Norwich go past Swansea 3-2
Grant Holt claimed a second-half brace as Norwich City fought back from a goal down to win 3-2 at Swansea City in the battle of the promoted sides at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Grant Holt claimed a second-half brace as Norwich City fought back from a goal down to win 3-2 at Swansea City in the battle of the promoted sides at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Both teams have made encouraging returns to the top flight, but it was Paul Lambert's Norwich who prevailed to climb to eighth in the Premier League table and increase the gap between themselves and Swansea to five points.
Norwich had won the reverse fixture 3-1 in mid-September but although they started strongly here, Swansea took a 23rd-minute lead when Nathan Dyer set up top scorer Danny Graham to curl a fine shot past goalkeeper John Ruddy.
It was Graham's ninth league goal of the current campaign but the Canaries also have a prolific goalscorer in their ranks and Holt's eighth and ninth strikes of the campaign saw the visitors turn the game around in the second half.
The 30-year-old captain, who joined Norwich when they were in third-tier League One in 2009, equalised in the 47th minute when he headed home after Elliott Ward had hooked in a ball that appeared to be drifting out of play for a goal-kick.
On-loan defender Steven Caulkner hit the post for Swansea before Norwich stole in front in the 51st minute, with Anthony Pilkington's shot taking a deflection off defender Neil Taylor that wrong-footed home goalkeeper Michel Vorm.
Elliott Bennett had teed up Pilkington and he also set up Norwich's third 12 minutes later, freeing Holt to canter in from the right and crack a low shot past Vorm.
Holt blotted his copybook in the closing stages by conceding the penalty from which Graham reduced the arrears, but his side survived five tense minutes of injury time to claiming a thrilling win over their former Championship foes.