Norwich City Under-18s coach Greg Crane was disappointed to lose out in the final minutes of today’s 1-2 loss at home to Fulham.
“We were pushing hard in the second half to get ahead and get a foothold in the game, so it is tough loss. Last week we got a last-minute winner, this week we didn’t, so it's a rollercoaster ride for the lads.
“I'm really frustrated for the boys, but that’s the horrible side of football.”
City were close to conceding early on, as keeper Reece Trueman tripped Lamar Gordon in the box to give away a penalty. The visitors, however, were unable to convert from the spot.
“It’s not the way I want to start any games. It could have been very different if the ball had gone in, but we've been working on mentality; how to stay in games and how to manage ourselves through games. The more games they play, the more they’re starting to understand how to manage their emotions, which was quite pleasing from my side of it.”
Joe Duffy was close to pulling one back for City in the dying seconds, but he was unable to hit the target.
“The lads responded really well after half time to the information given to them and they nearly got something from the game. In the last minute, we had a great chance from Joe Duffy, who could have made it 2-2, which I probably would have felt would have been a fair result.”
“I was pleased with Ken’s goal – it was good execution on the pass from (Lewis) Shipley, and great composure from Joe Duffy with the assist. It was nice to see Ken continue his run of goals.”
Ken Aboh spent some time with the first team this week, training for one day during the week.
“It was lucky timing actually, as we were just walking in from a hard session where Ken had done some extras and then he was given a shout and went over to train with the first team. Hopefully he's learnt from them and can put it into his own game.”
Fulham’s run of form is currently top of the league, with six wins in six after today’s match.
“I’ve been relatively pleased with our performances most weeks. Fulham's position in the league doesn't make the loss any sweeter or any worse. We try and raise our lads that it doesn't really matter who you play against, you have to go compete. The lads have good mentality, but obviously we’re disappointed to lose.”
Norwich City Under-18s play Tottenham Hotspur Under-18s next in the league on Friday, April 15.