A SLICK strike from young striker Chris Martin was enough to see the Canaries through to round two of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in front of a crowd of 12,540 at Carrow Road.

Martin picked up the ball from Goran Maric on 30 minutes before cutting inside and rifling home a low 22-yard shot which went in off the inside of the post.

There was nearly a spectacular goal earlier for Norwich as Academy product Tom Adeyemi picked up a poor goal-kick on the halfway line and sent it back towards goal - but Leon Legge sprinted back to clear it off the line.

Despite a bright opening half-hour the game petered out somewhat after Martin's strike, though City's defence looked very solid and held out for the Canaries' second clean sheet in successive games.

City boss Paul Lambert made seven changes from the team which beat Hartlepool United 2-0 at the weekend, with Darel Russell coming back into first team action and Goran Maric making his competitive debut for City.

After the game Lambert said: "As I said yesterday as long as you're in something you should try and win it. We made changes, some lads came in who hadn't played for a while and did great again.

"There was work rate and effort in abundance, and as I said some of the lads haven't played for an awfully long time."

GET IN - Chris Martin fires home the only goal of the game

Two such players who hadn't featured under the new City boss until tonight's game were midfielder Russell and striker Maric. Lambert commenting on Russell's performance said: "I thought he did terrifically well, with his work-rate and effort, I never expected him to last as long as he did, but he did really great."

On Maric he added: "He hasn't played for a long time so he is lacking a bit of fitness, the whole squad needs a bit more fitness about them but the work ethic and desire is great. And with unbelievable support tonight, 12,500 for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

"Everyone knows you keep a clean sheet you've got a good chance of winning a game but you need to still put it in the back of the net so I'm delighted."

On the closing of the transfer window with no new additions to the City squad, Lambert said:"We tried to get an influx of players, but they never materialised but it wasn't through lack of trying. When the loan window opens a week on Thursday we'll try again, if not we'll go to January. The squad of players were here when we came in and we'll see how we can get the best out of those lads."

Full-Time - Back-to-back clean sheets for City and we maintain our record of scoring in every game, including pre-season. Chris Martin is awarded the Anglian Home Improvements Man of the Match. The draw for the second round takes place this Saturday.

90+2 - Alnwick taking his time over a goal kick and on his kick the referee blows for full-time and City progress through to the second round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

90+1 - McDonald takes the ball to the corner flag to waste a few seconds of time, interestingly the referee gives a free-kick against the former Dartford striker.

90th - Clive Platt has scored a late equaliser at Priestfield Stadium and that one looks destined for penalties. Two minutes of injury time to be played here at Carrow Road.

89th - A late change by Brentford Sam Saunders, a shadow of the player we saw at Griffin Park two weeks ago is replaced by Sam Wood. Alnwick gets an important hand to a cross to take it off the head of Steve Kabba at the far post.

88th - A rather subdued ending to the game at the moment, City have been dominating possession and territory without any incision and the visitors are yet to throw the proverbial kitchen sink.

78th - Barnet have a second at home to Millwall through Ismail Yakubu and a Simeon Jackson penalty has given Gillingham the lead at home to Colchester United.

77th - Marcus Bean is the first booking of the night for a deliberate handball inside the City box. Free-kick delivered by Saunders is met by the flying hand of Bean, but Alnwick was down low to his left to save anyway.

75th - A second change by manager Paul Lamber, replacing Simon Whaley is Luke Daley.

73rd - Another lovely pass from Hughes, spraying it wide to Martin allows the Beccles-born striker to cut in off his left flank - a position he played a lot for Luton Town - but his shot is deflected for a corner, which Brentford clear.

71st - Better build-up play from City. Since the first-half goal, the Bees have been putting pressure on City higher up the pitch but Hughes has been dictating play from deep. Some neat player almost put Spillane away down the right but Legge covered over.

69th - David Hunt launches anothe long throw into the City box but thus far Nelson and Askou have coped well with the aerial threat posed.

65th - MK Dons have beaten Dagenham & Redbridge this evening in the South Eastern section. Meanwhile, Barnet lead Millwall and Gillingham against Colchester United remains goalless. One game has already seen the drama of penalties, Northampton coming out on top against Wycombe Wanderers.

