After a few troublesome weeks for the Under-21s, they finally ended their losing run with a 2-2 draw away at Bristol City on Monday in the Premier League Cup.
Although they are unable to now qualify for the knockout stages of that competition with one game remaining, it was vitally important that they got a positive result on Monday night. Another defeat would have dented the confidence levels of the side.
They *should* have ended this losing streak against Exeter City last Wednesday but were denied a point when the young Grecians scored a late winner.
But before the Bristol City match, the development side had lost five consecutive games against a range of opposition, which had dented confidence levels massively, especially after conceding loads of goals during those matches.
Since the departure of Finley Welch, the U21s have struggled to retain the ball in the attacking third, resulting in opposition defenders having a much easier task. Welch’s ball manipulation has also been missed, as he was frequently creating overloads in attacking areas, finding free men, and winning numerous free-kicks.
During the winless run, the team generally struggled with ball retention in the final third, escalating to multiple turnovers in dangerous positions. Although it’s not ideal to give the ball back to the opposition in your half, that will remain a talking point under this new regime as there’s a huge element of risk within the build-up play.
However, there have also been multiple scenarios when the development team have been precise in building up from the back, with West Ham (a) being a pertinent example of individuals playing through a press under pressure.
One player who has been involved in the build-up and settled possession play is trialist Rhys Walters. Walters is a central midfielder who’s currently contracted to Port Vale but wants to move onto a fresh chapter as contract renewal talks have stalled at Vale.
He has shown glimpses of a player with high potential but has struggled to be effective during build-up play, conceding possession too many times in the middle third. Whether the club continues to integrate him into the side and/or persist with the existing options they have remains to be seen.
Unfortunately for City, against Bristol City, two of their key players had to be replaced in the first half due to injury concerns and precautionary measures. Keeper Caleb Ansen took a blow to the head during the start of the game and had to be replaced by Tom Finch, and Errol Mundle-Smith sustained an injury during the midway point of the first half, with Dan Ogwuru taking his place in the frontline.
Although Olly Lee and Alan Nielsen had to make those unforced changes, both replacements delivered strong performances, with the pair having several positive moments throughout the game.
Ogwuru ended up adding to his goal tally on Monday night, taking his goal tally to four for the season. The athletic forward finished his opportunity fantastically, impulsively connecting to a drilled Tony Springett cross to initially equalise for the Canaries. This finish meant that the striker has scored 50% of the U21s’ goals during November – highlighting his predatory instincts in the box.
Not only has Ogwuru demonstrated strong finishing qualities in recent weeks, his general play has also become more refined and he’s giving the ball away less frequently in attacking areas.
Given that he has tremendous physical qualities, he needs to believe in himself and his own game much more as he has the ability to become a powerful presence. The challenge for him is to show consistency in general play as that’s what will propel his career further.
After the Bristol game, Olly Lee told the official club channels on social media that he was pleased with the response of the side after an ordinary first-half display. One player who demonstrated a revitalised second-half performance was Springett, with the Irishmen utilising his pace to great effect before perfecting a slick cut-back for Ogwuru to convert.
There’s no hiding the fact that Springett has the potential to perform in a first-team environment as his raw attributes would benefit multiple sides in the EFL. With the youngster featuring on the bench for the first-team against Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday, as well as playing for the U21s team regularly, it’s unclear where Springett currently stands within this regime. That is unless he’s accumulating U21 minutes as preparation for the first team.
The other substitute who performed admirably during the encounter was goalkeeper Tom Finch. The 19-year-old showed immense calmness with the ball at his feet while making a selection of high-quality saves. One of those stops was from a cut-back opportunity across goal, with Finch increasing his stature on the goal line to produce a magical save to keep City in the game.
This save epitomised his performance level on Monday night, in what was arguably his best performance in a Norwich shirt since signing in the summer. With the U21s now playing three games in quick succession, Finch may get an opportunity to play in the league, which is deserved after his stellar display on Monday.
In the space of eleven days, the development team now play two winnable games against opponents who are below them in the PL2 league table. Sandwiched in between those two league games, is a tantalising fixture against PSV Eindhoven in the PL International Cup, which supporters can attend at Carrow Road.
The U21s are slowly getting back into the groove after the last international break. It’s essential they keep believing in the project and use the difficult defeats as an experience to draw on in their professional careers.
The next step for the side is for them to collect their win in seven games against Aston Villa (a) next Monday.