Gills beaten at Carrow Road.
Adam Idah scored a brace whilst Pierre Lees-Melou, Lukas Rupp and Jacob Sorenson also got onto the scoresheet as Norwich sealed a comfortable 5-0 win at Carrow Road on Tuesday night.
The visitors had the first chance of the game in the fourth minute. Dimitris Giannoulis got down the left-hand side and curled a cross into the box. Adam Idah rose highest to meet the cross but headed over the crossbar.
In the 10th minute, Pierre Lees-Melou gave Norwich the lead. He received the ball twenty yards from goal and unleashed a left-footed effort. The ball took a slight deflection towards goal as it hit the top corner.
Billy Gilmour came close for the hosts shortly before the half-hour mark. After some nice build-up, Gilmour received the ball on the edge of the area. He directed a low-drilled shot towards the bottom corner, but it went just wide of the post.
Giannoulis came close in the 32nd minute as a powerful shot from just inside the box forced Jamie Cumming to push the ball over the bar.
Max Aarons tested Cumming shortly afterwards as the Gills keeper did well to get down low and palm the ball to safety. Gilmour then had a shot from 18 yards out, which went just over the bar.
Gills came close in the 34th minute as Vadaine Oliver hit the crossbar. A corner from Trialist was floated towards the centre of the box, and Oliver leapt highest. However, his header at goal could not dip in time and hit the face of the woodwork.
Norwich doubled their lead moments later through Idah. An overhead cross inside the area was directed towards the back post, and Idah headed home from close range.
HALF-TIME: Norwich City 2-0 Gillingham
Lukas Rupp put Norwich 3-0 up just after the hour. A great pass split the Gills defence, and Giannoulis got in behind. He drilled a low ball into the six-yard box, and Rupp snuck it past Cumming into the back of the net from close range.
Cumming did brilliantly, denying Giannoulis in the 69th minute. The left-back got behind the Gillingham defence and blasted a shot towards the goal. Cumming did well to react quickly and pushed it wide for a corner.
Idah got his second in the 74th minute with an emphatic strike. He received the ball inside the area and was given the space to turn, and as he spun, he struck a fierce effort into the roof of the net, giving Cumming no chance.
The on-loan Chelsea stopper pulled off a fantastic save to deny Todd Cantwell shortly afterwards. The midfielder tried his luck from distance, and his dipping shot was acrobatically pushed over the bar by the Gills keeper.
Aaron Chapman, who replaced Cumming, did well to prevent Idah from scoring his hat-trick. The forward managed to get some space on the edge of the box and tried a low effort. The ball took a deflection, but Chapman did well to get a solid hand on it.
Norwich second-half substitute Jacob Sorenson added a fifth for Norwich in the final minutes. Cantwell’s free-kick towards the back post allowed Sorenson to run onto it and head into the back of the net.
FULL-TIME: Norwich City 5-0 Gillingham
Norwich City: Krul (Gunn 46’), Aarons, Gibson (Zimmerman 63’), Omobamidele, Giannoulis, Gilmour (Adshead 86’), Rupp (McLean 63’), Lees-Melou (Sorenson 63’), Cantwell, Dowell (Tomkinson 80’), Idah
Gillingham: Cumming (Chapman 77’), Bennett (Lintott 63’), Ehmer, Tucker, Tutonda, O’Keefe, Phillips, Trialist, Lee (Lloyd 46’), Trialist (Trialist 63’), Oliver (Akinde 46’ (Sithole 70’))
Unused Substitutes: Maghoma
Referee: Andy Woolmer
Attendance: 10,692 (68 Gills fans)