U18 Report: Norwich 2-2 Saints
Southampton’s youngsters were pegged back by hosts Norwich, who struck twice in the final 15 minutes to salvage a point in the Under-18 Premier League.
Saints started brightly with a couple of early chances for Oliver Newman, who saw one shot blocked and fired another wide of the target.
Moses Sesay was next to threaten, going close from a free-kick, while goalkeeper Oscar Abbotson kept Saints on terms with a smart save to deny Finlay Corke at the other end.
Abbotson then kept out a Norwich penalty before half time, thwarting La’Sean Sealey’s spot-kick.
Saints took full advantage of that reprieve when Nick Oyekunle dispatched a free-kick of his own two minutes before the break.
The Canaries threatened an instant response when Toby Chilvers struck the post, and Norwich’s pursuit of an equaliser continued into the second half, as Rio Mundle, Sonny Rowland and Corke all came close.
But it was Saints who scored what felt like the game’s all-important second goal when Newman picked out the top corner from Josh Pitts’s pass with just 17 minutes to go.
Having finally established a two-goal cushion, Saints were hanging on when Norwich gave themselves a lifeline three minutes later as Sealey forced the ball home from a corner.
The visitors would come unstuck four minutes from time when Corke finally found the goal he had been threatening all afternoon, and Norwich might even have won it had Abbotson not kept out Miles Bracking’s late header.
Saints were reduced to ten men five minutes into added time as Korban McMullan was shown a second yellow card, and would ultimately have to settle for a share of the spoils.
Norwich: Bullen, Oligbo, Okpiabhele, Adelusi, Ozcan, Rowland (Northover 63), Bracking, Mundle (Ofori-Manteaw 63), Chilvers, Corke, Sealey.
Unused subs: Binnie, Keita, Owen.
Goals: Sealey (76’), Corke (85’).
Yellow cards: Oligbo.
Saints: Abbotson, Adjei-Afriyie (Okonola-Matthews 81), Sewell, Sesay, Dobson-Ventura, McMullan, Newman, Martin, Daley, Goremusandu (Pitts 69), Oyekunle.
Unused subs: Upstell, Sheaf, Bassega.
Goals: Oyekunle (43’), Newman (73’).
Yellow cards: Sewell, McMullan, Okonola-Matthews, Oyekunle.
Red card: McMullan.
