I think Rashica-Hugill work very well together. Rashica seems much happier lofting a high ball into the box and Hugill is much happier in the air than on the ground.
3-0, almost a carbon copy of the second. Onel gets to the byline and stands it up in th 6 yard box, diving header from Hugill.
I know it's only a friendly but I thought we were excellent the players who returned looked good and we haven't even seen our 2 new signings yet .
Your resident Smith-hater has to admit it was certainly better than any of our performances last season.
The hustle and commitment were excellent throughout against a Champions League team and the players returning from loans were a big part of that. Sorensen's goal was pure class and Hugill's brace stakes a claim for his place in the squad and Onel's assist and energetic performance won't hurt his chances. My MotM though was Cantwell, but well done all.
Norwich City: Krul (Gunn 46), Aarons (Tomkinson 72), Gibson (Zimmermann 46), Omobamidele (Hanley 46), McCallum (Giannoulis 46), Sorensen (Lees-Melou 72), McLean (Gibbs 72), Sinani (Hernandez 72), Cantwell (Tzolis 72), Rashica (Pukki 72), Sargent (Hugill 46) Subs not used: Rowe, Springett Rowe and Springett both played for the U23s last night, so presumably that's why they didn't make it on to the pitch. Slightly worrying that Idah was also involved in that U23s game, but couldn't make the trip whilst those guys could. Good to see that we could pretty much make a like-for-like change at every position on the pitch, the only exception being RB with Byram not available, and I guess DM where PLM isn't exactly a replacement for Sorensen (but Hayden will be). But otherwise, the squad currently feels fairly balanced, with a a 28/29-man senior squad? The 24 involved today, plus McGovern, Byram, Dowell, Sara and Hayden. That doesn't feel excessive for a Championship season, especially when Tomkinson, Springett, Rowe, Gibbs are all youngsters. It's interesting to look back at two years ago and see how much larger that squad was, but with several misfits well and truly out of the picture - Trybull, Leitner, etc. This year, whilst we have Josh Martin and Soto as "senior pros" still looking for a move away and not part of the squad, and perhaps Cantwell or Tzolis might yet get moved on, the squad currently feels well integrated and there's not a lot of salary being paid to players who may not be involved. I think that kind of squad depth could be super valuable now teams are allowed to make 5 subs in the Championship. We could feasibly start with Pukki, Dowell, Cantwell and Sinani (for example) as a front four full of creativity, and then at the hour mark replace them with Onel, Hugill, Idah and Rashica, and spent the last 30 mins bullying teams with crosses. And Tzolis and Sargent didn't even get a mention. Should hopefully make it easier to manage the return from injuries of the likes of Sara and Hayden, they can start and come off when they need to, and we've got decent replacements on the bench that can be brought on without reducing Smith's ability to change the gameplan too much.
Can anyone recall another match when we managed to press the life out of a team like we did today? Impressive (sic) to watch.
Aarons on his new partner, Sinani: “He looks really good. He had a good year last year as well and he’s come in and brought what he’s done on loan into here. He knows the expectation of Norwich now and it will be good for him to get that in his legs ready for the season to step up. He’s looked really sharp, really good, and I’ve loved playing with him. I hope he can have a really good season and really help us.” https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/max-aarons-it-was-everything-you-want-from-a-pre-season-game
I think we also have to remember how disjointed this season will be with two halves and a world cup in the middle meaning that the games will be packed thick and fast. So far this pre-season has been a good contrast to the one we had last year!
DS said last Tuesday after the game at The Walks that it had come too soon for Idah but that he was pencilled in to play 45 minutes for the U23s on Friday. In the event he played the first 30 min period, and was then subbed off after 10 mins of the second period. Both Rowe and Springett, in contrast, have been injury free and training since pre-season started. On that basis I don't see any reason to worry about Idah's not being on the trip; just a reflection of where he's at in his well-established recovery programme?
