Aston Villa ended a run of three straight defeats in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a 1-0 win over Norwich City at Carrow Road.
The home side had early penalty saved as Brad Guzan pushed away Robert Snodgrass's effort after Ciaran Clark was punished for handball.
However, the decisive moment came midway through the first half when Libor Kozak came off the bench to score at the second time of asking.
Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below to find out how all of the action unfolded.
Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of today's early match in the Premier League between Norwich City and Aston Villa at Carrow Road.
We should have some team news for you shortly...
NORWICH: Ruddy; Martin, Bassong, Turner, Garrido; Snodgrass, Howson, Fer, Redmond; Elmander; van Wolfswinkel
Norwich boss Chris Hughton has made a total of two changes to his starting lineup as Javier Garrido and Jonny Howson both come into the side in place of Steven Whittaker and Bradley Johnson.
ASTON VILLA: Guzan; Bacuna, Clark, Vlaar, Luna; Delph, El Ahmadi, Tonev, Weimann; Agbonlahor, Benteke
Meanwhile, the visitors have made three changes as Leandro Bacuna, Ciaran Clark and Aleksandar Tonev are all recalled by manager Paul Lambert. They replace Matthew Lowton, Jores Okore and Ashley Westwood respectively.
NORWICH SUBS: Bunn, Whittaker, Hooper, Pilkington, Hoolahan, R Bennett, Tettey
ASTON VILLA SUBS: Steer, Baker, Albrighton, Sylla, Kozak, Helenius, Bennett
Both of these teams have not had the best of starts to the new Premier League season, with Norwich picking up four points to Villa's three. A defeat for either side today could get a few alarm bells ringing, even if it is so early in the campaign.
Norwich suffered a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, while Villa were beaten 2-1 at home by Newcastle United.
Due to their stuttering starts to the campaign, today's teams sit precariously above the relegation zone. Norwich are currently in 15th place, two spots above Villa in 17th. You can see the full Premier League table here.
Of course, today's match has an added element due to Paul Lambert's return to Norwich as manager as Aston Villa. The Scot left the Canaries for Villa last summer having gained back-to-back promotions up the the Premier League with the men in yellow.
Lambert did an incredible job during his three years at Norwich, but it would be an understatement to say that his departure for Villa was a touch acrimonious. Both parties tried to sue each other for breach of contract before the matter was settled amicably.
I say amicably, but there is still plenty of needle between Lambert and Norwich. He will no doubt expect a bit of grief from the home fans today.
HEAD TO HEAD: Villa have had the edge in this fixture down the years, winning 22 of the 53 matches played. Norwich have come out on top 16 times, while there have been 15 draws.
It has also been Villa who have enjoyed the recent success when these two teams have met. The Midlands club took four points off Norwich last season as well as beating them 4-1 in the quarter-finals of the League Cup.
So, how do you see this match going? Both teams are certainly in need of the points, but could home advantage give Norwich the edge? That said, Villa look to have the better starting XI on paper, though that could count for nothing.
The players are lined up in the tunnel and Delia Smith has just taken her seat in the directors' box - this one is not far away now.
The pre-match rituals have been completed and it will be Aston Villa to get this one underway. Here we go!
SAVE! Early chance for Villa to take the lead as Weimann has a crack from the edge of the area, but Ruddy gets down low to gather the ball. Meanwhile Redmond smashes the ball well over the crossbar at the other end.
OFF THE POST! What a great start to this match! Villa break through Agbonlahor, who eventually picks out Weimann in the area. The Austrian tries to curl it into the far post, only to see the ball come back off the foot of the post.
PENALTY TO NORWICH!
PENALTY SAVED! Norwich are awarded a penalty after Clark is adjudged to have handled in the box. It's a harsh decision as the ball seemed to get caught between Clark and a Norwich player, but referee Chris Foy points to the spot. However, Roberto Snodgrass's effort is palmed away by Brad Guzan.
Snodgrass tries to make amends by whipping a dangerous cross into the box, but Guzan shows good awareness by coming off his line to claim the ball.
Villa are doing well to soak up some Norwich pressure at the moment. A Garrido cross causes all sorts of panic in the area before Redmond hooks another ball into the box. However, Van Wolfswinkel tries to chest the ball into the net and sees his effort go over the bar. Not sure why he didn't try to head towards goal there.
Norwich boss Chris Hughton will be pleased with what he's seen so far. The home side are showing some brilliant deft touches around the box, passing the ball with crisp inventiveness. They're definitely on top here now.
CHANCE! Great work from Benteke down the left ends with the Belgian striker firing a cross into the centre of the penalty area, but it misses two claret and blue shirts before going out of play.
CHANCE! Benteke is at the heart of things again as his shot is deflected narrowly wide from Turner. The corner is a decent one for the visitors as Vlaar hits a ferocious half-volley inches wide of the post.
WIDE! Redmond whips in a free kick from the left side that Van Wolfswinkel heads wide. It wasn't a bad effort from the striker, but Guzan looked to have it covered.
A bit of a worry for Villa here as Benteke goes down with what looks like a groin strain. Worry times for the visitors.
