David Wagner’s first game in charge of Norwich City ended in defeat as the Canaries were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers at Carrow Road.
Jake Well gave the visitors the lead in the All-Championship third round tie after the half-hour mark following a mix-up in the Norwich defence.
Rovers goalkeeper Ainsley Pearce denied Onal Hernandez, Max Aarons and Jordan Huggle as Norwich equalized.
Daniel Sinani then fired wide in injury time as Rovers held on.
Jon Dahl Thomassen’s side will face either League One strugglers Forest Green Rovers or fellow Championship club Birmingham City in the fourth round, which will be played between January 27 and 30.
Wagner was appointed on a 12-month rolling contract on Friday, filling the vacancy created by the sacking of Dan Smith on 27 December.
The 51-year-old made six changes from Monday’s 1-0 defeat at Watford, with goalkeeper Tim Krul recalled.
Norwich threatened Scotland defender Grant Henley and striker Timo Pucci’s shot with a header over the bar before the centre-back’s backpass left Krul short.
Dilan Markande closed down the former Netherlands keeper and the loose ball fell to Bradley Dijk, who squared past a covering defender on the line from Vale.
Ben Brereton-Diaz parried away a low Gabriel Sara shot before missing a good chance to make it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time, sending his left-footed shot over the bar from 12 yards. .
Six-times FA Cup winners Blackburn put in a strong defensive display as they missed out on promotion in the fourth round for the first time since the 2016-17 season, while Norwich suffered a third-round exit for the first time in four seasons. Had to.
Former Huddersfield Town boss Wagner will now focus on reviving Norwich’s fortunes in the league, three points off the play-off places in 11th after being relegated from the Premier League last season.
Norwich boss David Wagner told:
“Sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve.
“Performance-wise, it was pretty good after just a few days of working with it. I saw some really cool stuff.
“The players were very brave on the ball and really wanted to play from the back. It means you make mistakes sometimes, like we did before the goal.
“I put my hand up for that – it happens. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen too often. Unfortunately we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances.”
Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Thomason told:
“We all know it was a fantastic win.
“Coming here with a new manager, you can feel the positive energy around the stadium.
“They asked us a lot of questions but I think all the players had very good answers.
“We played with great discipline and intensity. The clean sheet was the key to the game.”
