It’s been a long time between FA Cup quarter-finals for Norwich City – Chris Lakey looks back to the last one, a tempestuous affair against Southampton.
Norwich City are in the FA Cup records book - not bad for a team which rarely gets to the point where the words “cup” and “run” come together.
As they look to get past the quarter-finals for only the fourth time in their history, they can lay claim to the dubious shared, with Oldham, record of most semi-final appearances without yet reaching the final.
To try and bring that record to an end they will need to beat Manchester United today - in their first quarter-final clash since 1992.
It was on March 18, 1992 that City beat Southampton in a replay at Carrow Road - with the visitors finishing the game with only nine players on the pitch.
A crowd of 10,660 – around 10,360 more than will be at Carrow Road on Saturday – turned up to see Rob Newman and Chris Sutton get the goals which earned City a semi-final against Sunderland (which they lost).
Robert Fleck and the then 19-year-old Sutton were up top for City, with Matt Le Tissier and Alan Shearer the big Saints threats.
There was tension in the air fairly early in the game, but while Norwich looked threatening, it was Southampton who scored first, Neil Ruddock heading past goalkeeper Mark Walton at the near post.
After the break, Le Tissier saw red after aiming a kick at Fleck before Newman crashed City level on 54 minutes. Saints held out to end of normal time, but then lost Barry Horne for a similar misdemeanour, kicking out at Colin Woodthorpe.
Saints hunkered down as City piled forward: Shearer cleared off the line from Jeremy Goss, still full of running as those around him wilted.
It was his shot, just before the end, that Sutton twisted to get a connection to with his head and, finally, Tim Flowers was beaten again.
City were on their way to the semi-finals in what was otherwise a less than remarkable season - an omen, anyone?
Teams
Norwich: Walton, Culverhouse, Woodthorpe, Butterworth, Polston, Goss, Fox, Fleck, Newman, Sutton, Bowen. Subs: Crook, Beckford.
Southampton: Flowers, Dodd, Benali, Horne, Moore, Ruddock, Le Tissier, Cockerill, Shearer, Dowie, Hurlock. Subs Maddison, Kenna.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here