Saints U21 Cody Cropper (Chris Johns 92), Matt Young, Jason McCarthy, Jordan Turnbull (c), Matt Targett, Dominic Gape, Harrison Reed, Jake Sinclair (Omar Rowe 78), Sam McQueen (Jake Flannigan 80), Ryan Seager, Sam Gallagher. Unused substitutes: Josh Debayo, Jake Hesketh. Went to this today. It was a game of 2 halves, Saints dominated the second half but Norwich had the better of the first. Norwich's games was long ball or fast break whilst Saints try like the first team to play through the team mainly on the wings but sometimes through the middle. It was 0-1 at half time but could easily have been 3-4. Final score 1-1 but Saints should have won. I was impressed by Targett, and Turnbull as usual very dependable. The latter was up against a very strong striker in Carlton Morris who is still an U18 scholar but looks like a 20 year old. Targett handled the Norwich Murphy brothers (wingers) well though the stronger one of the two in my view was Josh Murphy attacking more down the left where most of their danger was caused. Matt Young and Jason McCarthy did well but clearly struggled more than the left side of our back four. Cropper in goal looked indecisive at times hanging back too often. Distribution was way better than Boruc though ;-) He maybe should have saved the 30yd free kick. Reminiscent of Barca's keeper last night. Reed in midfield was strong but seemed to get niggled by the Norwich players ending up with a yellow card for throwing the ball at one of them. Seagar struggled first half and uncharacteristically sided footed a simple shot way over the bar (like Norwich did in the first few minutes) but did much better in the second helping the ball transition through to the front men. Gape was his usual tackler and looked fast going forward but nothing broke for him. Gallagher looked strong and dangerous but rarely got past his man with the ball. His hold-up play is good but his decision making is dubious at times. No-one stronger than him on the pitch though. Another couple of years and he should be a real handful. He had two shots in the game going for power rather than placement. Sinclair looked disinterested and frustrated but one or two flashes of his tricky fast feet offered up some chances with crosses along the ground into the box. MOTM for me was McQueen. His goal strike was excellent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTuUWRSmiAI. He has a sweet strike with his left foot. Unlucky not to get a hat-trick in 10 mins today, all 3 strikes from just inside of the area or beyond. His movement to make space was reminiscent of Lambert also because he won the ball well in the air from goal kicks placing his headers in the path of his teammates and his passing was accurate. His lack of fitness hindered him but he seems to be getting stronger and more confident every game. Subs made little difference though Rowe looked more dangerous than Sinclair whom he replaced. Disappointing result overall. Probably means they won't make the playoffs but still an outside chance if they beat Everton (should), Newcastle (bound to). The gaffer Pochettino and his sidekicks were all there as usual. Ground was swarming with scouts. Report at http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/24032014-saints-u21s-1-1-norwich-report-1441692.aspx Hunters view of two points lost at http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/hunter-two-points-lost-1442045.aspx
Gallery at http://www.saintsfc.co.uk/news/article/gallery-u21s-held-by-canaries-1442294.aspx Some excellent photos. Showing it to be a physical game. Some really funny ones too. Caption competition for photo 38 is a must!
