U18 Report: Norwich 1-1 Saints
Southampton Under-18s claimed a point on the road against Norwich in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday.
Saints marked their return from the international break with a trip to Norfolk to face a Norwich side who were yet to win in the early stages of the Under-18s Premier League.
Andrew Surman's side had an inconsistent opening three games prior to the break, but were looking to build on an impressive 6-3 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
In a lively opening, both Hansel Adjei-Afriyie and Tino Goremusandu had shots blocked and missed, before Norwich's Jake Glossop had an early effort saved by George Moloney all inside the first five minutes.
Saints slowly began to take control as the first half wore on, but saw further changes spurned by Harry Gathercole, Leo Umeh, and Thierry Rohart-Brown.
The hosts responded towards the end of the half however, and came closest to an opener when Finlay Corke narrowly missed with a shot across goal before Oser Okpiahele struck the crossbar with a header from a corner.
The opening period ended as it started, with both sides trading quickfire chances; Gathercole and Norwich's Rio Mundle both forced saves from the opposing goalkeepers in stoppage time.
In the second half, the deadlock was finally broken by the hosts on the hour mark through Sonny Rowland, who tucked home the opener with a low shot into the bottom left corner.
Saints had to rally themselves once more and made a triple change, including a debut for deadline day signing Davon Gbajumo, as their search for an equaliser proved a tough task against a stubborn Norwich side.
It took until the final 15 minutes for Saints' youngsters to produce their next spell of opportunities, with efforts blocked by the defence in quick succession.
In the 82nd minute, the leveller finally arrived through Under-16s' midfielder Max Little, who scored his first goal at Under-18s level in some style.
Gbajumo darted down the left and played in Gathercole inside the area, who cut the ball back to Little on the edge to rifle home a left-footed drive into the top corner.
Both sides had chances to steal a dramatic, late winner in another flurry of chances, but the game ended level at the Avant Training Centre.
Norwich City: Binnie; Oligbo, Okpiabhele, Rowland, Madu, Glossop, Sinclair-Brown, Mundle (Wilkes 69'), Tavares, Tree (Cooper 46'), Corke.
Unused subs: Ruddy, Northover, Collins.
Goals: Rowland (60')
Bookings: Mundle (15')
Southampton: Moloney; Adjei-Afriyie, Vallance, Sewell (Little 61'), Goremusandu (Anderson 61'), Sainsbury, Umeh (Lemon 46'), Rohart-Brown, Nutter (Gbajumo 61'), Gathercole, Hawe (Daniels 70').
Goals: Little (82')