Amazing scenes as Benteke goes off for treatment and then comes back onto the pitch before going down almost instantly. He will surely be taken off now.
SUBSTITUTION: Here comes the change for Villa as Libor Kozak replaces Christian Benteke.
GOAL! NORWICH 0-1 ASTON VILLA (KOZAK)
Villa lead and it's the substitute Libor Kozak with the goal two minutes after coming on! The summer signing had his initial effort saved by Ruddy before Agbonlahor squared the rebound back to him, allowing Kozak to fire in from close range.
That is Kozak's first goal for the club in what is his second appearance.
Something of a wasted chance for Villa to double their lead there as Weimann's shanks his cross over the bar. There were plenty of players waiting for a good delivery in the box.
Bassong pulls up with what looks like a hamstring injury for Norwich.
SUBSTITUTION: Norwich are forced into the change as Sebastien Basson is replaced by Ryan Bennett.
Five minutes of normal time left in the half and it's Villa who are looking a bit more comfortable at the moment. That said, both teams have been ropey at the back up to now.
Tonev tries his luck from the egde of the box for Villa, but he drags his tame effort wide of the post.
Two minutes of added time.
Norwich build a promising attack involving a number of players, but the move is ended when Redmond blazes over a reckless shot from a tight angle.
HALF TIME: NORWICH CITY 0-1 ASTON VILLA
Referee Chris Foy calls an end to what was a decent first half of football between Norwich City and Aston Villa, with Villa leading 1-0 at the break thanks to substitute Libor Kozak's first goal for the club.
Both teams showed plenty of attacking intent during that opening 45 minutes, and Norwich could easily have been ahead had Robert Snodgrass's penalty not been saved by Brad Guzan. However, Villa have been more clinical and lead.
Villa's main main during that half was probably Gabriel Agbonlahor. He looked very lively throughout, causing the Norwich defence plenty of problems out wide and through the centre. Meanwhile, despite seeing his penalty saved, Robert Snodgrass was a threat for the hosts.
The players are back out and it will be Norwich to get this second half underway.
The home side have started the second half strongly so far. They've had a couple of early chances in the Villa half, but no breakthrough as yet.
The crowd certainly aren't helping Norwich at the moment. Carrow Road has all the excitement of a morgue right now.
HIGH AND WIDE! Some neat, patient passing from Villa sees Weimann pick up the ball on the edge of the area, but he can only fire way off target.
Norwich are starting to crank up the pressure now with some fluid passing in and around the box, but the Villa defence is standing firm. At the other end, Tonev's effort curls wide.
CHANCE! Snodgrass gets in behind the Villa defence before putting a low cross into the box, but Guzan gets something on it to turn away the danger. This is the home side's best spell of the match so far.
SUBSTITUTION: Aston Villa make their second change of the afternoon as Nicklas Helenius replaces Gabriel Agbonlahor.
SUBSTITUTION: Norwich now make their final two changes as Gary Hooper comes on for his debut in place of Johan Elmander, while Anthony Pilkington replaces Nathan Redmond.
CHANCE! Great opportunity for Norwich to get themselves level, but Fer's cross has too much on it and misses Van Wolfswinkel in the middle. A more composed delivery there and the Norwich striker would have had a simple tap in.
Bad news for Villa fans as Benteke is sitting on the bench with a pair of crutches. It's unclear how long he will be out for at the moment, but a smile on his face suggests the problem may not be as bad as first feared.
CHANCE! Villa come close to doubling their lead, but Clark puts a poor header wide from Bacuna's corner. The youngster looks like he knows that he should have done better there.
The Norwich fans are starting to get a bit restless now. Their team has just over 10 minutes to get something from this match.
SUBSTITUTION: Aston Villa's final swap of the match sees Yacouba Sylla come on for Aleksandar Tonev.
CHANCE! What a glorious opening for Norwich! The ball is played back to Van Wolfswinkel, who is about 12 yards from goal, but is shot is heroically blocked by Clark. That looked to be going in before the defender got his body in the way.
YELLOW CARD: Referee Chris Foy books the first player of the match as Michael Turner goes into the book for a wild lunge on Antonio Luna.
Under five minutes of normal time left for Norwich to avoid a second straight defeat in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Villa will have their first win in four if the score stays the same.
SAVE! What an incredible stop from Guzan! Hooper meets Garrido's cross on the volley, but the Villa goalkeeper is there to acrobatically push the ball away.
Five minutes of added time.
A few moans and groans from the Norwich fans as Snodgrass's poor cross is gathered by Guzan. In fact, a few of the home supporters are starting to filter out.
FULL TIME: NORWICH CITY 0-1 ASTON VILLA
The full-time whistle goes and Aston Villa have their first win in four matches thanks to a 1-0 victory over Norwich City. It's yet another happy return for Villa boss Paul Lambert against his former employers.
Anyway, that's all from me for now but don't forget that we have live text commentaries of all of today's Premier League matches right here on Sports Mole, so have a look around, see what game takes your fancy and fill your boots! Thanks again for following and goodbye!
Written by
Jack Prescott
Jack Prescott
