Under-18s coach Greg Crane said the players will have taken valuable lessons from their defeat away at Birmingham City.
Norwich lost the game 5-1 in the Under-18 Premier League South, but had named a young side for the match with a number of players from the under-16s team stepping into the squad as they were able to step up to the older age group for the week due to it being a half-term break.
Putting the result into context, Greg said: “To be fair, from the start of the week we have had under-16s with us who have been in for half-term. So, we used the game as an opportunity to gel the squad ahead of next season.
“It was a really young side out there and the conditions were bad for both teams. Overall, the performance was okay, but as the game wore on it became a bit of a basketball match and our under-16s found that tough, in terms of it being very physically demanding in the conditions they were playing in. There were some areas that I was relatively pleased with and lots and lots of areas to improve on, but it is about learning.
“The players are only going to get that through experience and by playing. Sometimes it can feel tough for them, but they need to come through that and come out the other side.
“It is the way we do it at this time of year. Our second-year scholars, as you have probably seen, have started playing in the under-23s and they have got to start competing at the next level as well. It is our way and it is how we try to educate our players.”\
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The under-18s have had a tough season in terms of results so far, but one of the pleasing aspects of the game against Birmingham City was that the team stayed positive and Ken Aboh, who missed a penalty in the match, reaped the rewards by scoring a late consolation goal.
“Ken can be his own worst critic at times, to be fair and we have spoken a lot, me and Ken, this season about not showing disappointment,” added Greg. “He missed a penalty and that was a real big moment for him where he could have easily got down, shrugged his shoulders and got upset, but he didn’t. That was probably one of the most pleasing things today that he didn’t let that miss affect him. He picked himself up and he put the ball in the top corner.”