Another bad day for Sheffield Wednesday ended on an all-too predictable low note as they lost 2-0 at Norwich - an 11th successive Sky Bet Championship defeat.
Having been relegated at Steel City neighbours Sheffield United on Sunday, the Owls were hit by the worrying news that a proposed £47.8million takeover by a consortium led by James Bord had collapsed.
And there was to be no relief on the pitch either, despite a battling display, as Norwich scored twice in seven minutes in the latter stages of the first half to record a comfortable win.
Substitute Mathias Kvistgaarden set the ball rolling after 31 minutes with a close-range header before a sublime strike from Paris Maghoma quickly finished the game as a contest.
Norwich took time to settle against a spirited Wednesday side and were not helped by the loss of in-form striker Mohamed Toure after just seven minutes.
The January signing, who had scored five goals in his opening four games for the club, went down with what looked like a thigh injury as he chased a through ball and was replaced by Kvistgaarden.
After surviving a scare when Jacob Wright almost headed a Svante Ingelsson long throw into his own net, the Canaries gradually started to take control and after seeing an effort from Kvistgaarden ruled out for offside, they took the lead when the Danish striker finally got his goal.
Goalkeeper Seny Dieng made a superb stop to deny Maghoma when the midfielder caught Jack Stacey's cross with a powerful volley, and Kvistgaarden then nodded the loose ball against the crossbar - but made no mistake when the ball rebounded for a third time.
Norwich wasted no time in doubling their advantage, scoring again in the 38th minute with a beautiful strike from Maghoma, who turned Dominic Iorfa just outside the area before firing home into the far corner of the net to leave a diving Dieng clutching at thin air.
Charlie McNeill almost pulled one back for the Owls early in the second half, when it needed Kellen Fisher's last-gasp intervention to deflect his goal-bound effort for a corner.
But Norwich soon regained command, with Liam Palmer producing a great block to thwart Fisher after the young full-back had surged into the Wednesday area from deep.
Goalscorer Kvistgaarden was substituted just after the hour, with defender Jacob Medic coming on in his place - presumably to protect Norwich's only fit striker for the challenges that lie ahead.
The home side comfortably saw out the game after that, with the struggling Owls never threatening a comeback.
Norwich's Philippe Clement:
"With Mo all I can say is that it doesn't look like he will be out for just a few days - we'll have to wait for an assessment.
"That's why I took Mathias off in the second half - I need him on Saturday. With all the injuries we have it is a case of being pragmatic at the moment.
"I have a good group, with everyone happy to do the job they are asked to do, and that is very important.
"I told the players beforehand that this would not be an easy game and that's how it turned out. But we scored two good goals, kept a clean sheet and dominated the game in the second half which was pleasing."
Sheffield Wednesday's Henrik Pedersen:
"I told the players beforehand that we had to focus on the things we could control, go out there and put in a good performance together and I thought we did that.
"There were a lot of tired players out there - Norwich had an extra day to prepare - and a lot of youngsters, but they did everything they could.
"I thought for the first 20 minutes or so we got high up the pitch and gave them a good game but then we dropped a bit deeper and they got their goals.
"We also started the second half well and had a good chance. It was a tough game against a good side and although we lost we gave it everything, which we had to do for all the fans who came down here after relegation. I would like to say a big thank you to them and stress how much their support is appreciated.
"We all want the takeover to happen as soon as possible so we can move forward so obviously today's news was disappointing, but I know Kris (joint administrator Kris Wigfield) has a Plan B so hopefully something will happen soon."
