Two second-half Teemu Pukki goals and Onel Hernandez’s early opener saw Norwich City beat the Blues 3-0 at Carrow Road as Town continue their long wait for a derby victory. Hernandez put the Canaries in front in the second minute of a first half which saw Blues boss Paul Lambert and Norwich head of performance Chris Domogalla red-carded after the teams and staffs clashed in the closing stages. Town were the better side for much of the second half before Pukki goals on 65 and 81 sealed the win for the top of the table Norfolk side.

Skipper Luke Chambers, outcast left-back Jonas Knudsen, Trevoh Chalobah, Jon Nolan and Will Keane all returned to the Blues side but centre-half James Collins remained unavailable due to his hamstring injury.

Chambers, who missed the Sheffield Wednesday match due to a foot problem, partnered Matthew Pennington at the heart of the defence with James Bree at right-back and returning-to-the-fold Knudsen, who last played at QPR on Boxing Day having indicated he'd like to move on in January and who netted home and away in East Anglian derbies in 2016/17, on the left. Toto Nsiala dropped to the bench, while Myles Kenlock was missing from the 18.

In midfield, Cole Skuse was joined by Chalobah and Nolan with Teddy Bishop and Flynn Downes on the bench.

Up front, Keane started in the centre with Freddie Sears playing a more than usually advanced role on his left and Alan Judge more central with Collin Quaner not among the subs.

Norwich, second in the Championship following yesterday's games, were unchanged from the team which beat new leaders Leeds United 3-1 last week with ex-Blues striker Jordan Rhodes on the bench.

Prior to kick-off, with rain falling heavily, the Town support unveiled banners bearing the slogans ‘Fans not criminals’ and ‘Farke the police’ in reference to the draconian security measures put in place for away supporters for the match.

Town got off to the worst possible start with the Canaries taking the lead in the second minute. The Blues failed to clear Max Aarons’s cross from the right, Hernandez’s shot was blocked but the ball was headed back across the box by Mario Vrancic and the German turned home from close range.

Having got their noses in front and their tails up, Norwich continued to take the game to the Blues. On six Emi Buendia crossed from the left and Vrancic nodded well wide.

Two minutes later, Aarons got round the back of Knudsen on the Norwich right but Pukki stabbed wide at the near post.

Town took a while to get into the game but in the 16th minute they won two corners on the right. From the first Judge played a low ball in to Skuse, whose effort was blocked. Then, from the subsequent flag-kick, Chambers headed over.

On 20, after a promising Blues attack down the left had ultimately comer to nothing, Vrancic curled over from the edge of the box following a Canaries break.

But Town were starting to dominate play. On 23 a long spell of possession led to Judge hitting a shot from 20 yards which was blocked.

Three minutes later, Christoph Stiepermann shot wide with a powerful effort from the edge of the box, before play moved back to the other end with Judge overhitting a pass in for Keane inside the area.

The Blues were well in the game, however, with Judge becoming increasingly influential and moments later Chalobah shot over from the 18-yard line. On 32 Skuse was shown the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Vrancic having been spoken to earlier by referee Peter Bankes about a previous transgression.

Keane made the most of some hesitant Norwich defending in the 39th minute to tee-up Judge but the former Brentford man’s shot was little trouble for Tim Krul in the home goal. Two minutes later, Pennington slid in to prevent a through ball from reaching Pukki.

In the 42nd minute the Blues were forced into a substitution with Sears, who had hurt his knee in a challenge a few minutes earlier, making way for Ellis Harrison.

Moments after being introduced, the ex-Bristol Rovers frontman was involved as the Blues battled their way to a chance in the box, Judge eventually hitting a low shot from a tight angle which deflected behind.

Norwich were forced into a change just before the break with Vrancic succumbing to a knee injury which had hampered him all half.

Moments before the whistle the game erupted after Norwich’s players reacted to a Nolan challenge on Aarons. Judge in particular was shoved by Canaries players, then as the melee was beginning to subside there was a clash between some of the Norwich staff and Town players including Harrison.

Seemingly as a result, Canaries head of performance Chris Domogalla and Blues boss Lambert were involved in an exchange which saw the two of them separated by stewards with a police officer subsequently moving the Town boss away from altercation.

Eventually, when order had been restored, referee Bankes showed a yellow card to Nolan for his challenge and reds to Domogalla and Lambert, much to the delight of his old supporters in the home stands.

There was no time for further action before the whistle ended a half which Town won’t have been too unhappy with, aside from the early goal and their manager having been sent to the stands.

Having given away the lead in the second minute, the Blues weathered the Norwich storm which followed and had been in control for spells, albeit without having been able to carve out anything more than a half-chance.

Norwich had also had periods on top and had had the more dangerous moments in and around the area, however, without Bartosz Bialkowski having been forced into a serious save. Despite being behind at half-time Town remained very much in the match.

