Norwich City youngsters well beaten by Gorleston in Emerald Park friendly
Connor Ingram was on target as Gorleston recorded a comfortable win over Norwich Under-23s in a friendly at Emerald Park last night Picture: DAVID HARDY - Credit: Archant
Norwich City U23s were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Gorleston at Emerald Park on Tuesday night, with the young Canaries losing their second successive fixture against local opposition.
The Canaries were without a number of key operators due to international duty and struggled to create any chances of note all evening. City were second best throughout the game, with Gorleston making their experience count.
Todd Cantwell's rise through the City Academy has seen him put in a series of shining Premier League performances. There was another Cantwell on the team sheet for Gorleston, with the number four shirt being occupied by Todd's brother Jordan.
The early exchanges were lively, with the Greens having a strong penalty shout for handball waved away by the match officials in the opening 15 minutes.
On 20 minutes, the home side took the lead after a strong start, with a counter-attack culminating with a curling effort from range from Fletcher Hedge which was dispatched into the top left hand corner of City's net.
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Gorleston's dominance continued, with Cantwell's low drive going across the face of goal and beyond the far post.
The young Canaries were carved open from the right-hand side repeatedly, with the Greens unfortunate not to have doubled their lead after good wing play led to a shot being blasted over the bar.
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On the stroke of half-time, Gorleston's positive play was rewarded with a second goal. A poorly defended corner found its way to the back post, where it was headed home from close range by Eddie Short.
City's misery was compounded after they were caught in possession which led to a spectacular run from the wing-back before Greens' forward Connor Ingram beat three City defenders to convert from close range.
The second half saw City continue to look good in possession without making inroads from an attacking perspective. Gorleston were streetwise, opting to play a more direct game into the channels for their striker to run onto.
On 65 minutes, the home side almost added another to their tally with a low driven free-kick striking the post before rebounding to safety.
