Norwich City lost 5-2 away at Derby County in the Premier League Cup. The Canaries found themselves trailing 4-0 after 50 minutes, following a poor first half, but battled back to claim two second half goals from Jon Rowe before a late strike from Lewis Sibley, to complete his hat-trick, settled the match.
City made five changes to the side that had beaten Reading 5-2 in the last Premier League 2 Division 2 match as Dylan Berry, Rocky Bushiri, Lewis Shipley, Nelson Khumbeni and Oscar Thorn came into the starting XI.
The Canaries were without captain John Tomkinson and leading scorer Tom Dickson-Peters, who scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture at the Lotus Training Centre, because of their recent involvement with the first team squad.
Norwich started the first half brightly with Thorn getting down the right and crossing a low ball into the box, looking for Abu Kamara, but it was cleared by the Derby defence. Then coach Alan Nielson was forced into an early change as Shipley hobbled off and was replaced by Brad Hills.
Derby then started to get on top of the game midway through the half with Eiran Cashin sending a lopping cross onto the crossbar and Sibley and Isaac Hutchinson both tested Dylan Berry with shots at goal.
So, it was a deserved lead when Derby nudged themselves in front on the 24th minute as Cashin headed home from a corner. Sibley then came close to making it 2-0 on the half hour mark but hit his effort, on the counter-attack, over from 20 yards out.
However, he made amends shortly after by finishing from much closer in after a good passing move had ended with Grewal-Pollard crossing to the Derby midfielder in the box.
Then with five minutes left of the half, Norwich made a mess of trying to play their way out from the back and Connor Dixon capitalised by stealing possession and then sending a right-foot shot past Berry from inside the area.
In first half stoppage time, the Canaries responded with a few attacks but only had a back post header, that went over the top, from Hills to show for their efforts.
Norwich made a change at the break bringing on Finley Welch for Rocky Bushiri, but started the second half in disastrous fashion as Dixon played in Sibley who slotted home his second and Derby’s fourth with relative ease.
Derby then remained on top as Berry saved from Ozasee Aghatise, before Hutchinson and Sibley were wasteful in front of goal when they found themselves in good positions to make it 5-0.
Then after a spell of Norwich City pressure, Abu Kamara turned well inside the Derby half and slid a pass into Rowe who kept his calm to pull a goal back. And having come from 3-1 down with minutes remaining in the reverse fixture hopes of a comeback were firmly on the cards with 15 minutes remaining when Thorn fed Rowe and he sidestepped a challenge on the edge of the box before firing into the top corner.
Norwich then went all out attack and Rowe was close to getting on the end of a Thorn cross before he then headed home with six minutes remaining only to be denied by the offside flag.
However, Derby always looked threatening on the counter and so it proved with four minutes to go as Hutchinson, who missed a couple of chances himself to wrap up the game, squared a ball to his teammate Sibley who completed his hat-trick to make sure the home side took all three points.
Derby County: Foulkes, McDonald, Grewal-Pollard, Robinson, Bardell, Cashin (C), Hutchinson (Thompson, 86), Dixon, Cybulski (Clarke, 72), Sibley, Aghatise (Matthews, 88).
Subs not used: Roberts, De Gracia.
Goals: Cashin (24), Sibley (36, 49, 86), Dixon (40)
Bookings: Hutchinson (45+4), Cahsin (47), Sibley (67)
Norwich City: Berry; Shipley (Hill, 8), Bushiri (Welch, 45), Warner; Thorn, Gibbs, Khumbeni, Springett; Kamara, Rowe.
Subs not used: Rose, Coker.
Goals: Rowe (71, 75)
Bookings: Hills (45+4)