Norwich City Under-23s played out a 0-0 draw against Fulham on Friday evening in Premier League 2.
The first chance fell to Fulham. A low cross into the penalty area found Sylvester Jasper but Andrew Omobamidele was quick to clear away the danger.
Three minutes later, ‘keeper Jon McCracken was called into action with a swift double save to deny Jasper again from close-range
Fulham dominated possession early on and they then caught the Canaries on the counter. However, they came up against Omobamidele and centre-back partner Jaden Warner who tackled well to stop the move.
Warner then showed his playmaking qualities from the back in the 37th minute, playing an incisive pass through the Fulham lines to Tony Springett. The young forward looked to finish with a good cross into the box but the pass was too high for Tom Dickson-Peters.
The second-half started off brightly for the Canaries with Dickson-Peters making an energetic run into the Fulham box. The forward looked to cut it back for Sebastian Soto to shoot, but his pass was just behind the American striker.
Minutes later, Soto was involved once more, touching the ball down nicely on the move and volleying it towards the target, forcing Fulham’s Luca Ashby-Hammond into the save.
Ten minutes passed before McCracken would have to make a save of his own, swiping away a close-range shot as the Cottagers countered once more.
Fulham were reduced to ten men on 66 minutes when Sonny Hilton was sent off for a bad challenge on Melvin Sitti, meaning City had a man advantage for the final quarter.
A quiet period followed in the game until the last ten minutes with both sides going back and forth looking for a clear-cut chance.
For City, that chance came when Sean Stewart’s cross found the head of Soto in the box, but the forward’s header was saved well by Ashby-Hammond.
But despite a strong second-half from City, Fulham would hold on until the final whistle, seeing the points shared between the sides.
Norwich City starting XI: McCracken, Thomas, Omobamidele (c), Warner (Tomkinson, 46), Stewart, McAlear, Springett, Sitti (Dronfield, 67), Martin, Soto, Dickson-Peters (Giurgi, 83)
Subs not used: Blair, Nizet
Goals: N/A
Bookings: Springett (53), Omobamidele (70), Dronfield (81)
Fulham starting XI: Ashby-Hammond, Fossey, Murphy, McAvoy, Duru, Harris, Francois (Hilton, 61), Pajaziti, Carvalho, Tiehi (Taylor-Crossdale, 86), Jasper
Subs not used: Aina, Davis, Schwarzer
Goals: N/A
Bookings: Harris (44), McAvoy (70)
Red card: Hilton (66)