Dean Smith’s side were knocked out in round two of the Carabao Cup after losing a penalty shootout to Premier League side AFC Bournemouth.
City went ahead through Jordan Hugill in the 22nd minute and substitute Adam Idah put City back in front late into the second half, before a 92nd minute equaliser that sent the match to penalties.
The Norwich City head coach said: “It was okay in spells, but we’ve played better this season. If we had have gone through, I would have probably said we were fortunate and that’s the first time I would’ve said that this season.
“They created the better chances today- Angus has made two really good saves for us. We worked our goals well, but I felt we didn’t defend our half as well as they defended theirs.
It looked like the Yellows would be through to the third round in injury time, until a late effort from Genesini put the Cherries level before full time.
“When you put yourselves in the position that we did in the 92nd minute, then you’ve got to do the basics right. We didn’t manage the game well enough, we didn’t do enough to stop the cross or defend the box well enough. The lads are disappointed in the changing room.”
Dean Smith made ten changes to his side for the cup fixture, giving minutes to a number of new faces, including a return to the starting 11 for Sam Byram.
“We were young tonight, we had to be. Tony Springett went in at left back and he did okay. He has not played a lot of games for a while and it’s been a problem for us, that position.
“I didn’t want Kenny to play another 90 minutes there, and he’s played most of the game already this season. We were just a little bit passive in our own half.
“We can take a lot of positives from the game, because we were young. We had Jon Tomkinson, Tony Springett and AJ getting his first start as well but it was also nice to get Sam through 45 minutes.
“The plan was to see how long we could get out of him but the way he was feeling and his numbers meant it was 45 minutes. It’s a step in the right direction for us.
“Gabi Sara has got his first 90 minutes since he’s joined us after a long term injury that he had from his previous club, so there are some really good points to come out of it.
“Obviously, Adam Idah coming back and getting a goal is great too. Him and Teemu showed the partnership that we saw good signs of last season against Everton and Watford, before he got injured.
“I’m pleased with how Adam and Teemu played - we had to go 4-4-2 at the end and emptied the midfield a little.
“But the two of them came on and played really well. They gave us a different option and we looked a threat. For the big chances they had, young Liam Gibbs had a massive chance to make it three one.
“Even at 2-2 they somehow deflected Teemu’s shot over the bar in the 93rd which would have given us the win as well. Were disappointed because of the position we were in.
“I think the players are fighting for the shirt. We saw the depth of our squad today because Bournemouth are a Premier League team this season and have got some really good players in their squad. Some of our young lads stood up to that really well.
City turn the focus back to the league next, heading to Sunderland on Saturday, August 27, kicking off at 12.30pm.
“Sunderland will be a tough game at the weekend, I went to watch them on Saturday at Stoke., They were probably fortunate to get the lead in the first half but they were good second half and in front of their own fans they’ve had a good start to the season.
“They make a return to Championship, so they’ll be up for it and we’ll have to go and quieten them fans themselves.”