Norwich City extended their winning run to six games as they overcame relegation threatened Rotherham United 2-1 on Saturday. Strikes from Kenny McLean and Ben Godfrey either side of an equaliser from Semi Ajayi were enough to see the Canaries through in South Yorkshire.
McLean timed a run from deep well to nip in ahead of Millers keeper Marek Rodak to put Norwich in the lead on 45 minutes. But a long range strike from Ajayi his sixth in five games gave the hosts hope of an unlikely draw in their battle against relegation.
Five minutes later, however, the Canaries found the winner through defender Ben Godfrey. He found space at the back post to nod home to cap off a week in which he received a call up to the England under-20 squad.
The result sees Norwich go four points clear at the top of the Championship after the drama between Leeds and Sheffield United earlier that day. Rotherham, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone a point from safety.
Lineups
Both sides went with their expected formations for this match. Rotherham went with their 4-1-4-1 set up, with Semi Ajayi anchoring in midfield. Michael Smith had the unenviable task of the lone frontman, spending his afternoon battling for balls.
Ajayi was particularly impactful in midfield. Rotherham’s goalscorer followed on from scoring a brace including an added time winner on Tuesday night to put in an emphatic display which also included four tackles, the most out of any Rotherham player.
Norwich deployed their 4-2-3-1 system which has served them excellently this season. While they struggled initially to break down the Millers, they eventually began to have some joy as we will see later on in this analysis.
With a goal and an assist, Kenny McLean put on a superb display in the centre of midfield. Alongside his contributions to the scoreline, the Scotsman also won three aerial duels and made four tackles. It was a man-of-the-match display from the Norwich midfielder.
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