Norwich City 1 Sunderland 4

The Carling Cup second round match between Norwich City and Sunderland at Carrow Road on Monday Aug 24, 2009.

How Norwich City must wish that it was still 1985. Nearly 50,000 of their long-suffering supporters had trooped off to Wembley that March to watch Asa Hartford's goal win them the League Cup against Sunderland. It was a more carefree time: such was the good humour of the crowd that the occasion became known as the 'friendly final' and, better still, Steve Bruce remained in yellow and green.

The competition was sponsored by milk then. Now it bears the name of a lager, a fact that Norwich more than capably honoured on Monday night by performing like disorientated drunks. This is a team for whom a sense of direction has become an alien concept. Relegated to the third tier, beaten 7-1 on the opening day of the season, and under their fourth manager in two seasons, they could hardly claim that the lesson handed out by Bruce's Sunderland was unexpected.

At least Norwich's early elimination from the Carling Cup removed one distraction. One encounter with the type of Premier League company they used to keep was enough of a reminder of how they had to travel to return. A swift first-half double for Andy Reid, complementing an earlier strike by Teemu Tainio, put paid to any grander ambitions.

Paul Lambert, the Norwich manager who has been in the job just two weeks, argued that a first league win over Wycombe had given the side confidence, but his players took to the pitch here apparently devoid of it. There were glimpses of youthful promise, in the shape of their two Simons, Whaley and Lappin, but in the teeth of Sunderland's vigorous counter-attacks their back line looked feeble.

Tainio's goal was as predictable as it was clinical, as Kenywne Jones left Gary Doherty in his wake with a muscular surge down the right, crossing for the Finn to pounce upon the simplest of put-aways.

Norwich had no chance to respond, as Sunderland broke again, Andy Reid this time lofting a perfectly-weighted chip beyond the clutches of Ben Alnwick. The Irish midfielder proved impossible for Norwich to contain and, in concert with Fraizer Campbell, he engineered a third in a destructive 11-minute spell, bustling into the box to poke the ball home from close range.

Once Bruce had removed Jones at half-time Sunderland were visibly less organised, and were guilty of ball-watching when Norwich winger Wes Hoolahan pulled a goal back, seizing his chance after substitute Chris Martin's header had rebounded off a post. But it did not take for the normal order of this match to be restored, Tudur-Jones heading it into his own net to gift Sunderland a fourth. A straight red card for Michael Spillane, the centre-back having taken out last man Campbell, formed the type of dispiriting postscript to have all at Carrow Road dreaming nostalgically of '85.

Match details

Norwich (4-4-2): Alnwick; Otsemebor, Doherty, Spillane, Lappin; Whaley (McDonald 61), Adeyemi (Smith 75), Tudur-Jones, Hoolahan; Holt (Martin 61), Daley.
Subs: Rudd (g), Nelson, Hughes, McVeigh.
Sent off: Spillane.
Sunderland (4-4-2): Gordon; Edwards, Nosworthy, Da Silva, McCartney; Henderson, Leadbitter, Tainio (Healy 74), Reid; Jones (Murphy h-t), Campbell.
Subs: Carson (g), Bardsley, Ferdinand, Malbranque, O'Donovan.
Referee: A Taylor (Greater Manchester).