Wigan Athletic 1 - 1 Norwich City - Canaries Make Instant Impact

Norwich City€™s much anticipated return to the top flight was marked by a well earned 1-1 draw away at Wigan Athletic. A penalty from the home side's midfielder Ben Watson put the hosts ahead before Canaries playmaker Wes Hoolahan levelled the scores in first half stoppage time after a mistake from Wigan €˜keeper Ali Al-Habsi. Norwich manager Paul Lambert adopted a familiar diamond formation for his side€™s visit to the DW Stadium, with only 2 of his 7 summer signings in the starting line-up; Steve Morison who partnered talismanic hit man Grant Holt up front and Belgian centre back Ritchie de Laet recruited from Manchester United on a season€™s loan in the heart of defence. There were no new faces in Roberto Martinez€™s starting 11, the closest being Ali Al €“ Habsi who made his loan stay at the Lancashire club a permanent one over the summer window after an estimated £4 million switch from former club Bolton. The first half started slowly with both teams apparently still in €˜pre-season mode€™, so much so that the only talking point in the opening ten minutes was a clash of heads between Steve Morison and Jordi Gomez, which left both looking bruised and bloodied. Norwich had the better of possession in the opening quarter of the game but Wigan created more chances, albeit poor ones. One such chance was from Franco Di Santo, a man who would come to grate on the nerves of Canaries players and fans alike. His tame header was easily held by John Ruddy. A rare effort from Emerson Boyce followed as the powerful Barbadian defender€™s marauding run was followed by a vicious strike that was well blocked by Zak Whitbread. Victor Moses then fired wide of Ruddy€™s left post. Norwich€™s first chance of note came on the 17th minute when Morison closed down a poor pass by Caldwell and squared to Wes Hoolahan who shot well wide on his weaker right foot. The deadlock was broken on the 21st minute when Franco Di Santo dispossessed De Laet who dallied in position on the halfway line. The Spaniard ran through, tangled with the rapidly retreating De Lait inside the area, winning a penalty off referee Stuart Attwell. There was no booking for De Lait and the decision prompted chants of €˜1-0 to the referee€™ from the 4,500 travelling Canaries fans. Norwich fans dissatisfaction with the ref was intensified after suspicions of handball from Stephen Caldwell inside the area were dismissed. A long range effort from Maynor Figueroa flew over the bar after Norwich were yet again caught in possession, this time Zak Whitbread the culprit. A good Norwich chance came in the 38th minute. A free kick whipped in by David Fox flashed agonisingly through the Wigan penalty area but evaded every yellow shirt to fly harmlessly wide. The equaliser finally came in the first half injury time. Al Habsi didn€™t deal with a looping cross from Steve Morison which took a slight deflection, dropping the ball right at the feet of Wes Hoolahan who gratefully tucked it home. 1-1. Still time for one more chance on the cusp of half time for Franco Di Santo who headed over. There were no changes from either side at the halfway point. Norwich started the second half brightly with a shot from the edge of the area which hit the offside Grant Holt. Di Santo then headed wide from an easy chance from a good cross from Figueroa after losing his marker - the increasingly unimpressive Zak Whitbread. Rodallega and Sammon replaced Gomez and Di Santo on the 53rd minute after the Canaries dominated the opening minutes of the second half. A great, weaving run from Victor Moses was eventually halted by Zak Whitbread after the young striker had beaten several City defenders. This was followed shortly afterwards by Hugo Rodallega€™s first contribution of the game - a well struck shot from outside the area which was well held by John Ruddy. The 60th minute was marked with a rare sight in modern football €“ a back pass. Al Habsi was already going down when the pass came, and had little choice but to concede the indirect free kick. The ball was laid off to Surman who curled it over from a tight angle. Holt€™s best chance at goal was a looping header which cleared the crossbar in the 79th minute. The burly forward€™s Premier League debut was a relatively uneventful one. Ruddy was left rooted to the spot on the 85th minute when Ben Watson caught the ball sweetly with the outside of his right foot from 25 yards out, only to see it come back off the post. Mohamed Diamé was lucky not to be dismissed after a blatant foul should really have led to a second yellow card. Ritchie De Laet made amends from his early mistake by making two heroic blocks in the closing minutes; first from Victor Moses and then Hugo Rodallega to keep the score level after John Ruddy had come tearing out of his six yard box to close down Connor Sammon. Wigan got a corner deep into injury time but Grant Holt got his head to it to ensure City didn€™t return back to Norfolk empty handed.