Tumbling down to the
Norwich-Rotherham match
by rick olivares
“The man in the moon came tumbling down
And asked his way to Norwich;
He went by the south and burnt his mouth
With supping cold pease porridge.”
As a youngster, my mam read and recited that children’s
rhyme to me countless times. I had no idea where Norwich was and only learned
later on that it was in England.
As for the man in the moon, he became that astronaut
award for MTV.
On a cold Saturday morn last October 4, I made my way
to Norwich and instantly thought of that rhyme. I am the man on the moon who
came tumbling from the Philippines in glee.
The previous day, I made the mistake of going out in
thin garb and the sudden burst of cold weather killed me. But I am not in
England to lie down on my sick bed for a day so I made my way to Liverpool
Street Station to take the East Anglia train to Norwich (£50.50 two-way) to catch the Norwich-Rotherham match at
Carrow Road. As I stepped out of the train, the cold wind wrapped its arms
around me and I felt the chill shoot up my spine and to my head. Instant brain
freeze.
I sought refuge in a nearby coffee shop
where I ordered some hot chocolate and promptly burned my tongue just to keep
warm.
Once I hooked up with one of my best
buddies, Craig Burrows, at the coffee shop, I kind of forgot the cold.
You see on this day, he was watching his
beloved Norwich City Canaries live for the first time in 30 years. I was going
to witness that reconnection.
On the train to Norwich, I noticed that
there were about six people who got on board wearing the yellow colors of the
squad. As we passed through the different stops along the rail line, more and
more people got on board wearing Norwich colors. Interestingly enough, there
were a lot who boarded from Ipswich station. I thought to myself, isn’t this
Suffolk community fierce rivals with Norfolk foes, Norwich?
I only learned later in the day that
Norwich has a lot of supporters from the outlying areas, Ipswich be damned.
Norwich City was to play Football League Championship
foes, Rotherham. Norwich was relegated from the Premier League last season
while Rotherham was promoted from League One. According to fan John Winter who
has watched almost every single home match by Norwich since the 1960s, they
understand their place in English football. They are happy to be able to go up
to the Premier League but don’t think the world will end when they get
relegated. “We’re not a moneyed club like the other top sides,” Winter
commented. “We are just merry to be supporting our club wherever they are. That
doesn’t mean we do not believe we can survive the top flight. I think we’re
learning from our experiences.”
While the Canaries are atop the
Championship table with a 6-2-2 record (tied for first with Nottingham Forest) and
as of today are looking like a team that will once more get promoted to the
Premier League, they have struggled at home. On the road, they have looked
imperious winning four and taking one loss.
In their previous fixture, they took a 1-nil
loss to Charlton while Rotherham dumped Blackburn Rovers, 2-0, to move them to
17th in the table. Clearly, there was pressure on the home team.
“I hope Norwich wins in my homecoming,”
mused Burrows.
For much of the first half, it seemed as
if the Canaries were going to send their fans home happy. The Canaries overcame
a nervy start to the match when midfielders Nathan Redmond and Bradley Johnson began
to raid deep into Miller territory. On defense, Norwich centrebacks Michael
Turner and Jos Hooiveld repelled all attacks allowing wingbacks Russell Martin
and Martin Olsson to link up for the attack.
Rotherham United, 17th in the
24-team standings and with an entire row of supporters on hand to cheer them,
occasionally threatened on the counter. But one fortuitous long ball found
striker Paul Derbyshire with some space to try and beat Turner. Norwich keeper
John Ruddy rushed out to grab the ball but instead bowled over the Rotherham
player. Referee Phil Gibbs instantly pointed to the penalty spot; he was awarding
Rotherham a penalty in the 44th minute. Millers midfielder Paul
Green made good on his spot kick to put his side on top, 1-nil, heading into
the half.
“That is why football can be cruel,”
commented Winter at the half. “We’ve been dominating the match but the visitors
are leading because of one mistake.” Norwich forward Cameron Jerome had three
excellent chances to put his side on the board but the 6’1” Huddersfield native
muffed all of them including a backheel that was turned back by an alert
Rotherham keeper.
Fifteen minutes into the second half,
with Rotherham’s defense a little more compact, Canaries manager Neil Adams
changed his formation from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2. The extra man in the midfield
helped but Norwich still could not find the back of the net.
In the 77th minute, a handball
outside the box on Rotherham defender Kari Arnason outside the box gave Norwich
another shot at goal. Substitute Kyle Lafferty’s shot cleared the wall and
struck the post but Jerome was quick to react as he slotted in the rebound past
keeper Adam Collin. Carrow Road broke Into cheers with football’s oldest song,
“On the ball, City” reverberating throughout the stadium. It was a sweet moment
for the Canaries and their faithful as up to that point, Rotherham’s vigorous
supporters had outcheered them.
Norwich nearly claimed the three points
as they had several opportunities to add to their goal total but whether by
over eagerness or poor finishing, they failed to connect.
“I’ll take it,” concluded longtime fan,
John Winter. “No, I am not disappointed. After years of watching this game, you
learn to take the good and your lumps and fight on for another day. I am not
disappointed with the result.”
Craig Burrows clearly empathized, “We
should have won but I am just happy to be here. I missed this!”
With the rain pouring and the winds
chilling us to the bone, we made out way to the train station to head back to
London. Unlike my outward trip, this time the train was packed with Norwich
fans from first class up to the last carriage. “You’d be surprised that there
are a lot of Norwich supporters who live in London,” explained Burrows.
Standing in the food carriage (as the
train was packed), we ordered some hot chocolate to warm our cold bodies. Just
as I did when I arrived, I burnt my tongue. “Anyone got pease porridge,” I
asked to no one in particular.
The barista gave me a quizzical look for
a moment and smiled.
“Football,” he mumbled as the train
rumbled on through the cold English night.
 |
| With long-time Norwich fan John Winter |
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