Boss Lambert took a seat next to general manager football operations Lee O’Neill and fitness coach Jim Henry in the stand ahead of the second half.

The Blues were first to seriously threaten after the restart in the 54th minute. After Chambers had taken the ball away from Hernandez as he broke through towards goal, Town counter-attacked with Chalobah finding Harrison on the right. The sub crossed low and the ball was bundled behind at the near post ahead of Keane.

Town continued to push and on 58 Norwich skipper Zimmermann did superbly to slide in and block Harrison’s shot from the right of the box after he had been played in by Chalobah. Two minutes later, Jamal Lewis was booked for pulling back Chalobah.

The Blues were well in control but without having carved out the chance which would get them back on terms. On 63 Norwich sub Tettey scuffed wide after Knudsen’s clearing header had fallen to him on the edge of the box.

Norwich’s victory was all but sealed in the 66th minute when Judge shot low just past Krul’s right post and then the Canaries doubled their lead.

Buendia played a pass from the right for Pukki to run on to and the Finn struck a low shot across Bialkowski and into the net.

Norwich should have made it 3-0 in the 70th minute when through two against one with Pennington grounded. However, Stiepermann’s pass to the unmarked Pukki was blocked by Chambers.

The Canaries had the ball in the net again in the 73rd minute when Pukki added a perhaps unnecessary final touch after Zimmermann had flicked on a corner from the right. Moments later, Town switched Skuse for Teddy Bishop.

On 76 Tom Trybull was booked for fouling Bishop, then three minutes later Stiepermann was also yellow-carded for tripping the sub, who signed a new contract yesterday.

With 1-0 minutes on the clock, the Canaries made it 3-0 with Pukki stabbing past the advancing Bialkowski from close range from Buendia’s ball through.

Downes took over from Nolan for the final five minutes with the Canaries replacing Stiepermann with Todd Cantwelll, then former Blue Rhodes for double-goalscorer Pukki.

The game erupted again seconds before the end of scheduled time after Downes had fouled Buendia on the halfway line. The Blues midfielder and Norwich sub Todd Cantwell were both booked.

There was no further action before referee Bankes ended yet another derby disappointment for the Blues, who following the weekend’s matches are now nine points plus goal difference from safety at the bottom of the table.

Having gone down to the early goal, the Town fans in the Jarrold Stand, who remained in good voice throughout, might have feared an even bigger defeat but they held off the early storm and the first period was ultimately an even enough affair.

The Blues had most of the ball for much of the first half but crucially without being able to create a serious chance to get them back on terms, a problem week in, week out for Town.

Norwich, however, bided their time and when they got the ball in Town’s half, they created opportunities for Pukki, who took his total for the season to 21 and claimed derby bragging rights once again, although 3-0 flattered the home side somewhat on the balance of the game overall.

Town will hope to bounce back from the result and make up some ground in their increasingly desperate attempt to avoid relegation when they host Derby County at Portman Road on Wednesday.

Norwich: Krul, Aarons, Zimmermann (c), Godfrey, Lewis, Vrancic (Tettey 45), Trybull, Buendia, Stiepermann (Cantwell 85) , Hernandez, Pukki (Rhodes 88). Unused: McGovern, McLean, Hanley, Srbeny.

Town: Bialkowski, Bree, Chambers (c), Pennington, Knudsen, Skuse (Bishop 74), Chalobah, Nolan (Downes 85), Sears (Harrison 43), Judge, Keane. Unused: Gerken, Jackson, Bishop, Nsiala, Elder. Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside). Att: 27,040.

Photo: TWTD

warktheline added 20:25 - Feb 10 @north, your ‘positives' sum up how far we've fallen and what many are prepared to put up with! Not suggesting you are one of them dear fellow 👍
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Carberry added 20:42 - Feb 10 It's a good job Lambert was sent off because it took the attention away from another performance that showed no sign of improvement. We were told week after week that we just needed a little bit of help, that he couldn't ask any more of the players and he loved watching us play. The help has turned up, the Premier League striker doesn't even get a run out and the others look like triers but nothing more, add to that our most creative player sits on the bench until it's too late and you have the chaos that sees us dropping like a stone. But take comfort everyone, we have the happiest squad anyone could wish for.

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PSGBlue added 20:45 - Feb 10 A 3-0 defeat against a team stuck in second gear today. But this doesn't matter as Weds night is £12 a ticket and 200 loyal fans have got a free slap up meal! It's just gimmicks ME, no more than that! The truth is that you are out of your depth with owning a club and have wasted £100M in the process. What I don't get is why doesn't ME sell at a loss, does no one want our club for say £50M! By continuing down the road and not selling will only create a bigger loss as the debts mount up, surely time to admit defeat Marcus and take the hit. I really can't see how the club will recover with Evans in charge. I am now becoming concerned about PL ability to manage. The reaction he showed today was one of desperation and a man running out of ideas. Today he took out his frustrations on the Norwich bench. Last year MM in a similar position took it out on the Town fans. The manager is the one person who needs to stay calm. He can no longer condemn any poor behaviour on the pitch by one of our players following the example he set today. The club is in a right mess!

