DAVID Wright says his Norwich City Under-18s side didn't hit the heights they're capable of as they fell to a 2-0 FA Youth Cup fifth round defeat to Tottenham on Thursday night.

A double from Kazaiah Sterling, both goals coming in the opening period, proved enough to take Spurs through to the next stage, ending City's run in the competition in the process.

"The first half was where they hurt us," Wright told canaries.co.uk.

"We weren't brave enough in possession and were going back to front far too quickly. Our transitions weren't quite right and we were leaving too many pathways open in the midfield area.

"We'd been working on that but those two things hurt us in the first half with conceding the two goals. The second half was a lot better without playing to the level we're capable of.

"I work with them every day and the boys have to learn about bringing it on game-day. You've got to make sure you're brave enough to bring it to occasions like this

With a sharp turnaround before a return to Barclays Under-18s Premier League action at the weekend, Wright hinted younger members of City's Academy setup may be given a chance to impress.

"We've got West Ham away on Saturday, which we'll look at tomorrow," he added.

"The boys will be in tomorrow and we'll do some cool-down before seeing what the physios say. It could be a great opportunity for some of our Under-16s to step up and play for the Under-18s.

"There's a lot to learn for all of them because taking the leap from Under-18s to Under-23s is big, but from Under-23s to first team it's huge. All these boys hopefully have really bright futures, we just need to be patient with them."

DAVID WRIGHT: FIRST HALF HURT US

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