Norwich City Head Coach Daniel Farke made eight changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day, so he was pleased to see the Canaries come away from Saturday’s FA Cup tie at Preston North End with a 4-2 win.
“It’s the first time in seven years we’ve managed to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, so it’s a good day,” he said. “To win is always good for the mood and the confidence. To be through to the next round is quite good, especially in this game.
“It was the fifth game in 14 days and Preston away is a really tough place to go. They have the best home record in the Championship and to win comfortably is good for the mood.
“Preston made a few changes as well. You can’t take it as a given that players who haven’t been involved for a few weeks will come back and deliver with a top-class performance, but several of them were able to do this. In general, it was a pretty focused, concentrated and professional team performance, so for that I’m really pleased.
18-year-old forward Adam Idah made all the headlines on the afternoon, scoring a hat-trick in only his second senior start for the club.
“Adam scored three times, so he deserves a bit of praise, not just because of his goals but also because of his workload,” the boss said. “We are a club who plays many young players, trusts them and backs them, but we only play them when they are prepared.
“It was due to a few injuries, but Adam is prepared to deliver on this level and was able to take his chance and show a class performance, not just because of the goals. I’m pleased with him.”
Despite City’s dominance throughout much of the game, Preston didn’t throw in the towel, scoring a couple of goals in the second half to keep Norwich on their toes.
“Compliments to Preston, they never gave up and tried everything,” Farke said, discussing the opposition. “When they scored their first goal, it was a bit spicy and they tried to push for the second.
“We had to show some steel, and I was pleased with our balance. We had spells of wonderful, possession-based football with lovely combinations, but we also showed steel to defend. For 80 minutes, it was a top-class performance.
“The last ten minutes were perhaps a bit sloppy but sometimes that’s normal when you have many players on the pitch who haven’t played much in recent weeks. Several players were tested in different positions, so it’s quite normal the last ten minutes weren’t that comfortable, but all in all it was a top-class performance.
“We deserved to win the game. It’s always good to have the winning feeling back. Meanwhile, we’re now three games unbeaten, so hopefully we can extend that run at Old Trafford.”