Match Analysis: Norwich City 1-0 Hull City

Norwich City and Hull City met in a crucial clash at Carrow Road as their fight to remain in the Premier League continues.

The Canaries were without a win in eight games in all competitions, while the visitors were looking to push away from the drop zone after spending big to land Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long this week.

However, it was Chris Hughton's side who came out on top to grab a vital win as Ryan Bennett scored in the 87th minute to hand his side the victory.

Sports Mole analyses the match to see if Norwich deserved their victory over the Tigers.

Match statistics

Norwich Shots: 25 On target: 4 Possession: 56 Corners: 10 Fouls: 8

Hull Shots: 10 On target: 0 Possession: 44 Corners: 8 Fouls: 16

Was the result fair?

On the balance of play Norwich deserved the three points for their efforts. They lacked a quality delivery at times but they didn't give up and kept pushing away at the Hull backline and eventually got their reward in the end. It wasn't pretty but Hughton won't care about that; Steve Bruce will be frustrated his side couldn't hold out although they offered very little in attack themselves, especially after the break.

Norwich's performance

The Canaries weren't great in this game and although the stats will indicate that they had 25 shots on goal, a lot of those were from distance and didn't have a lot going for them. They struggled to break down the Tigers for large portions of the game, as Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper grew frustrated. However, they kept plugging away and Robert Snodgrass produced a quality ball when his side needed it the most from him and found the net through Bennett. Snodgrass epitomised Norwich this afternoon, he wasn't always good but he was always a thorn in the side of the Hull defence with the ball and eventually came good.

Hull's performance

The Tigers could and should have taken the lead in the second minute through new signing Nikica Jelavic, but he somehow missed the target from six yards out. That was the best chance they created, but they were still competitive in the first half and gave as good as they got. In the second half, that was a different story as they were second best to the home side all over the pitch and seemed to settle for thinking a point was a good result for them. They were duly punished for sitting back as Bennett capitalised on some poor defending to cost Bruce's side the draw. That drags them right back into the relegation scrap in the bottom half of the Premier League.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Robert Snodgrass: As mentioned earlier he wasn't always at his best, but he kept plugging away. The Scot was unlucky to see his effort from distance well saved by his countryman Allan McGregor as he kept pestering away at the visitors. He continued to put cross after cross into the box and eventually he produced an excellent ball for Bennett to head home the winner. A solid performance and a good example of persistence paying off.

Biggest gaffe

Jelavic had the perfect chance to open his Hull account on his debut for his new side, as Liam Rosenior threaded a ball down the line for Robert Koren, who cut the ball back to the striker six yards from goal, but he couldn't find a finish to hand his side the lead in the second minute of the game. It could have been very different for Bruce's side.

Referee performance

Howard Webb had a good game. He rightfully gave Tom Huddlestone a red card for two bookable offences after he was late on a tackle with Leroy Fer in the 88th minute and was fairly consistent with his dishing out of the yellows. He didn't have a huge impact on the game, which is what you should saying about a solid performance from an official.

What next?

Norwich: Hughton's side take on Newcastle United at Carrow Road in 10 days' time, as they are out of the FA Cup.

Hull: The Tigers travel to face Southend United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.