Under-23s coach Alan Neilson was pleased with what he saw from his side, despite 1-0 defeat to Stoke City at Carrow Road on Friday night.
The young Canaries dominated the ball for majority of the game but were undone by a set-piece from the Potters to take all three points.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Neilson said that he was more than happy with the showing the side put on through their defeat, especially in a brand-new formation.
“There were a lot of positives to take from tonight, we played some really good football, kept it and passed it.
“We’ve got our new formation which we’re working on but overall, I was really happy. We conceded to one set play, which we should’ve done better, but we’re a team in development, working all the time, we kept the ball loads.
“We’re trying to change it a bit more to a 4-3-3 with a diamond, we class Abu [Kamara] as a seven and hope to create some space behind. The boys are still working hard on it in training.
“I thought our defensive shape on the press was really good, we had really good intensity. In the second half, we made two substitutions and got a little bit tired, we didn’t have a whole pre-season so they’re at about 80% fitness wise.
“In the last 20 minutes, we looked tired, we didn’t press as much, and we weren’t threatening in behind. In the first half, people miss chances at any level, but we were really happy with getting the ball and creating them chances.”
Two individuals stood out for the U23s, with Saxon Earley covering the left-back position and Liam Gibbs gelling well with his new side, the latter earning man of the match. Asked for his thoughts on their performances, Neilson was full of praise for their performances on the night.
“We know what we get with Saxon [Earley], we try to get five defensive players behind the ball and have the full-backs not attack as much but be a bit more defensive, and that’s probably ideal for Saxon.
“He’s improving all the time; he’s learning his position because last season he played in the midfield. Players have to know different positions; Saxon is filling in at left-back at doing an excellent job.”
“Liam [Gibbs] is a really good player, he’s really important to the way we want to play. He can play as a six or as an eight, he sees things on the ball.
“He’s probably one of the ones who is underdeveloped. When you look at the team, they’re 18 and a half as an average age, so a really young team.”
While the scoreline gave Stoke all three points, the young Canaries would feel hard done by after their performance, but Neilson reiterated the importance of their development, not their results on the pitch.
“I told them it was well played tonight, it sounds stupid because we lost, but its not about the results at this club, it’s about developing the lads.
“It’s great playing at Carrow Road, we conceded one goal in two games from a set play, even though I think we should’ve done better on that.”