Like anyone who grew up around Glasgow Alex Neil knows the fortifying properties of a triumph over local rivals. The Norwich manager declared after the play-off semi-final that emerging from an intense two legs with Ipswich Town would serve his team well at Wembley and he was right. There is no surprise in that. The 33-year-old has got most things right since Norwich made the astute decision to hire him from Hamilton Academical in January.
The national stadium practically throbbed with the excitement of nigh-on 90,000 fans at kick-off, and Wembley was a vision of vibrant colours, the Middlesbrough half covered in ketchup red and the Norwich portion seemingly smeared in garlic butter. It soon became clear that it was Delia Smith’s club that had the ingredients for success. Boro’s players were made to look raw, evidently lacking the big-match nous that Norwich displayed with a decisive start.
The Ipswich primer was not, of course, the only experience that this Norwich side could draw on: Neil took over a club that retained most of the players that appeared in the Premier League before last season’s relegation and seven of his starting XI contested Norwich’s last top-flight match, a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal just over a year ago. Then again, Norwich also had the experience of being beaten twice by Boro this season, so relying on old ways would not be sufficient.
Neil had stressed the importance of unhinging the Championship’s tightest defence as early as possible. The quartet of attacking midfielders that he deployed behind Cameron Jerome set about doing that with gusto, while Alex Tettey held the midfield fort, keeping Lee Tomlin under lock and key. Nathan Redmond sparkled from the start.
Under Neil the 22-year-old has honed the quality that so often eludes young wingers, polishing his delivery. His cross from the right after shimmying past Tomlin in the third minute gave an early indication of the menace he would pose and, even though Bradley Johnson could not connect with the ball at the back post, Johnson also became a regular threat.
The pair indirectly colluded again seven minutes later, as the intrepid Jerome missed another Redmond cross but the ball came to Johnson, who cracked a powerful shot off the crossbar from the edge of the box.
Johnson’s dynamism was as integral to Norwich’s enterprise as the scheming of Redmond and Wes Hoolahan, as he had the energy not only to join in attack but also to help Martin Olsson shackle Albert Adomah, the winger who had been Middlesbrough’s most destructive player in the semi-final against Brentford. While Norwich coolly combined manic endeavour with savvy interplay, Boro seemed dwarfed by the high stakes, even if they showed signs of growing into the game within seconds of Johnson’s miss, as Jelle Vossen whacked an even better shot against the crossbar at the other end. At the back the Teesiders’ remained meek and hesitant, unrecognisable from the defence that had kept 20 clean sheets in the 46-match season, including a masterful one at Carrow Road in April.
When Jerome outmuscled the dithering Daniel Ayala in the 12th minute and was allowed to stride into the box and shoot past a goalkeeper who merely knelt down before him, it was clear that nerves had rendered Boro much more obliging than usual. Ben Gibson appeared flummoxed at all that unfolded in front of him and the centre-back was still nonplussed three minutes later when Redmond killed the ball with a fine first touch before firing low into the net to torpedo Aitor Karanka’s pre-game plans. Boro had prevailed in April by scoring early and defending expertly thereafter. Now it was they who would have to chase the game. Norwich never let them catch up.
Nearly 60 years ago Norwich were threatened with extinction due to debts incurred after erecting floodlights at Carrow Road. A loan from the Norfolk News Company saved them and allowed them to lay the foundations of a modern club: within two years the then Third Division South side embarked on a famous run to the semi-finals of the 1959 FA Cup, beating Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur before Luton Town denied them a historic trip to Wembley.
Football and the media have changed since then but this win at the national stadium offers Norwich an opportunity to add another layer to their development, with promotion earning them at least £130m – rising to £230m if they survive in the Premier League next season and gain from the new television deal. It also offers some players who failed last season – and a young manager who has succeeded at every level so far – the chance to prove they belong in the top flight.