Philippe Clement tastes defeat in first game in charge of struggling Norwich

New Norwich boss Philippe Clement ran into a ‘Powerhouse’ performance as Birmingham celebrated the unveiling of their new stadium with a 4-1 win.

The Belgian might have been looking for a reaction following his appointment as Liam Manning’s replacement but Chris Davies’ side instead ran up their third successive four-goal home haul.

Marvin Ducksch and Jay Stansfield shared the goals as the air of positivity that had swept St Andrew’s since the announcement of their proposed £1.2bn ‘Powerhouse’ arena showed no sign of evaporating.

Birmingham were a goal to the good inside the opening three minutes.

It was a simple strike as Alex Cochrane’s ball over the top of Jack Stacey down the Canaries’ right flank found Demarai Gray.

The Jamaica international got away from his marker to feed a low centre across the face of goal and Ducksch sidefooted into an empty net.

The former Germany forward spooned a chance over the bar before playing a part in the second goal in the 21st minute.

His pass found Patrick Roberts on the right and the playmaker’s deflected cross bounced up off the turf perfectly for Stansfield to nod home his ninth of the season.

Norwich escaped shouts for a penalty when Harry Darling pulled Ducksch’s shirt and profited moments later with their most threatening move bringing reward.

The Canaries worked a promising position on the right and Stacey’s teasing low cross forced Birmingham goalkeeper James Beadle to palm out the ball, which Mathias Kvistgaarden collected and fired home.

But Norwich’s defence again looked likely to be breached and Ducksch went close before he grabbed his second on the cusp of half-time.

Gray’s inswinging cross found Roberts, who managed to divert the ball into the danger zone.

Tomoki Iwata headed the ball goalwards only for Vladan Kovacevic to save but he could only palm the ball out and Ducksch had the simplest of tasks to fire into an unguarded net from four yards.

That goal restored the hosts’ two-goal cushion and that advantage was extended nine minutes after the interval.

Gray was again involved as he managed to win possession from Kenny McLean before threading an inch-perfect pass into Stansfield’s path.

The England Under-21 international sped away from Shane Duffy and then clipped home his second off the underside of the crossbar.

Clement will be pleased his side upped their shot count in the final quarter of the game and Beadle saved from Darling as the Canaries pressed with a succession of corners.

Norwich enjoyed their most effective spell of the game but dogged home defending ensured Davies’ side chalked up their third consecutive home win with ease.