Yuki Ohashi's late goal ensured Blackburn took a point at Carrow Road
Yuki Ohashi's late goal denied Norwich a comeback win at Carrow Road as Blackburn's good start to the Championship season continued with a point from a 2-2 draw.
The Lancashire club sold last season’s Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics to Ipswich 24 hours before this game but were the best team in the first half as Ryan Hedges put them ahead.
Norwich striker Josh Sargent had missed three good chances, and hit the bar, but in the second half he fired in an equaliser and then set up Borja Sainz for a goal which seemed set to give the Canaries their first league win of the season.
Blackburn had been outplayed in the second half but Ohashi dived ahead of his marker to head an equaliser in the 87th minute to leave Johannes Hoff Thorup still seeking his first victory as Norwich manager.
Rovers have begun the season like an express train, scoring four against Derby last week and adding another six at Stockport in a midweek Carabao Cup win, but the loss of Szmodics left fans wondering where the goals would come from.
They were also less than convincing in defence, evident when United States international Sargent robbed Sondre Tronstad and fired narrowly wide and then crashed a header against the underside of the bar.
The reply was instant from Blackburn as Senegalese striker Makhtar Gueye freed Hedges on the left and he advanced into the area before delicately lifting his shot over Angus Gunn to give John Eustace's side the lead.
Gabriel Forsyth forced Blackburn's Aynsley Pears into a flying save and the visiting keeper then denied Sargent after the striker again burst into the area.
Pears' error almost gifted Norwich an equaliser as Sainz cut out his pass and fed Sargent, but Tronstad hurled his body in the way of the shot for a remarkable block.
The Canaries moved up a gear after the break and when the excellent Callum Doyle won the ball in the Blackburn half, his pass was perfect for Sargent to race clear and thump a rising shot between Pears and his near post.
Norwich pressed for the winner and appeared to have it after 73 minutes when Sargent again ran the channel, latching on to a Marcelino Nunez pass and squaring to give Sainz a tap-in at the far post.
Rovers ensured they remain unbeaten with three minutes of normal time left, when Callum Brittain found space on the right and swung in a cross to find Ohashi darting in and heading in for his third goal of the season.
Post-match reaction
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup told BBC Radio Norfolk:
"You get what you deserve in football and what we should have done better was to see if we could kill the game, see if we could score that third goal.
"Obviously the performance was way better than last Saturday, so it's a step in the right direction, but I'm disappointed with the results.
"I’m not satisfied with the 25 minutes after our good start, when we lost control of the game and were too passive in pressing. We made some adjustments at half-time and came out way stronger in the second.
"Imagine a player (Sargent) going in at half-time knowing he could have scored a hat-trick? But he kept on going and showed the right attitude."
Blackburn head coach John Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"I’m feeling disappointed. I thought we were really good, especially in the first half. We dominated an excellent team with the ball at times and sometimes without it and limited them to next to nothing.
"The chances they did have were from our own problems, when we were loose on the ball and we scored a tricky goal on the transition, as we had talked about earlier in the week.
"We started the second half a bit flat with tired legs in the team, so to finish the week the way we have, and get a late equaliser was really pleasing."
