Simon Lappin – City's latest master-blaster – can now look forward to a mid-week trip to the Spotland home of Rochdale after his stunning strike in round one of the Carling Cup booked the Canaries a trip to Matty Golks' old manor in round two.
The 24-year-old bagged another peach for his collection on Tuesday night with that 25-yard, top corner effort against Barnet in the midst of that first-half blitz against the League Two minnows.
If it never quite the heights importance-wise of Lappin's stunning, last-gasp free-kick away at Luton Town last season, it was another one for the collectors' album. Tap-ins he doesn't seem to do very often.
“I don't seem to get goals very often!” laughed the Canary midfielder, who could yet find himself back in the left-back slot at home to Southampton tomorrow should Adam Drury's ankle knock not recover in time.
“It was nice to see it go in, but the most important thing was for us to be in the next round of the cup.”
The trip to Rochdale will be played in the week commencing Monday, August 27. In the meantime, however, Lappin and Co have rather more pressing concerns – translating that fist 45 minutes against Barnet into three, big Championship points in tomorrow's Carrow Road opener against Southampton.
That's the trick. That having dug out an away point at Deepdale last Saturday, City now need to follow that up with a home win – get themselves into that result rhythm right from the start.
“We started the Barnet game like a house on fire, so hopefully we can do that in more games coming,” said the one-time St Mirren star, rapidly acclimatising to his new life south of the border. Be it at either left-back or the left-hand side of Peter Grant's midfield three, Lappin looks set to be an important member of the 07-08 Canaries squad.
He is Mr Balance in Grant's eyes. All he needs now is another one as Drury picks up the first of this autumn's minor knocks.
“Does it bother me if I have to start at left-back? No, not at all. I've said before that I'll lay anywhere that the manager sees fit to play me – whether that be left-back, inside midfield, wide midfield.
“But we'll see how Adam is for Saturday before the manager makes any decisions.”
Grant could, of course, need Lappin to stay firmly put if his other doubt – midfielder Julien Brellier – fails to shrug off the tight groins that ruled him out of the Barnet clash.
And like Grant, Lappin is setting littel store by Southampton's wobbly start to the new camapaign. They may well arrive still smarting from last Saturday's massive false start at home to Crystal Palace when they were on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat by Crystal Palace.
After a summer of waving their best players good-bye and with manager George Burley admitting his sales had been foreced on him to avoid the South Coast side sliding into administration, the Hampshire natives are not happy.
The non-arrival of Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen merely adding to the air of desperatkion around St Mary's. Monday night's 2-1 exit to Peterborough in the Carling Cup didn't help either.
“It's only two games gone,” said Lappin. “And we're not taking anything from that – they'll come here Saturday and they'll make it difficult for us. They're a great side and we're going to have on top of our game if we're going to get anything from the game.”
They are, of course, a team that wll boast at least one very familiar face in their midst – ex-Canary playmaker Youssef Safri who played the full 90 minutes at London Road.
Whatever mixed reactions his return will prompt tomorrow after the manner of his exit earlier this month, as far as the players are concerned there appears to be little or no hang-over.
“It'll be a little weird seeing him in a Southampton shirt,” said Lappin. “Every game that I played in last year, he was playing alongside me.
“But he's there now and we've got a job to do. And we've just got to concentrate on Norwich City.”
No ill-will? “No – not at all. As I say, Safs has moved on; he's at a different club now. And he was a great player – I don't think there's any doubting that at all. Great on the ball and he'll be a key player for Southampton this season as well.”
Opportuntiy clearly knocks tomorrow for Norwich to make a more than solid start to the season. That point at Preston needs to be a building block; just a start as the walls of Carrow Road start to look more like that fortress of old as opposed to the wendy house of recent times.
“The Preston game was obviously a good point for us – and it was always going to be a difficult game. And it turned out that way,” said Lappin.
“We didn't play very well at all, but it was a good point and we'll look to build on that.
“The other night, the first-half I thought we were very good – the second-half, obviously, not so good. Room for improvement there again. But we're in the next round of the cup – that was the main objective. And we've done that.”
Now to get the home league form going. “Obviously you want to win your home games.
“And I know it's bit of a cliche, but you need to make your home ground a bit of a fortress where teams don't enjoy coming to Carrow Road because they know they're going to get a hard time.”
And has he another master-blast up his sleeve? Is it a case of shooting on sight? Is that the instruction ringing in his ear come three o'clock tomorrow?
“It's not just myself – it's everybody. If you get in that area, have a shot at goal – if you don't shoot, you don't score.”
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