• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Football Writer

My Football Writer Norwich City news… comment… analysis

Norwich City – news, comment and analysis

Find the best betting sites
  • Home
  • About us
  • The Team
  • Archives Index
  • Patreon
  • ADVERTISE
  • Contact us

Marshall desperate to avoid another penalty shoot-out. Get in, get out, job done.

12th August 2008 By Latest News Leave a Comment

Please share

City keeper David Marshall is banking on his new Canary team-mates sparing him an extra-long stint at the office tonight as Norwich prepare to face MK Dons in their Carling Cup first round clash.

This time last year and having successfully brushed aside Barnet in the first round, the City No1 found himself sparing the Canaries all manner of blushes with his 4-3 penalty win heroics over lowly Rochdale.

With hindsight, that second round tie – and the nature of City's performance in the preceeding two hours of football – merely gave an urgent pointer as to what was about to transpire under Peter Grant's hapless leadership.

Which is why this evening's first-ever visit to the stadium:mk comes with one or two early warning bells attached; Norwich could well do without any Spotland type escapades ahead of their opening home fixture of the season against Blackpool this weekend.

Get the job done nice and early; back on the bus before anyone has to endure the agonies of extra-time and then penalties. He has, after all, already faced one penalty this season as Coventry nicked into a 47th minute lead at the Ricoh on Saturday.

“We'd seen in the last pre-season game that the boy [Elliott Ward] was going to go right,” said Marshall, having clearly done his homework with new City goalkeeping coach Tommy Wright.

“It was just a case then of whether it was high or low and I decided to go low,” he added, as Elliott duly went high.

“Disappointing – especially when I don't think it was a penalty. And it's a hard one to take – especially after having played so well. So, hopefully, we can play well and get the confidence up on Tuesday.”

It won't be easy. For while the arrival of anew manager over the summer – ex-Chelsea star Roberto Di Matteo – might cause a initial period of upheaval following Paul Ince's switch to Blackburn Rovers, they remain a club that's going places after last year's promotion from League Two. The stadium itself is certainly worth a higher level of football again.

“Obviously they had a disappointing result at the weekend,” said Marshall, as the Dons slipped to a 2-0 defeat at newly-relegated Leicester City.

“This will be their first home game of the new season, so they'll be well up for it. And it's a big game for us obviously having lost the first game – we definitely don't want to go two in a row without winning before Saturday. So it's a big game and the boys will all be up for it.”

Just make an early night, please. Certainly Marshall was in no mood for another shoot-out.

“I don't fancy it at all,” he said. “It was a poor performance that night as I remember, so we'll take an easy win Tuesday.

“We know it'll be difficult but if we play the way that we did on Saturday and take our chances we should be OK.”

And no penalties. “You don't really want that to happen; you want the boys to take their chances – and get the confidence up for the Blackpool game.”

Saturday's 2-0 defeat at the Ricoh was not, he admitted, what anyone was looking for. Keep the bright and breezy performance; just give me the winning result.

“It's the result that you're looking for – especially the first game of the season,” said Marshall, who now has his one-time Celtic Youth team pal John Kennedy for company in the heart of that rebuilt Norwich defence.

“It was disappointing – I thought we played quite well and created a lot of chances, but if we keep our performance up hopefully the goals will go in.”

A phrase that he has, no doubt, used once or twice before. “We can't keep saying this – we need to get points on the door early.”

The presence of Messrs Kennedy and Stefanovic in front of him ought to bring a reassuring air to proceedings. It will be interesting to see whether Canary boss Glenn Roeder – widely linked to Rosenborg's 6ft 1in striker Steffen Iversen today – risks Kennedy again tonight.

Given the 24-year-old's wretched injury record over the last four years, discretion could be the better part of match fitness valour for player who could prove so vital to City's hopes this season.

“I've known John for maybe six or seven years now,” said Marshall, the pair memorably holding Barcelona at bay one night at the Nou Camp.

“So I know the way that he plays – he loves defending; loves tackling; loves winning headers. And I think that's something that we needed and, as I say, I thought him and Dejan [Stefanovic] were great and I hardly had anything to do at the weekend. So long may it continue.”


Please share

Filed Under: Latest news

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FIND MY FOOTBALL WRITER ON

As featured on NewsNow: Norwich City news” style=

Norwich City News 24/7

#NCFC LATEST

paddyjdavitt Paddy Davitt @paddyjdavitt ·
30m

#NCFC DW on state of play in the table. 'This game does not decide anything. We will fight on. But we have to be better. We know this.'

Is it 4/6 minimum over Easter pair of games? 'It makes no sense to set points targets.'

Reply on Twitter 1642207820685664256 Retweet on Twitter 1642207820685664256 Like on Twitter 1642207820685664256 Twitter 1642207820685664256
paddyjdavitt Paddy Davitt @paddyjdavitt ·
33m

#NCFC DW feels #SUFC will go up automatically with #Burnley

Reply on Twitter 1642207179011653632 Retweet on Twitter 1642207179011653632 Like on Twitter 1642207179011653632 Twitter 1642207179011653632
paddyjdavitt Paddy Davitt @paddyjdavitt ·
33m

#NCFC DW admits lack of goals in final third is a concern. Put to him Pukki hasn't scored at the Carra in 200-odd days.

'We have to better individually and collectively. We don't have to doubt Teemu's quality. But our offensive players were not able to produce. This is true.'

Reply on Twitter 1642207085482917889 Retweet on Twitter 1642207085482917889 Like on Twitter 1642207085482917889 1 Twitter 1642207085482917889
saund65 Canaries Caption It @saund65 ·
33m

Funnily enough, in retrospect the #NCFC point at Huddersfield and clean sheet at Stoke were pretty good results considering those sides results recently.
But you have to win your home games to be a serious contender.

Reply on Twitter 1642207014888546305 Retweet on Twitter 1642207014888546305 Like on Twitter 1642207014888546305 Twitter 1642207014888546305
mattjohnson333 Matt Johnson @mattjohnson333 ·
34m

So gutted with that #ncfc performance. Managed to convince a few friends who have become disconnected with the club to return, equally my son attended for first time and it was absolutely dreadful. Feeling a bit lost. Worse things in life. I know. But just feel so disconnected.

Reply on Twitter 1642206930285350913 Retweet on Twitter 1642206930285350913 Like on Twitter 1642206930285350913 Twitter 1642206930285350913
Load More...

Copyright © 2023 21VC Ltd | All rights reserved | Not to be reproduced without prior permission.

Disclaimer: The information on this website consists of personal opinions. Whilst we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained on these Web pages is accurate and correct at the time of writing we do not accept any liability whatsover for any loss or damage caused by reliance on this information.

We do not accept any responsibility for information contained in other websites to which this site links. We strongly advise users to check any information before acting or relying on it.

Developed and Hosted by