The catch was a simple one but West Ham United’s goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen dropped it and so Chris Hughton is still Norwich City manager. That is speculation, of course, but sometimes life really is that simple and it is certainly not far-fetched to suggest West Ham’s clumsy generosity on Saturday evening helped to keep Hughton in his job.

In the first half the Canaries were abject, their confidence apparently in pieces as strikerless West Ham passed the ball through and round them. Ravel Morrison’s goal, created by Mark Noble, Razvan Rat and Kevin Nolan, was the least they deserved and, though Hughton had clearly imparted a greater urgency into his players during the interval, the visitors were still looking comfortable.

Then Jaaskelainen spilled an easy gather and in trying to retrieve the situation made sufficient contact with Gary Hooper for the Sverige tröja City striker to go down and the referee to award a penalty.

A few minutes later it was Noble’s turn, the Hammers’ midfielder allowing himself to be caught in possession by Jonny Howson. Howson thumped a drive against the bar, James Collins barged over Robert Snodgrass in attempting to clear the rebound and Snodgrass picked himself up to curl the free-kick over the wall and past Jaaskelainen. Leroy Fer’s third in added time was hardly necessary.

Small wonder West Ham’s manager, Sam Allardyce, was even more lugubrious than usual after a result which saw his side slip to 16th, a place below Norwich. “All the research I do means that I know it is not the position in the table that matters, it is the points total you have against games you have played. Our points total is less than the games we have played, which is very, very dangerous,” he acknowledged. “We can’t keep saying that we are playing well but not getting results. We are paid to win. Everybody in this club is paid to win and we are not winning the games we should be winning.”

Hughton, level-headed in victory as in defeat, as always, was not about to claim some sort of vindication. But no, he said, experience did not make the pressure of a bad run any easier to take.

Result aside, what was hugely encouraging for Norwich was that once West Ham had given them a way back into the game, confidence returned quickly. Hughton said he was not surprised. “The players themselves have spoken about how well they have played here, in particular against Cardiff and Chelsea, so I think they always knew Barcelona målvaktströja that they were capable of that.”

Snodgrass, entirely peripheral in the first half and constantly involved in the second, agreed. “There are big characters in the team and they let out their frustrations at half-time but the manager just said: ‘Relax, calm down, get hold of the ball and try and pass it. You haven’t played the way you can play. You are good players, you need to show it.’

“But he can’t wave a magic wand and make everything right – it doesn’t work like that. In the first half they were better than us in every department and it was up to us as men, as players who’ve come up through the lower leagues, to change that. Hard work, that’s what it takes.” And a little bit of help from a Finnish goalkeeper.

Man of the match Robert Snodgrass (Norwich City)

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