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bluearmy84 added 21:03 - Feb 10 lets not be too negative on here. today i saw lots of positives from that game, irrevelent if its norwich. bottom of the league played top of the league and after the disastrous start,we outfought out ran and out played norwich up until that 2nd goal off the back of a good chance by Alan Judge. lots of passion! and I for one love the fact Lambert showed emotion passion whatever you like to call it defending his players!! i dont think you can knock too many of the lads out there today!! always a tough ask!!! we need to prepare for league 1. we havent backed up that win from the rotherham game with a single point and thats not good enough!! Paul Lambert is the man to rebuild us and if the club get the ticket pricing correct i for one will be tempted to get a season ticket in league1!! i thought will keane was very good up top and challobah strong in midfield and judge looked to make things happen!! For me Skuse is past his best 2 seasons ago and we need to phase him out he doesnt offer much to the team, and bart was poor again today!! the best thing to come out of this season is that we now have a decent manager tahts galvanising the club together!!

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wayway added 21:05 - Feb 10 Swn, yes I agree with your comparison with Blackpool and Coventry. Like us they had useless, uncaring owners only at the club for what they can get out of it. Much like your God Evans, not a fan, knows nothing about football, but with a PLC board who thought he should buy a football club, any one will do, to promote the Marcus Evans brand. Appoint a big name manager (Keane) to stand in front of the company logo. What can possibly go wrong EVANS OUT

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Dolphinblue added 21:08 - Feb 10 Oh dear, Oh dear, what a terrible season. Getting rid of Mick was a huge mistake and has finished the club. The fans who wanted him out have been proved wrong on all counts. Rip ITFC
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Northstandveteran added 21:19 - Feb 10 Warktheline. Unfortunately Ipswich fans had begun to settle for mid table for most of the last 18 years. I have said it before that when you accept average there is only one way you are heading. This relegation has been foreseen by years. Every season we become, if only a little, slightly more average. I think it unfair to put the blame on any individual, owner, managers, players. Settle for it? Not a 14 year old invading the pitch in the Duncan out protests anymore 😂 All I can do is either go or not. I just hope that next season they will make me and a few of the lads want to go. Fingers crossed.

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algarvefan added 21:41 - Feb 10 Well it sure was a derby, goals, controversy, fighting and a sending off......what more can you want? I don't want to hear anymore how well we played, some of our performances this season have been abysmal but we are where we are because we can't score or stop conceding! Hurst and Lambert have mirrored each others mistakes too many changes, too many new players and too much self belief. Lambert is no better than Hurst apart from the PR side. The plain truth is we are not good enough, and we cannot score, our strikers are pants. Clear the decks for the start of next season, but don't expect a bus ride, it's gonna be hard and I don't think Lambert will last the season.

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Hiltzkooler added 21:51 - Feb 10 The photo of Flynn Downes and Aaron is brilliant.... Downes Centurion like, looking down his hooter at boy Aaron's....got to say our support today fabulous, fine fine voice, I loved the fight and the bite of the team...yes we lost but it was entertainment, Lamberts blood runs blue, Evans is Evans, but do you know what, I took pleasure from it......!....it could have worse, a lot worse. Some of you can whine your hearts about this that and the other, but, I'm hanging my hat on that picture of an imperious Flynn Downes, that typifies to me that spirit that you need when everything is Sh!te around you, and you dig deep, find a way and simply believe.....one can always do something with people that care passionately

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Saxonblue74 added 22:17 - Feb 10 Algarvefan, Lambert is twice the manager Hurst will ever be. He had no choice but to make wholesale changes after the mess he was handed by Hurst.
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RobsonWark added 22:37 - Feb 10 algarvefan as
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RobsonWark added 22:41 - Feb 10 algarvefan as I've said all season...we will never win anything with that useless Captain Chambers at the back. Always looking to blame everyone else for his errors, poor marking, slowness, non tackles, etc. Chambers has been the downfall of ALL previous managers and he will be the downfall of Paul Lambert too if he continues to select him for the team. I know we are sh*te up front but we will never win a game if we can't keep a clean sheet.

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madmouse1959 added 02:46 - Feb 11 Our defending is comical and going 1-0 down within 90 seconds @ Norwich was ridiculous. The schoolboy panic header by Skuse did nothing but help set Norwich up for their first goal . The third goal was not only down to unfortunate defending again but BART should of been off his line a whole lot quicker. Three of the loan players bought in to help have not offered much and not even selected. So where is this club going Marcus Evans ? Probably time to play the young reserves now .

