with time running out after the equaliser. 7
Gabriel Sara
An unusually absent evening from the Brazilian, who left very little imprint at Hillsborough even when things were going well for Norwich.
A couple of nice passes out wide, but his night was defined by a poor miss when through on goal, dragging beyond the post on his weaker right foot with the chance to make it 3-0.
Clearly gutted with the result post-match and, given his self-reflective nature, will be keen to improve on that performance. 5
Ashley Barnes
An impressive outing from the former Burnley man when Josh Sargent was alongside him, but lost almost all effectiveness when the American was withdrawn for fitness reasons.
Held the ball up well for the first 60 minutes and played some clever passes into his fellow attackers, flicking onto Sargent at the back post for his opener. 8
Borja Sainz
The most consistent attacking threat in a fervent first half, looking for every available opportunity to attack and finding plenty of joy when the home side left space in behind.
Unlucky to see his left-footed poke tipped wide before notching the goal that had been coming midway through the first half.
Did well in the second even as his team-mates were struggling offensively, although he left something to be desired at the other end of the pitch. 8
Josh Sargent
Outlined his importance to the team when he left things at 2-0 and came back to them level.
A good finish with his only real chance of the evening but looked laboured from the 35th minute onward. Management of his fitness continues. 7
SUBSTITUTES
Liam Gibbs (on for Sargent, 61)
A desperately sad night for the former Ipswich prospect, who came on looking right up for the game but lasted only two minutes before sustaining a potentially season-ending injury.
The campaign couldn’t have gone much worse for him, having come in as an exciting young prospect and finished it as a benchman being brought on out of position almost every time he features. 4
Christian Fassnacht (on for Gibbs, 64)
Did very little of note in a turbulent period for Norwich. 4
Shane Duffy (on for Sainz, 89)
Shored things up to make certain that the worst didn’t happen. 5
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