Norwich City put aside their stuttering league form to fire themselves into the FA Cup last-16 on Saturday, knocking Burnley out after goals from Grant Hanley and Josip Drmic.
This was not a bad game of football – it just felt like it ought to be. A sparse Turf Moor was deathly quiet for much of the afternoon, roused only when mistakes or dithering deserved condemnation.
It is another FA Cup defeat under Sean Dyche, having won only four matches since taking over in 2012 and progressing past this round just once.
Norwich, though, hope a run in the competition can act as a catalyst for Premier League survival.
Grant Hanley and Josip Drmic netted in the space of four second-half minutes, Norwich worthy of their victory and only threatened when Erik Pieters slammed in with 18 minutes left.
'We're trying everything to work on our little miracle to surprise everyone and stay in the league,' Daniel Farke said. 'There is still a chance. A cup run might help.
'Someone told me that the sixth round would be our biggest success for more than 30 years. I'm delighted. I'm in love with this group of players.'
The statistics indicate an exciting tie yet the feeling around the place did not match that. Played had little to feed off.
The apathy was summed up when Burnley's supporters behind their goal took an age to retrieve the ball for a goal kick and, given a lack of urgency, allowed an infant to take his time to throw back to Joe Hart. That was at 0-0.
'It was a strange game,' Dyche said. 'The crowd isn't there, it's a weird sort of feeling. We're used to full houses here. It adds a different feel to the game and the tempo can change.'
Dyche added that the actual football was 'a bit of a ding-dong,' and he was not wrong – chances were plentiful. One came in the opening seconds when Drmic pounced on a slip by Pieters but could only place wide when clean through.
That the striker showed rustiness was unsurprising, Saturday was only Drmic's third club start since May 2018 and his full Norwich debut.
Burnley had James Tarkowski to thank for a courageous last-ditch block when Mario Vrancic scooped around Kevin Long. The England international also had the presence of mind to dash beyond his goalkeeper to stop Sam Byram's dink on the line.
Dyche's side created bits and bobs. Tarkowski hit the bar, Jay Rodriguez should have scored when Chris Wood squared for him but struck Ralf Fahrmann's midriff.
Norwich were the better team and led eight minutes after the break. Hanley preyed on Long, loitering behind the centre half and having the run of him from Vrancic's free-kick, powering a header beyond the rooted Hart. Hanley's association with bitter rivals Blackburn Rovers prompted obligatory boos, albeit half-hearted.
Four minutes later, the game appeared to be up. Jamal Lewis was afforded too much time to meander into Burnley's final third, laying a ball back to the cultured Vrancic.
His delivery had been flawless all afternoon – easy without pressure on the ball, of course – and an unmarked Lukas Rupp met the cross. Pieters had played him onside, Hart clawing away the header, but Drmic followed in at the back post.
Norwich had one foot in the fifth round for the second time in 13 years, but that became briefly uncertain when Pieters seized upon dawdling defending to hammer into Fahrmann's near post.
Burnley created little to force a replay thereafter and will probably view that as a good thing, which says it all.