Tension turned to joy in pubs across Norwich tonight as arch rivals Leeds United gave the Canaries a promotion boost.
City's promotion hoped were dented after a draw with Stoke on Monday afternoon, but nervous fans turned their attentions to matters elsewhere as many took to the city's watering holes to see if Brentford could keep third place Leeds at bay.
By the 85th minute, with Leeds losing 2-0 and Norwich just one point away from the Premier League, fans at the Woolpack Inn on Golden Ball Street sang chorus after chorus of the terrace chant 'Leeds are falling apart again' to the tune of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart.
For George Pennington, from Sheringham, Leeds' poor performance was a welcome shock.
The 22-year-old season ticket holder said: 'I thought Leeds would win this one so this is great. We are absolutely already celebrating the promotion – Norwich are going up in five minutes. We've built something really special this season and we're back to players who actually want to play for the team.'
Julie Smith, Norwich, said although her nerves were shredded after the past three games, she had been confident Brentford would come through from the outset.
She said: 'It was just what I was expecting. It's been a nervous few weeks because when you're that close to promotion you want to reach out and grasp it – but we haven't quite been able to do it yet. This result makes me feel a bit more confident.'
Colin Adams from Norwich agreed, but said he was disappointed with Norwich's performance against Stoke.
He said: 'We should have made changes and we should have won that game. Having said that, I'm happy it was Sergi Canós who made one of the goals, being a former-Norwich player. Now is definitely a good time to start celebrating but next Saturday (at home to Blackburn) is the big one.'
As the final whistle sounded, the pub erupted to chants of 'woke up this morning feeling fine, I've got promotion on my mind'.
With tears of joy spilling down his cheeks, 24-year-old Sam Kill said: 'This is what we've been waiting for. This is what Norwich can do when we pull together. Thanks Leeds!'
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