This was far from pretty and far from convincing by Norwich, but David Wagner is unlikely to care.
The under-fire Canaries boss was jeered by the Carrow Road crowd after his team were pinned by Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup last weekend, their fourth winless match in a miserable festive period.
Wagner has become increasingly accustomed to answering questions about his future but this result, which took Norwich to the brink of the play-off positions, provides some relief.
It was a rough performance with several players walking a disciplinary tightrope, but Jonathan Rowe’s brilliant individual goal eased this.
Christian Fassnacht came off the bench to double their lead and that proved to be the winner after Tyler Morton scored from 25 yards to set up a grandstand final.
Jonathan Rowe’s (pictured centre) scored a fantastic individual goal to give Norwich the win
While Hull did most of the running and regularly got into scoring positions, they lost
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While Hull did most of the running and regularly got into scoring positions, they ultimately missed the opportunity to move into the top six.
Instead, Norwich moved up to eighth place, just one point behind them. They did not seem like promising promotion candidates so far this season, but are suddenly sitting on the shoulder of the peloton.
It was Rowe’s twelfth goal of the campaign and his abundant quality was evident in his beautifully improvised finish and he was still able to inspire Norwich into the play-offs.
There was no escaping the optimistic feeling in the MKM Stadium prior to kick-off. A nearly sold-out crowd was warmed by jars of fruit crumbles and entertained by ’90s dance bangers, followed by a light show and an ‘Eye of the Tiger’ remix.
After completing the deal for Carvalho this week in a major coup for the promotion chasers, owner Acun Ilicali took to Sky Sports and promised more contracts would follow.
A return to the Premier League is unequivocally Hull’s ambition this season, despite a dodgy festive period that included defeats to Bristol City, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.
Carvalho wasted no time in getting involved, with the crowd volume soaring as he made an early dribble before firing a blocked shot. Seconds later he robbed a Norwich player in midfield and received further approval.
Aaron Connolly fired an early effort wide after Shane Duffy’s weak defensive header, but that would prove to be the striker’s final contribution.
He was fouled twice in the opening minutes as Norwich failed to throw any punches, only to be squashed by keeper Angus Gunn, who raced out to score a header.
This was far from pretty and far from convincing by Norwich, but David Wagner is unlikely to care
Despite Gunn’s jump pushing him into Connolly’s chest, referee Andrew Kitchen mysteriously awarded Norwich the free-kick.
That naturally angered the home faithful, who told Kitchen he was ‘not fit to referee’. His decision looked even more baffling when a breathless Connolly was forced off for Billy Sharp, who was making his 400th championship appearance.
Hull’s early initiative slowly disappeared and although Twine fired a shot wide from a good position, Norwich took the half-time lead with their only shot on target.
Ashley Barnes hooked a ball forward hopefully from the right flank and Lewie Coyle’s header was more up than away.
Rowe beat Morton with the bounce about 40 yards from goal and then cleared Ozan Tufan as he made his way to the edge of the Hull area.
There was still plenty for him to do, but space opened up and Rowe produced a sublime finish outside the right boot into the bottom corner.
It was the silk-shoes highlight of a largely exhausting first half for Norwich, who had received four yellow cards. One of these was Dimitrios Giannoulis, who appeared to raise an elbow to Coyle, but got away with only a yellow card.
Tufan was booked for simulation as he sought an early second-half response for the Tigers, throwing himself over Duffy’s leg a little too eagerly.
Kitchen made himself even more unpopular by booking Regan Slater for a dive off the beaten track seconds later.
Carvalho wasted no time getting involved, the crowd volume soaring when he made an early dribble
As the match started, Norwich’s Josh Sargent got a save from Ryan Allsop before Hull raced to the other side and Tufan grazed the outside of the post.
Carvalho then hesitated as he broke free in the Norwich box: whether to fire a shot into the far corner or roll a cross into Sharp. His final attempt was neither, much to Sharp’s dismay.
However, Hull closed in and Gunn had to make a good save to deny Sharp’s snap on 65 minutes, before the 37-year-old saw an effort deflected near the post.
Gunn made an even more striking stop when Slater unleashed from 25 yards amid a series of Hull corners.
But Onel Hernandez broke free and fed fellow sub Fassnacht, who bundled home at the back post of his thigh.
That seemed to have settled the matter but Morton brilliantly grabbed the top corner from 25 yards to make things interesting but time was running out on Hull.
