A late winner from Theo Cutler secured back-to-back three points for City at the start of their Premier League Cup campaign.
After a goalless first half where City had the better of the chances, the Grecians opened the scoring just seven minutes after the interval. Amani Richards had found joy down the right all evening, and his low cross was turned into the net by a Canaries centre-back.
A quadruple substitution swayed the match in Norwich's favour, and after an equaliser three minutes from time it appeared momentum was only going in one direction. However, match reports were rapidly re-written in the 90th minute when, after great play from Caleb Watts to find him, Theo Cutler finished excellently to hand City the victory.
PDP coach Dan Green, leading from the dugout, made three changes to the starting lineup from City’s opening Premier League Cup game at Bromley. Jay Bird, the starting eleven’s only overage player, earned his first start in red and white, as did Leicester loanee Amani Richards. His namesake Jake continued his comeback after an injury-plagued start to the season in the centre of midfield. First team player Caleb Watts was named on the bench as he looked to build fitness, having been sidelined for a month following a knock against Walsall.
First Half
To say that City started the brighter of the two teams was an understatement. Within 10 seconds of a Norwich kick-off, A. Richards won the ball, sprinted down the left, and earned a corner after his attempted cross was blocked. Though the initial corner was cleared, City recycled the ball back out to J. Richards, who squared it to Bird but he couldn’t keep his shot down as it cleared the crossbar.
City dominated early possession, focusing their attacks down the wings through A. Richards and Mitch Beardmore, though the chances they created narrowly evaded Bird in the middle.
Norwich began to grow into the game, and almost had their breakthrough on nine minutes had it not been for Harry Lee in City’s goal. The young stopper held firm to palm Errol Mundle Smith’s fiercely struck near-post effort away from danger.
As wind and sideways rain wildly lashed St James Park, the match settled into a rhythm of City on the ball, looking to play down the wings while pressing the visitors high towards their own box when not in possession.
Bird was then replaced by Theo Cutler in a pre-planned substitution aimed at managing the striker’s return from injury. Cutler almost made an immediate impact when Liam Oakes sent a ball into the box after spotting space in Norwich’s inside-right channel inside the box, but Cutler’s touch was turned behind.
From that corner, Norwich launched a dangerous counterattack, creating a three-on-two situation as they raced into City's half. When the ball fell to Fin Welch on the left side of City’s box, however, he lost his composure and blasted his shot into the empty Big Bank stand.
But City posed their own threat on the break. Deep inside his own half, Jake Richards won the ball back and dribbled past three Norwich players with ease, before finding Tom Dean in the centre circle. Dean turned and sprayed a pass out wide to A. Richards, whose cross was cleared for another corner.
The corner was played short to A. Richards, who drove into the box and fired a shot at Caleb Ansen in the Norwich goal. The rebound fell to Cutler and his marker just yards out, but the ball bounced off them both and deflected straight into Ansen’s arms, keeping the game goalless at the break.
Second Half
In the same way they began the first half, City started the second on top, but this time they made it count.
A. Richards sprinted down the right before drilling a cross into the box. Under pressure from Cutler and Pedro Borges, Norwich skipper Jon Tomkinson turned the ball into his own net to give the Grecians the lead.
Mitch Beardmore delivered the ball into the box, finding Amani Richards in acres of space, having exploited Norwich’s zonal marking. However, his shot flew over the bar.
The Grecians began to find their rhythm, and it was Pedro Borges who came closest next. Beardmore sprinted down the left and squared the ball to Borges inside the box, but the Norwich keeper somehow managed to palm the ball onto the post from close range.
In an attempt to regain control and disrupt City’s momentum, Norwich made four substitutions 20 minutes into the half. The changes did give the Canaries a slight edge, though Harry Lee remained relatively untroubled in City’s goal.
Theo Cutler had a golden opportunity to double City’s lead when Liam Oakes intercepted a clearance and played him through, but Cutler’s low shot went narrowly wide.
Norwich continued to apply pressure, forcing Lee into two crucial saves, but with two minutes left, they finally found their equaliser. Fin Welch cut inside and unleashed a shot well beyond Lee’s reach, bringing the game level.
With many in the stands expecting the match to end in a draw, City had other ideas and produced a dramatic finale. Caleb Watts, introduced as a substitute, dropped his shoulder to beat a defender at the halfway line before chipping a pass to Cutler. The young striker still had plenty of work to do, but he muscled past a defender and smashed the ball into the net, securing three well-deserved points for City.
Next up in the Premier League Cup, the Grecians will travel to face Bristol City on Monday, 11th November.
Exeter City Under-21s: Lee, A. Richards (Watts), Cummins, James ©, Cayless, Beardmore, Oakes, J. Richards (Cartwright), Dean, Borges (Crees), Bird (Cutler).
Substitutes: Phillips (GK), Cartwright, Watts, Crees, Cutler.
Goals: Own goal 52’, Cutler 90’
Norwich City Under-21s: Ansen, Okwumo (Bridge), Mahovo, Tomkinson ©, Wilson, Djedje, Ogwuru (Doy), Bracking (Forbes), Mundle-Smith, Roberts (Gee), Welch
Substitutes: Finch (GK), Day, Forbes, Gee, Bridge
Goals: Fin Welch 88’
Attendance: 318