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GiveusaWave added 02:50 - Feb 11 seems many fans have grown so used to losing that they see it as the norm....many people here seem happy we only lost 3-0. I'm not in that camp of thinking......
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BcarefulwhatUWish4 added 06:32 - Feb 11 The game was over after 90 seconds. Norwich' game plan was clearly to strike first, sit back and play on the counter. It worked. It's good to see heart and effort from the lads, but there are no certificates for effort in this league. 3-0 isn't a positive result however you spin it. Some fans seemed to have been distracted by the off field fighting. However, what matters is the result. I'm starting to get jitters about Lambert. He's lost way more games than Hurst ever did and we seem on a losing streak.

0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 06:43 - Feb 11 How we start next season will define PL's future. Either we will be up and running, in which case I think the fan base will get behind him; or we will flounder, and the support will turn. Yesterday Naarwich were pretty quiet until they put the game out of sight, which suggested they were worried. I enjoyed the fight showed by our team, but have no answer to our goal scoring problem. PL has obviously been trying (with loans) to save us, but in L1, I suspect he may have another approach and play more of our own. Whatever happens, I intend to be there for the ride, and I suspect most on here will be too. COYB!

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BrettenhamBlue added 07:54 - Feb 11 "beat Stoke and Derby and we will be right back in it" said nobody. Ever. How so many fans can be happy with this is beyond me.
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Dolphinblue added 08:15 - Feb 11 League One, we are actually gping to be in league one, this is a catastrophe of epic proportions. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! You wanted this and you got it. A classic example of empty vessels making the most noise to the detriment of the rest. Disaster season!
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runningout added 08:16 - Feb 11 We are still powder puff upfront. Sort that out and we'll be half decent
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blueherts added 08:33 - Feb 11 If we think the answer to our problems are a couple of strikers - think on We have had no midfield with any creativity or cutting edge for years MM and now PL seem content to have 2 sometimes 3 Defensive midfielders - just because we have a flaky defence Yes we had 'fight' but if we dont show fight against them what hope is there Losing 3 nil to Norwich is not why we will go down - its shipping goals vs Millwall , Bristol City , QPR that set the pattern If PL has a pre season and blends the good younger players - Lankaster , Bishop , Moris , Downes , Dozzell , Wolfenden etc with some experience I think we will do ok next season To be honest scraping 4th from from bottom is not my idea of survival as same again next season Rebuild in Div One is PL is my preferred option It has been coming for years and we are not somehow 'ABOVE IT' as some may think It is not the end if we go down

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midastouch added 10:18 - Feb 11 Was feeling really sore today but had some very sad news not long after and it's put the football into perspective. Even though we lost I actually quite enjoyed the game in an odd way as there was a lot of passion shown out there and I'm not as pessimistic as some. Of course I hate losing to Norwich but life goes on and there is no reason why we can't bounce back under Lambert. He's getting some stick for losing it a bit yesterday but at least he genuinely cares and is showing some true passion for the cause! I would like to see us start playing more of our own and ticket prices need to be right next season to give us the best chance of getting in good crowds to hopefully see us back into the Championship at the first time of asking. COYB, we're down but not out, and even if we go down, we're still not out, Ipswich will never die! :-)

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Razor added 10:40 - Feb 11 What was up with Collins----have signed yet another sick note to come and earn easy money at the East Coast holiday home? We played much better in the second half when Sears (how many more circles can I run around) was not on the pitch---the top two must be Keane and Harrisson, end of. Pity the shot from Judge did not creep in---may well have made a big difference. Nevertheless thought lot of effort and passion yesterday (too much from some) and result flatterred them.

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brendenward35 added 11:31 - Feb 11 A warning sign to Town was when a goal keeper wins the player of the season, had Bart had a bad season last year we would have been down. Reason we are struggling is because our keepers are not performing like the last couple of years so a lot rests of this problem. Think Mick was just lucky that Bart was outstanding last couple of seasons and we had a decent strike force to score goals.

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bugledog123 added 11:58 - Feb 11 It's all about next season now. I'm resigned to it and we'll come back stronger. COYB!
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Dolphinblue added 12:23 - Feb 11 Super Mick was certainly not lucky, maybe his man management skills had something to do with players form. The folk who hounded Super Mick out of this club had the right to voice their opinions, of course they did. My point is those of us who wished him to stay are equally correct to voice their views and that they have indeed been proved right as this season has shown. Its our club as well and im afraid l believe the anti mick brigade have destroyed our club, although l accept their intentions were good and their belief strong. Fact remains though they have been proved wrong and Mick was better than they suspected.

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