It was certainly a case of home, sweet home for returning hero Jamie Cureton last night as the Canary youth product admitted it was a special moment to be back doing what he loves ? scoring goals at Carrow Road.
He opened the scoring after just two minutes of the 5-2 Carling Cup triumph over Barnet with his first touch of the game and went on to add another just 15 minutes later. In truth, Cureton should have gone on to bag a hat-trick but he wasn't in the mood to complain.
JC was simply loving every minute back at his spiritual home; it was like he'd never been away.
“It was a massive feeling for me, to score with my first touch,” said Cureton, talking to Radio Norfolk.
“I was really excited going into the game, and to score so quickly is what you dream about.
“I thought we played excellently in the first-half, I didn't think you could fault us. Attacking wise we were superb and it was thoroughly enjoyable to be out there ? especially in the first 45 minutes.
“It was great to be back but things haven't really changed much. Obviously the new stand is up and there are more restaurants and boxes but it's still just Carrow Road to me, it is where I've played a hell of a lot of football.
“Coming back was a massive thing. It was the club that gave me a start in football and everything I've done, like my first game and first goal was done here.
“I wanted to give something back to the club because, first-team wise, it didn't go to plan before. I didn't have the career at first-team level I wanted here but I've been given the opportunity now to put that right.
“If I can achieve half of what I've achieved elsewhere then that would be great.”
It didn't take long before the Canary faithful were chanting his name and if there were any doubters as to whether he could cut the mustard second time around, this will have gone a long way to silencing the critics.
Cureton is a goalscorer, pure and simple. And the fans love him.
“It's good that I'm still a fans favourite but it was probably the green hair that did that,” added the 31-year-old.
“I think they appreciate that when I was here I was a committed player and wanted to do well.
“They probably treat me as one of their own having come up through the ranks. Whenever I've played against them I've always showed the respect that I think the club deserve and I think the fans appreciate that.
“Norwich has always been a tight, family club and hopefully it pleases them to see someone who has come up through the ranks come back. Obviously they have not forgotten me and it is nice to play in front of them again.”
It wasn't all plain sailing for Cureton however. He was the subject of some post-match criticism from City boss Peter Grant and was accused of showing a lack of respect to his team-mates after missing a golden opportunity in the second-half ? when he should have set-up David Strihavka, who had the goal at his mercy.
The Bristolian confirmed that there had been some harsh words in the dressing room afterwards but it wasn't about to spoil his special night.
“The manager wasn't happy in the dressing room afterwards,” Cureton added.
“He sets high standards and expects a lot from us. At half-time he gave us total praise because we deserved it but as good as we were in the first-half, we were probably as bad in the second-half and that can't happen.
“We were playing against a team from a lower division and you can't get into bad habits. Winning is a big thing and you have to take that on to your next game.
“Now we've got a massive game at home to Southampton and if we fall into bad habits on Saturday we're going to get beat; the manager won't have that and he let us know.
“To be fair, it's probably the best time to do it because you can still take positives out of it but it's the first time I've seen how he is as a manager.
“He said a few things to me as well in that I wasn't as good in the second half. But you listen and you learn and that's how you improve as a player. You have to strive for big things and accept the responsibility when things don't go right so it was interesting.”
Tom Haylett
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