60th - A change in the City attack, Payne replacing Ferrari from the Press Box End. McDonald came on to a chorus of "England's number one". Brentford applying the pressure the last few minutes, Bean's header back across goal was narrowly missed by Leon Legge.

59th - Chris Martin rises well to head a deep in-swinging cross from Spillane just wide of the far post. Meanwhile Cody McDonald comes on to replace Maric.

56th - Michael Nelson is forced to head Taylor's cross behind for a corner. Saunders' kick is met with a firm header from Bean but Alnwick is equal to the task and pulls off a flying one-handed save to deny Brentford an equaliser.

54th - So far the second half is about as exciting as watching paint dry...anyone used that one yet?

52nd - The attendance tonight is 12,540. Wonder how many teams will reach that figure in the first round of the JPT?

47th - After a brief delay while Maric is given a talking-to by referee Mr G.Ward for some argy-bargy in the box, Lappin's kick is easily saved by Lewis Price in goal for Brentford.

46th - City get the second half underway attacking the empty N&P Stand to our right. Whaley is brought down - free-kick from the edge of the box for City.

Half-time - There goes the whistle and City head off to the dressing room a goal to the good.

45th - One minute of added time is signalled.

42nd - Simon Lappin is harshly adjudged to have fouled Taylor just outside the box. Saunders steps up to take the kick and when the ball rebounds off the City wall to a Brentford player, it's Lappin who slides in to make a brave block on the follow-up shot. Good commitment from tonight's City captain.

40th - Closest yet for Brentford as Myles Weston blasts a low cross-shot into the six-yard box and Kabba sliding in toes it just over the bar at full stretch.

39th - Game has entered a quiet phase since City got themselves in front.

37th -"Super super Chris, Super super Chris, Super super Chris, Super Chrissy Martin" - Harry1962

31st - That's what I call good timing! Lovely strike from Chris Martin there. As City broke the ball fell to Goran Maric and the Serbian fed Martin. There was still work to do but the young Canary cut inside before calmly netting with a low shot which went in off the post from 22 yards.

30th - On the half hour mark, I'll hand over to my colleague and boss Joe Ferrari who will take you through until the hour mark and his first duty will be to tell you all about City's opener from Chris Martin.

28th - "That's the (white) spirit!" - Lisa

25th - Hughes' free-kick from the right is met by the head of Nelson but Price saves comfortably low to his right. Stick to the overhead kicks it was I would suggest, if you haven't seen Nelson's goal from the weekend, check it out on the freeplayer on the homepage, it is the first goal on the 'L1 Goals Of The Week' video.

24th - "City are all over them like a rash....it doesn't seem to matter who Lambert puts in the team, we still play like a team, everyone knows what their job is and seem to trust others to do theirs. And you know what ? I LOVE IT." - hamster456

23rd - "I don't think we have the Duluxury of not taking this seriously. Getting to Wembley could be the Crowning moment of this season." - purplecanary

21st - Lappin free-kick from the left, but Maric is beaten to it in the air, a fair bit of shirt pulling going on in that Brentford box.

20th - Steve Kabba with a shot on the turn from the edge of the area, which Alnwick had covered at his near post, but a gentle reminder from Brentford.

19th - "It sounds like we've lifted the lid early. Let's just hope our new hopeful looking pairing at the back don't have to tread on eggsell and that Alnwick doesn't end up spillane anything." jigs69

17th - "We are all over them different to two weeks ago." - panomania - We started brightly that night too, but failed to take our opportunities, let's hope we won't be saying the same thing in just over an hours time.

16th - Maric with an effort from distance this time but Price gathers low.

15th - "Great. Rain. That's not going to do our finish any good." - Lisa

14th - Good positive start this from City, Russell and then Hughes have shots from distance, which fail to trouble Price, but fatally I am going to say it has been all City so far.

12nd - Adeyemi comes within a yard or two of giving City the lead. Price came out of his area to clear but doesn't get much distance on his kick and Adeyemi shoots for the open goal but Leon Legge is back to clear from almost off the goal line.

11th - Hughes with a nice turn in the box from Martin's pass but the Osborne is strong and holds him off, Hughes penalised for pushing the defender.

