Jon Rowe delivers a powerful five-word statement prior to Norwich City’s matchup with Ipswich Town in the derby.
There is undoubtedly more excitement building for the Saturday lunchtime match at Portman Road between the two fierce rivals as they square off for the first time in almost five years.
Ipswich hasn’t defeated the Canaries since 2009, and Norwich has won their last meeting. However, after a brilliant start to the 2023–24 season, which has put them second in the Championship and 10 points ahead of the chase group, Norwich will be the clear favorites.
After placing second in League One the previous season, Kieran McKenna’s team is expected to gain promotion to the Premier League in their first season back in the lower division.
Although the visitors’ situation has not been entirely idyllic, with David Wagner’s job in jeopardy as a result of a dismal run of results in September and October, they have recently recovered, winning four of their last six games, to put themselves back on track in time for their visit to Portman Road.
After taking 13 of the 18 available points, Wagner’s team is back in the mid-table after losing five of their previous six games. Their most recent victory, a 3-1 triumph at Carrow Road over Sheffield Wednesday, featured another goal from Jon Rowe to add to his already impressive season total.
With 19 minutes remaining on Wednesday, Rowe headed in a scrappy goal from a left-wing cross to make it 3-1. His header lacked force and went just inside Cameron Dawson’s left-hand post.
The Norwich winger had a scorching start to the season, scoring or providing an assist in each of his first six league and cup games. He has since assisted twice and scored nine goals in 21 games this season across all competitions.
The goal was exactly what Rowe needed to get him fired up for a big game on Saturday. The young winger took to Twitter (X) to express his emotions ahead of his first East-Anglian derby. Rowe’s direct contributions to goals have slowed down somewhat of late.
