Coventry slip up as Norwich rally to claim fine win
Ali Ahmed's dream start to life at Norwich City continued as his goal sank Championship leaders Coventry City at Carrow Road.
The Canada international winger also set up Anis Ben Slimane's equaliser early in the second half, meaning he has chalked up two goals and two assists in his three games since joining the Canaries from Vancouver Whitecaps three weeks ago.
Romain Esse seemed to have set Frank Lampard's side on their way to their first away win in six attempts with a first-half goal, as the Canaries had previously lost all seven home games in which they have gone behind.
That poor record ended with a deserved victory which means Philippe Clement's side are four points clear of the relegation zone, while Coventry's lead at the top of the table is down to just three points.
The omens did not look good for the Sky Blues, whose last win on their travels came at promotion rivals Middlesbrough on 25 November, and having not won in Norfolk since 2009.
That run did not look like coming to a conclusion for most of the first half as the Canaries bossed the game. Kellen Fisher's cross-shot flashing across goal and Jose Cordoba shooting against the post after a driven low corner routine had surprised Coventry.
The visitors' luck also held when the match officials failed to see Brandon Thomas-Asante swing an arm into the face of Pelle Mattsson a few minutes before Esse gave them the lead.
Norwich defender Ruairi McConville blocked Victor Torp's shot and then smothered Esse's follow-up, only for the on-loan Crystal Palace forward to gather the rebound, side-step him and shoot between Vladan Kovacevic and his near post.
The disappointment at not capitalising on their dominance lasted just 34 seconds into the second half as Ahmed slid a sharp pass down the side of the Coventry defence and Ben Slimane slipped past goalkeeper Carl Rushworth with a swivel of his hips and clipped the ball home despite Jay Dasilva's attempt to clear on the line.
Coventry came on strong again as Fisher brilliantly slid in to clear Haji Wright's shot, with Ephron Mason-Clark poised to score, while the latter then headed against the bar.
In a pulsating match, Norwich took the lead as they capitalised on a defensive slip by Liam Kitching, who gave the ball away to Jovon Makama.
The Canaries broke quickly through Ben Slimane, who fed substitute Papa Diallo on the right and when he pulled the ball back across goal Ahmed was on hand to shoot high into the net via a deflection off the boot of defender Bobby Thomas.
Coventry manager Frank Lampard told BBC Radio CWR:"We gifted them their goals. If you do that in the Championship you lose games. If you defend sloppily and make mistakes, teams score against you.
"We created enough chances to score more goals but didn't. Defensive errors are a problem, something we've been good at this season.
"It was a great finish, good goal, and we went in at half time 1-0, so that's positive, but we came out [in the second half] and gave them some momentum.
"Some games aren't easy to control in the Championship. We had more possession than them, and created enough chances, but games are always won in both boxes.
"It's not easy to come here on a Monday night against a team in good form and try to control every aspect of the game."
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2026 2:59 am