Chris Martin's love affair with the Johnstone's Paints Trophy continued last night as his 30th minute strike proved enough to see the Canaries through to the second round of the competition.
City could � and, probably, should � have won by rather more than the one goal against visitors Brentford after turning on the style for the game's opening half-hour.
In the end, however, Martin's classy strike on the half-hour mark proved the difference as the 20-year-old began to dream of a return to Wembley following last season's 3-2 final triumph with Luton Town.
By coincidence, the Hatters likewise beat Brentford in the opening round�
�I really enjoyed it tonight,� said the 20-year-old striker, one of eight changes boss Paul Lambert made to the side that won 2-0 at Hartlepool at the weekend.
�It's just nice to get a game and I thought we dug in well and came away with a win that we probably deserved in the end.�
The former England Under-19 striker also came away with the sponsors Man of the Match bubbly for his efforts against the Bees.
As well as the sharpest of strikes for the game's winning goal, Martin saw a big, far post header fall just wide after the interval as he continued to flourish in a wide-left role.
He could, equally, have opened the scoring as early as the eighth minute as he latched onto a horror back-pass from his full-back only to badly lose his bearings as Bees keeper Lewis Price advanced.
�I think that left-hand role favours me in that I like coming in and shooting on my right foot,� said Martin, as he filled a hole vacated by Wes Hoolahan who � along with club skipper Gary Doherty � spent most of yesterday and the weekend sat in a shop window.
�But if you ask most right-footed players, they'll say that they like coming in off the left-hand side and shooting,� added Martin, well aware that one had gone AWOL early on.
�It was sloppy by me,� he admitted, honestly. �I should have just come onto it and placed it into the far corner. But I was happy to make up for it with the goal that I got.�
It was a sweet strike; pinging in off the base of Price's left-hand upright from some 22-yards distant.
�I was pleased with it, but its just nice to go through to the next round.�
Interestingly, the City Academy product admitted that there was still plenty more to come; that his lack of match practice was still evident in his game; the sharpness wasn't quite there yet.
Whether he will get another opportunity at home to Walsall on Saturday is the next question for Lambert to answer. He can either recall Hoolahan to his thinking or restore Adam Drury to left-back and push the man of the moment � last night's skipper Simon Lappin � up into that wide-left role.
Or else reward Martin for his efforts with a second successive start.
�I'm probably not as sharp as I would like to be, but obviously every 90 minutes helps,� he said. �Hopefully I can keep on playing and obviously that will get me sharper.�
The fact that Lambert had made the eight changes � including first starts for both striker Goran Maric and midfielder Darel Russell � ensured that everyone is getting their chance to shine; to prove their worth to the new man at the helm.
�That's what a lot of the boys tonight had a chance to do,� he said. �Obviously, there was a few of us that haven't played and this was a chance for them to show the manager what they can do and basically give him a headache for selection on Saturday.�
Like Lambert, Martin also paid tribute to the Canary supporters who again turned out in their thousands for last night's game � in their twelve and a half thousands, to be precise.
The next highest attendance for a JPT first round tie was 4,000.
�We're going to get great support every game here � even in the Johnstone's Paints Trophy,� he said.
�12,500 is a hell of a lot of fans � the next was 4,000. So credit to the supporters. And it's nice to give them a win to cheer us on.�
It ought to tee everything up nicely for Saturday's return to league duty; back-to-back wins and two clean sheets to boot, Lambert's star is still on the rise; the honeymoon has a few more days to go�
�We were conceding goals,� said Martin. �But its nice to tighten things up with two clean sheets in a row and, hopefully, we can keep working defensively on the training pitch as a unit and keep getting more and more clean sheets.�
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