Norwich 3 Rotherham 1: Wes Hoolahan inspires Canaries to the top of the Championship
Midfielder scored the opener then turned provider as Norwich move to the top of the table
NORWICH moved to the top of the table and cut Rotherham further adrift at the bottom.
The 20-point difference between the sides so early in the season reflects the gulf in class.
Wes Hoolahan inspired Norwich with a performance topped off by a goal, while Cameron Jerome and sub Steven Naismith made sure.
But boss Alex Neil admitted his side were wasteful.
Neil said: “Our performance was very good and we could have been 3-0 up by half-time. But it was the sort of match we should have put to bed earlier.”
It was Rotherham’s sixth away defeat in a row during their worst start to a league campaign since 1925.
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Hoolahan exploited the space afforded him in midfield, putting Norwich ahead after 17 minutes.
Alex Pritchard found him 10 yards out and the clever Irishman turned a couple of defenders inside out before beating Lee Camp with a low, left-foot finish.
But Norwich failed to press home their advantage until the 65th minute, when Jerome finished deftly from six yards.
Rotherham had the ball in the net twice, but first Jon Taylor then Lee Frecklington were ruled offside.
It was third time lucky when substitute Blackstock tapped in a low Darnell Fisher cross from two yards.
Naismith tapped in Norwich’s late third from Josh Murphy’s cross.
Rotherham boss Alan Stubbs said: “We contributed to our own downfall.
“I cannot fault the players’ efforts.
“We were chasing it towards the end. We might as well lose 3-1 as 2-1.”
