Oli Norwood broke the deadlock in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers. The experienced midfielder whipped the ball over the wall from 25 yards and into the back of the net, leaving Kaminski no chance of saving it with all the spin and dip on the shot.
The 31 year-old is not known for scoring goals, even though he has the technical ability to score from distance. This season he has been taking up the opportunity to have a crack at goal a lot more than he did last season.
Last season Norwood averaged 0.9 shots per game. So far this season he is averaging 1.8 shots per game. Maybe Paul Heckingbottom has had words with Norwood in training about taking more shots this season. Surely the former Northern Ireland midfielder will gain confidence from his brilliant freekick goal on Saturday.
Oli Norwood spoke about the match on Sheffield United’s YouTube channel on Saturday, he said:
“It was a real professional performance. I thought, in the first half, it was as dominant a performance you’ve seen from us in recent times. We were really good. It’s always dangerous when it’s 1-0, with the pace and power that they have up front.”
He added:
“They were sitting in and trying to play on the counter. We just needed that second goal to make it more comfortable and then, the third one… incredible. When the boy faces you up, you’re in trouble and we all just stood back and let him do his thing because that was pretty special.”