• 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

McGeehan the hero as City's Under-18s nudge ahead at 'half-time' in the FA Youth Cup Final

30th April 2013 By Gary Gowers 1 Comment

Please share

I have two confessions to make…

Firstly, to my shame, I was unable to make it to Carrow Road last night; relying instead on ITV4’s actually quite good coverage.

Secondly, I cried.

The sight of Cameron McGeehan thumping his penalty into the roof of the net and the raw, adrenalin-fuelled celebrations that followed were just too much for this silly old fool.

A lump in the throat quickly became a tear in the eye as those lads – off the back of 94 gruelling minutes – somehow managed to edge themselves ahead in the most thrilling of circumstances; McGeehan’s badge thumping capturing the mood to perfection.

Holty knows a thing or two about late Carrow Road dramas and – as Sam Matterface [ITV’s commentator] constantly reminded us – he’s been sharing this know-how with the academy lads. No wonder therefore the skipper was seen beaming like a Cheshire (or should that be Cumbria) cat as the rest of the ground erupted.

Clearly there is still much work to do – the swagger with which Chelsea played for large chunks of the first half was enough to worry even the most optimistic of City fans – but to have achieved a lead at all was one massive achievement.

Physically advantaged, technically more advanced, internationals aplenty, the youngsters from the King’s Road have been assembled at a massive cost and from a worldwide scouting web, and at times it showed.

Yet City – superbly marshalled by Neil Adams – hung in there when the going was tough and did exactly what their manager asked of them. Bodies on the line; last-ditch tackles; goal-line clearances; a master-class, in fact, of what to do when you’re under the cosh – the bravery of Harry Toffolo and Kyle McFadden epitomising everything that was good about last night.

And still they carried a threat going forward; the pace and trickery of the Murphy brothers a constant thorn in the side of a cultured and sturdy Chelsea rearguard.

Adams spoke afterwards of his slight disappointment at the way his charges sometimes surrendered possession – and he’s right that at times the passing was a little wayward – but given the occasion it’s hardly surprising.

For what it’s worth, I think playing away from home may suit the City lads. They certainly have pace in the side in abundance and are suited to playing a counter-attacking game. Indeed for long spells last night they played like the away side, and it turned out OK.

So, while there’s still much to do – it’s only half-time as dear old Sam reminded us – they’ve given themselves a chance; a chance to create a little bit of history and match the legendary Class of 1982/83.

Much has been made of the 21,000+ crowd, and there’s no doubt to attract such a number for a youth team game on a Monday night – that was also on live TV – is one heck of an achievement, and speaks volumes of the appetite of Norfolk folk for a successful football team.

It’s also fair to say that tickets costing £2 helped… so credit to David McNally and co for making the perfect call. However, those who chose to compare last night’s attendance with the average attendance of those not far away are a little off the mark on this occasion.

All in all, another of those fantastic Carrow Road evenings that come along every so often, and which remind us why we all (or you all on this occasion) do it.

Some will no doubt, in the next few days, demand that Saturday’s crowd matches the noise and verve on display last night, but there’s no need. As always the Carrow Road crowd will be ‘up for it’ and will be eagerly awaiting something to latch on to.

Rather than the crowd be inspired (we’ll do our bit regardless), my wish is that Holty has saved a little bit of that magic dust for his colleagues on Saturday; and we can see that same level of passion, nerve, commitment but, most importantly, that under-rated quality called footballing intelligence.

The lads showed plenty of it last night – and that’s one of many reasons why I never made it. That, and the fact I’m far too much of a softy!

On the Ball City…

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER


Please share

Filed Under: Column, Gary Gowers

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bucks Canary says

    1st May 2013 at 3:59 pm

    So impressed with all, but especially Toffolo. If ever a guy looked ready to move up a notch, it’s him.

    Reply

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

punchdrunkafc Punch Drunk Arsenal @punchdrunkafc ·
60m

🔴⚪️ | 🗣: Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano says Marquinhos’ loan move to Norwich City is done 👍

“Deal signed between Arsenal and Norwich for Marquinhos. Loan move completed as medical also done and official statement to follow.” #AFC #COYG #NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1620310680724467715 Retweet on Twitter 1620310680724467715 Like on Twitter 1620310680724467715 4 Twitter 1620310680724467715
ethanmedler_ Ethan Medler 🏳️‍🌈 @ethanmedler_ ·
1h

Good Morning #NCFC

Reply on Twitter 1620310221284597763 Retweet on Twitter 1620310221284597763 Like on Twitter 1620310221284597763 3 Twitter 1620310221284597763
jokey_7 Jokey @jokey_7 ·
2h

🚨 Official and Confirmed. Norwich City has agreed to sign Marquinhos on a season-long loan from Arsenal. Soon, official statement. 🤝🇧🇷 #NCFC

Marquinhos has passed his medicals and will join Norwich City for the rest of the season. There is no buy-out clause included.

Reply on Twitter 1620301071305547776 Retweet on Twitter 1620301071305547776 Like on Twitter 1620301071305547776 1 Twitter 1620301071305547776
confirm_deals Soccer Transfers @confirm_deals ·
4h

Done Deal! #Marquinhos to #Norwich from #Arsenal on loan. #transfers #NCFC #AFC

Reply on Twitter 1620266323669573632 Retweet on Twitter 1620266323669573632 Like on Twitter 1620266323669573632 Twitter 1620266323669573632
nicoschira Nicolò Schira @nicoschira ·
4h

Done Deal! #Marquinhos to #Norwich from #Arsenal on loan. #transfers #NCFC #AFC

Reply on Twitter 1620265917925175296 Retweet on Twitter 1620265917925175296 3 Like on Twitter 1620265917925175296 33 Twitter 1620265917925175296
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