‘It’s hard to take’ – Norwich City captain on noise explosion and Reading’s reply
A dejected Christoph Zimmermann applauds the Carrow Road fans following Norwich City's 2-2 draw with Reading. Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Christoph Zimmermann struggled to conceal his disappointment as Norwich City had to settle for a point from the visit of struggling Reading.
It was despair for Norwich City keeper Tim Krul and skipper Christoph Zimmermann, as Reading snatched a dramatic late equaliser at Carrow Road on Wednesday Picture: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Ultimately the 2-2 draw did not alter City’s position at the top of the Championship too much, with a seven-point gap to Sheffield United in third place and six to Leeds in second.
The Canaries also spent most of the game behind to Yakou Meite’s first-half strike before turning things around from the 86th minute – Zimmermann heading City into the lead two minutes later.
But Andy Rinomhota’s dramatic 97th minute equaliser silenced the home fans – something of a rare experience this season.
“It was a real mix of emotions,” said Zimmermann. “For a long time we were behind, but in no period of this game did we give up.
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“We always kept going and we knew we would score, we were convinced and we created so many chances.
“It’s hard to believe that we did not win this game, even though we scored so late and we’d been down for so long.
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“But if you take a look at the stats, especially on the chances we created and the quality of them, it’s hard to take not to have won this game.
“I think if the game ends 1-1 we are quite happy with the point because we scored late. But when you’re then 2-1 up, you want to win this game and prevent them from scoring the equaliser. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”
MORE: Norwich City 2-2 Reading – How the Championship clash unfolded
It should have all felt very different at the final whistle of course, following Zimmermann’s superb header on 88 minutes and the explosion of noise inside Carrow Road that followed.
“It was quite outstanding with the crowd and also them being so excited and going crazy; it was quite loud in the ground I think,” he added.
“It was a great feeling at that time, but unfortunately it didn’t last until the end of the game.
“We were still trying to go forward but not with the last consequence any more and of course, you suddenly need to defend your lead.
“It didn’t change that much because we were still trying to go forward and keep them as far away from our goal as possible – and I think despite the last scene, we did quite well.”
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