Canaries capture Championship promotion with dominant Boro triumph

Republic of Ireland international playmaker Wes Hoolahan began to grow into proceedings at Wembley, receiving the ball in dangerous positions, and continued to pick out his striker and goalscorer Jerome.

Norwich saw out the first period with their comfortable two-goal lead still intact and looked in a composed mood, with no real threat coming from their stuttering opponents.

Boro’s key downfall throughout the first hour of action in this Championship play-off final was their lack of prowess in central midfield, with Norwich dominating in the middle.

Set-pieces seemed to be the most likely chance of getting back into the game for Aitor Karanka’s side, but they failed in their many attempts, with deliveries failing to produce any genuine scoring opportunities.

Former England international shot-stopper John Ruddy enjoyed a quiet afternoon, with Boro’s usually clinical attack being pinned back and not testing the Norwich keeper, until Bamford’s effort on the hour mark, when he spun in the box and shot towards the bottom left corner, forcing a fine save.

Goalscorer Jerome seemed to pull a hamstring while making a darting run forward towards the end of this encounter, but the striker struggled on and could have created another chance of extending Norwich’s lead, if not for a solid challenge from Ben Gibson.

Norwich skipper Russell Martin should have killed the tie off when he broke free to connect with a corner from the six-yard box, but the captain somehow sent his header off target, giving Boro a late reprieve, but it was short-lived as they suffered a 2-0 defeat as Neil’s Canaries secured promotion.

Neill’s dominant Canaries outfit held out strongly, earning a sensational return to the top-flight, with those early strikes from Jerome and Redmond proving pivotal.