Norwich City 2-1 Hartlepool
Adam Drury is Norwich City's longest serving player and one of the most reliable around. Since joining the canaries in 2001 he's been right up to the Premier League and back down and then down again. He's been an excellent, solid, often impressive performer - one of few constants during several chaotic years with the club.
The one thing the left back doesn't do is score goals very often. He picks his moments when he does. The last one, more than 5 years ago now, was the dramatic late equaliser in a 4-4 Premier League draw with Middlesbrough as Norwich thundered back from 4-1 down with 12 minutes to go. So how must Drury have felt when his replacement in this game scored within about half an hour of making his debut?
Michael Rose was brought in on loan from Stockport after the unfortunate Drury got injured at Walsall. He'd got back to the sort of form that once earned him the tag of 'the best left back outside the Premier League' lately after a couple of injury-ravaged seasons.
Rose thumped in an angled drive to make it 2-1. Norwich had gone 1 down just seven minutes earlier but Cody McDonald equalised within 63 seconds and in doing so helped create one of those magic moments that has made the Jeff Stelling hosted Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports one of the genuine success stories of the modern day.
After getting the winner Rose unleashed a shock just as big as a goal from a left back at Carrow Road. It turns out he can take a long throw-in. He may not quite be Rory Delap size but when he bent his back and lobbed the ball into the Hartlepool penalty area just before half-time there were big gasps around the ground. The surprise extended further than the stands. Having joined on the Friday, Rose hadn't got round to telling his new team mates that he had this 'in his locker' as football people say. No-one managed to get on the end of it because they didn't know he could do it. There's something to work on up at the training ground then.
Norwich have won won ten straight games at home. That's the first time the canaries have ever managed it in one season.
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