10th - "I better get this in before someone else does... I can't understand people who say that this trophy doesn't MATTer? Of course it does. We should be flowing through teams we'll meet in this like silk, or satin. You can varnish over it all you like but we can only play what's in front of us and it's down to our team to hammer-ite home that we're worthy of so much more." - Lisa

7th - Martin with a great chance for City, away down the left channel, cuts in, bearing down on Lewis Price - a former teammate at Luton last season, where the pair were on loan together - looking to put it into the far corner, stabs it and Brentford clear.

6th - Early JPT corner to City, Hughes with a shot deflected wide and the Scotsman comes over to take. Short to Whaley, back to Hughes, Hughes to Russell on the edge of the area, he chips it to the back post, where it is headed down and Askou ahead of Whaley, leathers it over the bar.

5th - The rain has arrived from out of nowhere. Formation for you - looks like a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1, Martin left, Whaley right and Maric centrally, with a midfield three of Russell, Adeyemi and Hughes.

2nd - "A shame we don't have Gill available to provide a Matt finish but I still expect us to scrape through, providing we don't get painted into a corner too often." - purplecanary - Good, very good, keep the JPT puns coming please - Joe came up with a corker, which Chris Goreham used in his newspaper column, Roller Ameobi.

1st - Brentford get us underway kicking towards the closed Norwich and Peterborough Stand in this first half. Ball played back to defender Karleigh Osborne who looks forward early and overhits his pass, through to Ben Alnwick, back in the City goal after colliding with Fraizer Campbell in the Carling Cup match against Sunderland here at Carrow Road a week ago.

19.45 - Here comes the teams, Brentford in sky blue shirts with dark blue shirts, City in their familiar yellow shirts, green shorts and yellow socks, led out by captain Simon Lappin. After the handshakes the Brentford players are taken through their paces with some running and side-stepping work.

19.40 - "Plenty of pace on the bench -- Semmy, Daley and Cody!!!" - davidsutchylee

19.38 - "So he should! Not just because any kind of run will provide some necessary run-outs for 'fringe' members, nor that you should take any opportunity to get to Wembley. It's important, well this game anyway, to show the likes of Brentford that we've turned a corner and we don't like being beaten! No glossing over it - this game is important." - Lisa

19.35 - "It looks as if Lambert is taking the Paint Pot Trophy seriously." - harry1962

19.25 - Remember no extra-time tonight folks, if the scores are level after 90 minutes, we will go straight to penalties, I wonder whether that will affect the mindset of a few away team tonight in Johnstone's Paint Trophy round one night. Four wins will put you in the two-legged area final, win that and you're at Wembley.

19.15 - City have already met Brentford this season, a 2-1 midweek defeat at Griffin Park, where Paul Lambert was on a watching brief having been appointed that morning, a fortnight ago. Ryan Dickson who scored the Bees' opening goal is missing through injury, but long throw specialist David Hunt and scorer of the second starts. The danger men for Brentford would be Hunt with his long throws, which created Dickson's goal, Sam Saunders - winger, who is their set-piece specialist and possesses a lovely right-foot and experienced striker Steve Kabba.

Team News from Carrow Road where Paul Lambert makes seven changes from the side that beat Hartlepool United 2-0 at the weekend. On-loan goalkeeper Ben Alnwick returns in goal in place of fellow on-loan 'keeper Fraser Forster. Michael Spillane comes in for Jon Otsemobor at full-back and Simon Lappin looks to revert to left-back. Three changes to the midfield, Darel Russell, Tom Adeyemi and Simon Whaley for Korey Smith, Paul McVeigh and Adam Drury. All change up top, Goran Maric like Russell makes his first appearance of the season - in fact Maric's first competitive game for the Club - and is to be partnered by Chris Martin, meaning both Johnstone's Paint Trophy winners from last season at Luton Town start.

CITY: Alnwick, Nelson, Hughes, Whaley (Daley 75), Spillane, Martin, Adeyemi, Lappin (c), Russell, Maric (McDonald 59), Askou. Subs not used: Rudd (GK), Otsemobor, Stephens.

Brentford: Price, O'Connor (c), Bean, Saunders (Wood 89), Kabba, Weston, Taylor, Hunt, Foster, Osborne, Legge. Subs not used: Bull (GK), Ferrell, Franks, McCluskey.

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