Norwich 1 Chelsea 0: McGeehan spot on with late penalty in Youth Cup final first leg







Cameron McGeehan scored a stoppage-time penalty to give Norwich City a slender advantage entering the second leg of the FA Youth Cup final.

This match was hanging in the balance until Chelsea defender Alex Davey was adjudged by referee Neil Swarbrick to have brought down the marauding Joshua Murphy in the second minute of added time.

McGeehan didn’t shirk his captain’s responsibilities and fired high into the net past Mitchell Beeney to reward a magnificent Carrow Road crowd of nearly 22,000.

Chelsea had enjoyed more of the possession and all of the best chances, but they couldn’t fashion a goal to take back to Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time.

Late: Norwich's Cameron McGeehan smashed home from the spot to give the Canaries a slender first-leg lead

MATCH FACTS

Norwich City: Britt, Norman, Wyatt, McGeehan, McFadden, Toffolo, Murphy, Randall, Morris, King (Young), Murphy. Subs not used: Lokko, Reading, Hodd, Brown. Goals: McGeehan (pen) 90. Chelsea: Beeney, Aina, Davey, Ake, Wright, Baker, Kiwomya, Loftus-Cheek, Feruz (Musonda), Colkett (Swift), Boga . Subs not used: Killip, Conroy, Dabo . Booked: Aina Ref: Neil Swarbrick Att: 21,595

They came up against a solid and stubborn Norwich who seemed to grow in stature and confidence as the game wore on and would eventually gain their reward.

The Canaries had shown tremendous resolve to beat Nottingham Forest in the last four, having played an hour of the second leg with 10 men, but coach Neil Adams and his side knew this year’s NextGen Series runners-up represented a major step-up in class.

And any illusions to the contrary were shattered inside the first minute. Charlie Colkett found the always dangerous Jeremie Boga in acres of space down the left-side, his marker Cameron Norman nowhere to be seen.

Boga shaped to shoot but across came Norwich captain Cameron McGeehan just in time to slide in and block.

The Blues are the defending Youth Cup champions and their experience of this showpiece occasions shone through as they stroked the ball around with comfort and ease, particularly at the back.

Power: McGeehan gave Chelsea keeper Mitchell Beeney no chance with the emphatic penalty Pressure: Harry Toffolo of Norwich City challenges Chelsea's Islam Feruz

It was all slow-slow-quick from the back, with Alex Kiwomya, scorer of six goals in their run to the final, twice finding forward Islam Feruz after skinning Norwich left-back Ben Wyatt in the first-half.

Feruz, who made a name for himself in the continental NextGen Series this season, was uncharacteristically askew, with the first fired over the bar and the second wide of the near post.

Lewis Baker was Chelsea’s midfield metronome as usual, shielding the ball and searching out the most effective passes. But it was his set-piece prowess that caused Norwich major consternation on 28 minutes.

Baker’s ball to the back post looked overhit, but Nathan Ake, the Dutch defender who has played in the FA Cup and Europa League for Rafa Benitez’s first team, got a lucky break and forced William Britt into a reaction save at point-blank range. The ball ricocheted towards goal, but Norman hacked off the line.

Battle: Norwich's and Chelsea's Alex Kiwomya compete for the ball Tussle: Chelsea's Nathan Ake and Norwich City's Henry Randall compete for possession

And such urgent defending was required again shortly before half-time when Feruz leaped to loop a header towards goal. This time, Cameron King cleared.

Norwich hadn’t really been in it, with the Murphy brothers - Jacob and Joshua - kept in check and striker Carlton Morris, who scored a hat-trick at Everton in the quarter-final, marshalled by Ake and the impressive Alex Davey.

Gradually, the hosts built some momentum after the break and Jacob Murphy forced a through ball into Morris. Opting against a return to Murphy on the edge of the box, the striker curled a poor shot over the crossbar.

Tumble: Chelsea's Jeremie Boga takes a fall during the first leg

On 62 minutes, King spied Jacob Murphy’s run into space down the right side and supplied a perfect low ball - but once within sight of goal he could only slice an effort into the crowd.

As the game fizzled out to a goalless conclusion not uncommon in the first installment of these two-legged affairs, Chelsea dropped back a little deeper but were not unduly troubled at the back.

A ripple of excitement went round the ground when Jacob Murphy tore through the middle and played in substitute Rod Young, only for Chelsea 'keeper Mitchell Beeney to come out and collect the ball.

But then McGeehan's penalty electrified the Norfolk night and gave Norwich something to hold on back at the Bridge on May 13.

Delighted: Norwich coach Neil Adams was full of praise for his team after the final whistle

Norwich coach Neil Adams was delighted at the composure McGeehan showed in such a pressured situation.

‘He took the penalty with great aplomb, straight into the top corner,' said Adams. 'He’s confident, he’s has always said he wanted to take penalties and I think that was the best one he’s taken. And not a bad time of the game either, with just 20 seconds left.'

Adams also praised the way his players put their bodies on the line to keep a clean sheet.



He said: ‘They did everything I asked of them tonight, I thought they were outstanding in blocking shots and putting their faces sometimes in front of the ball. It’s what you have to do if you want to be a professional player. We know we’re dangerous on the counter-attack, but we had to dig in and do the dirty work as well.’

Safe hands: Norwich goalkeeper William Britt shows his delight at Norwich's win

And looking ahead to the second leg, he added: ‘They’ll come at us, they’ll want to dominate the game but we’ll have a game plan and we won’t be sitting back defending for 90 minutes. Whatever I’ve asked of the players throughout this competition, they’ve delivered.’

McGeehan, a lifelong Chelsea fan who lives in Brixton and played for the Blues between the age of 10 and 14, said of his penalty: ‘I’ve practiced quite a lot this year and I’ve scored a few, probably in front of about 20 people instead of 20,000! I tried to zone it out and took myself back to playing in the park and strike it as hard as I could.’