Norwich City hosted Fulham in their Premier League match this afternoon.
The home side took the lead through Gary Hooper's effort, but Pajtim Kasami equalised for the visitors to level the scores at the break.
In the 87th minute, Scott Parker fired in from long range to ensure a crucial win for Fulham, which boosts their hopes of survival.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at Carrow Road.
Match Statistics:
Norwich City:
Shots 12
On Target 3
Possession 51%
Corners 5
Fouls 14
Fulham:
Shots 15
On Target 7
Possession 49%
Corners 4
Fouls 10
Was the result fair?
Fulham were good value for their win today. They fell behind early on to an unfortunate deflected goal, but fought back well and showed more intent to claim all three points late on. Norwich will feel hard done by, but they lacked a real goal threat and could only manage three shots on target in front of their home fans.
Norwich City's performance
Chris Hughton will have been delighted at the start his team made to the game. They took the lead early on and should have taken advantage of a Fulham side that had conceded eight goals in their two previous fixtures. Instead, they gave away possession cheaply and allowed their opponents too much space, which they clinically exploited. Their lack of goals must be a major concern to the manager, who will surely be considering attacking reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Fulham's performance
Fulham did well to get back into the match after the manner in which they conceded early on. They took the game to Norwich and constantly pressurized their defence. In the final few minutes, they pushed for a winner and were rewarded thanks to Parker's late goal. It was a much stronger defensive display than their recent Premier League outings and Rene Meulensteen will have been delighted at how his players responded this afternoon.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Scott Parker: Parker led by example this afternoon and was inspirational in guiding his side to victory. He kept the ball well alongside Steve Sidwell in the middle and protected the backline. His goal was a moment of true brilliance, as his strike from range left John Ruddy with no chance, and it may prove key to his team's Premier League survival this season.
Biggest gaffe
Ruddy got away with conceding a strange goal, as his poor clearance was hit straight at Parker, before cannoning into the back of the net. Luckily for him and Norwich, the goal was disallowed as it struck the Fulham man's hand, but it came just before the visitors equalised and helped give them hope of a way back into the match.
Referee's performance
It was a relatively quiet afternoon for Jonathan Moss. He handed out three deserved bookings to the Norwich team, and didn't have any controversial calls to make. If it weren't for the introduction of goal-line technology, he would have had to make a tough decision on whether an effort from Hugo Rodallega had crossed the line, but thankfully we now know immediately whether a goal should be given or not.
What next?
Norwich City: The Canaries welcome Manchester United to Carrow Road on Saturday.
Fulham: Fulham travel to Hull City on Saturday.
Alex Meyers
