TOWN got a harsh lesson in how to punish mistakes and take chances.

Lee Clark’s side completelyoutclassed Norwich in the first half to warm their 1,000-strong army of fans at a freezing Carrow Road.

But they were made to pay dearly for not finding the net as Paul Lambert’s men stepped up a gear in the second half and underlined why they are third with ice-cool finishes from Wes Hoolahan (57th minute), Chris Martin (74) and Gary Doherty 11 minutes from time.

While Town had set the tempo before the break and could easily have been one (maybe even two) goals ahead, Norwich had extra urgency in the second half with midfield substitute Stephen Hughes making a telling and valuable contribution.

Whereas the home side had been content to let Town have the ball in their own half during the first 45 minutes – and they had been put on the rack for doing so – that was certainly not the case in the second half and that additional pressure on the man in possession paid dividends as Town made some sloppy mistakes to concede.

And Norwich punished them.

Firstly, the dangerous Hoolahan took advantage 12 minutes after the re-start after Hughes forced a hasty, misdirected pass from skipper Peter Clarke, who had been a tower of strength until that point.

Suddenly Town were stretched in their own half and Norwich, flooding forward, had a man advantage, but Hoolahan dipped a shoulder, went on his own and beat Alex Smithies with a crisp, low, angled left-foot shot.

It illustrated why Hoolahan – so well marshalled by the returning Jim Goodwin in the first half – is rated one of the best players in League I and, only a couple of minute later, he helped set up Darel Russell for a deflected shot which rolled only inches wide of the target.

Town then settled and manager Clark had striker Theo Robinson and versatile Tom Clarke ready on the touchline to introduce when the game took a decisive turn.

Before the substitutes could get on with Town only a goal behind, Norwich pounced for their second as Peter Clarke failed to intercept a cross-field pass and Chris Martin got wrong side of Joe Skarz to be one-on-one with Smithies.

The 21-year-old made no mistake with a cool finish into the corner – no mean feat as he’d earlier missed an open goal (52 minutes) from Hoolahan’s gift-wrapped pass across the six-yard box.

Town’s subs – they replaced Goodwin and Lee Novak – had little chance to make an impact before Norwich were three ahead, Doherty taking advantage of a loose ball at a corner to smash home from near the penalty spot for his third goal in as many games.

Town were finished at that stage – Smithies making a brilliant diving stop to deny Chris Martin nine minutes from time – and it was such a shame after the quality of their first-half display.

Aggressive and fluent, Town were out of the blocks to hit Norwich hard, and they dominated both possession and territory.

The passing and movement was impressive, with Gary Roberts and Anthony Pilkington getting time and space to raid, and the industry of Goodwin and Michael Collins in the centre being rewarded with a flurry of attacks.

A couple of Roberts crosses went right across the six-yard box, while Pilkington set up a fantastic chance for leading scorer Jordan Rhodes on 11 minutes, but his diving header hit keeper Fraser Forster and bounced to safety.

Rhodes was also only inches wide with a cracking shot after robbing Russell Martin of possession near the edge of the box, and a goal at that stage would have been no more than Town deserved.

Lesser teams than Norwich, in fact, would have buckled under the onslaught and, while they managed breakaway efforts from Hoolahan and Chris Martin, it was Town – solid at the back – who were calling all the shots.

Goodwin went as close as anyone to scoring just four minutes before the break with a left-foot shot following a corner, while Collins’ jinking run into the box resulted in a firm drive just over the bar.

Town started the second half, too, with a well-rehearsed free-kick move from which Rhodes narrowly missed the target, but from there on in it was Norwich who took the game by the scruff of the neck.

It was hard on Town, but an away record of just two wins and two draws alongside seven defeats (with 20 goals conceded) is not one to write home about.