SOMETIMES it’s better to focus on what you have rather than what you are missing.

On one hand, Lewis Grabban, the striker who after 93 games and 35 goals in a Cherries shirt elected to try his luck at Norwich in the summer.

On the other, Callum Wilson, a goal-getter who off the back of an exceptional first full season in League One was given a chance in English football’s second tier.

Norwich wrenched Grabban from Cherries’ grasp in June and they tried something similar with then-Coventry striker Wilson in the ensuing weeks.

And the scale of Cherries’ achievement in convincing the former Sky Blues hitman to make the switch to the south coast is only now becoming clear.

Five goals in seven games, the latest of which was a valuable leveller against the Canaries at Carrow Road on Saturday, is an excellent start to paying back a transfer fee in excess of £2million.

Grabban, who was clearly keyed up to perform against his old club, might have drawn first blood with an early header, but Wilson had the last laugh with a crisp, first-time finish.

This latest chapter demonstrated once more that Wilson has acceded to Grabban’s throne with remarkable ease. As the proclamation goes, ‘The king is dead. Long live the king!’.

The 22-year-old started in a lone striker role for the first time this season as Yann Kermorgant dropped to the bench.

In the Frenchman’s place, Dan Gosling was handed his maiden Cherries start in the Championship as part of a five-man midfield, while right-back Simon Francis was deemed fit following a hamstring injury.

Norwich’s Andrew Surman, strongly linked with Cherries throughout the summer, did not even make the Canaries bench.

Grabban was a lively presence from the first whistle and he made a nuisance of himself in the third minute, when he won the ball off Steve Cook and squared across goal, only for Eunan O’Kane to rifle clear.

Gosling’s wild effort from distance was all Cherries could muster in the opening stages and it was no great surprise when Norwich, who had moved the ball quickly and effectively, took the lead after a quarter of an hour.

Receiving the ball from Steven Whittaker, right-winger Nathan Redmond left Charlie Daniels in the dust and whipped in a near-post cross which Grabban powered home with his head from five yards.

Grabban’s radar was slightly off when he swept past the upright soon after but Norwich were in determined mood and ex-Canaries stopper Lee Camp was grateful when Kyle Lafferty fired straight into his arms.

As Cherries toiled in the attacking third, the hosts grew in confidence and knocked the ball around with increased verve and panache.

One such slick move seven minutes before the break saw Wes Hoolahan tee up Lafferty in a tight space, but the Northern Ireland international could only scoop clear of the crossbar.

Camp palmed Redmond’s angled free kick to safety and then was alert to snatch the ball away from the feet of Lafferty.

As the board went up to indicate two minutes of added time, the brutal fact was that Cherries had not managed a single shot on target. A goal appeared more of a pipe dream than a vague hope, but score Cherries did, and in some style.

A 31-pass move culminated in Junior Stanislas releasing Francis with an inch-perfect through-ball and the right back’s low centre was presented on a plate for the unmarked Wilson, who slotted left-footed into the roof of the net.

Buoyed by their equaliser, Cherries were much more composed after the interval and the opening 18 minutes were largely quiet, with an unthreatening Bradley Johnson effort all that Camp had to deal with.

At the other end a neat one-two between Stanislas and Harry Arter opened up space for Gosling 20 yards out, but his rising drive was straight down the throat of England international John Ruddy.

Canaries centre-half Michael Turner nodded wide from Alex Tettey’s cross before Wilson, without support in the penalty area, flashed a cross-cum-shot across the face.

Cook, arguably culpable for two of the goals against Blackburn a week previously, was making up for lost time and it took all his powers of positioning to force Grabban wide after the striker was played in behind.

Norwich teenager Josh Murphy was a lively presence after replacing Lafferty and he curled well over after cutting in from the left wing.

Cherries’ legs were tiring but substitutes Matt Ritchie and Marc Pugh did their best to gee things up when they combined in the 80th minute, the latter half-volleying at Ruddy after his team mate’s chipped pass.

A stoic defensive effort was required when Norwich cranked up the pressure in the closing minutes, but the closest the Canaries came was when Johnson’s free kick was smartly parried over by Camp, which meant Cherries’ 63-year unbeaten record at Carrow Road was preserved.

MATCH FACTS

Cherries (4-5-1): Camp 7.0; Francis 7.5, Elphick 7.5, Cook 7.5, Daniels 6.5; Fraser 6.5 (Ritchie, 60), Arter 7, O’Kane 8, Gosling 6.5, Stanislas 6.5 (Pugh, 68); Wilson 7.

Unused subs: Smith, Harte, Kermorgant, Rantie, Flahavan (g/k).

Booked: Francis.

Canaries (4-2-3-1): Ruddy; Whittaker, Martin, Turner, Garrido; Tettey, Johnson; Lafferty (Murphy,
61), Hoolahan, Redmond (Jerome,71); Grabban.

Unused subs: Cuellar, Loza, Bennett, O’Neil, Rudd (g/k).

Booked: Hoolahan, Turner, Lafferty, Johnson.

Referee: Stephen Martin (Staffordshire).

Attendance: 25,814.