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GAME DETAILS
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Carling Cup
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Attendance: 18,658
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1-0
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Safri 45
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| Managers |
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DT92 Members at this game: (you can click here to load your profile picture) |
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miles gas
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gashead eric
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CANARIES EDGE PAST PIRATES
NORWICH CITY
Safri 45 1-0 BRISTOL ROVERS
ATTENDANCE: 18,658
Premiership side Norwich City scraped through to the third round of this season's Carling Cup after a narrow 1-0 win over Rovers at Carrow Road this evening.
Nigel Worthington's side looked the more threatening of the two teams through the majority of the 90 minutes of the round two clash, but failed to totally dominate proceedings against a side three divisions below them.
Rovers adopted a defensive 5-4-1 formation, with Junior Agogo the only striker in a starting eleven that was clearly picked with the intention of frustrating the Canaries.
Agogo was quick to get involved in things, and the striker forced a decent save from Norwich goalkeeper Robert Green in the opening few minutes.
The home side came back strongly though, with Damien Francis bursting down the flank only for the ball to skip away from him as he approached the penalty area, and then a slip by John Anderson allowed Gary Doherty through on goal one-on-one, with Kevin Miller having to make a superb save as the Premiership man let fire with a right-footed 15-yard drive.
Doherty tried his luck again moments later only for an angled header to creep a few yards wide of Miller's left upright, before Rovers came back with Agogo twice testing Green's alertness, firstly with a left-footed effort that went just inches wide, and then not long after with a header on goal that was easily held by the England shot-stopper.
Darren Huckerby saw a shot deflected over the Rovers crossbar, and then a pass from Francis towards Paul McVeigh was just a yard or two too far forward for the Norwich man to connect with.
The Canaries thought they'd taken the lead midway through the first half only to be denied by a well-positioned referee who saw Doherty climbing all over Christian Edwards' back as Adam Drury fired home, and then it was Rovers' turn to break forward with a Steve Elliott run and shot which Green did well to block as he got down low at his near post.
Green saved again as Stuart Campbell tried his luck from 25 yards out, and then another burst forward from Elliott needed the Norwich goalkeeper to save once again, as he readjusted his balance to hold onto the defender's deflected attempt.
Anderson blocked a Francis effort on goal as the opening 45 minutes appeared to be virtually over, but then in stoppage time at the end of the first half Norwich edged themselves a goal ahead, after a low right-footed rocket from Youssef Safri from the edge of the penalty area beat Miller and found the back of the net.
The second half began brightly for Rovers, with Elliott again trying his luck on goal, this time it was a header from the defender that Green saved well as he clutched the ball from above his head.
Norwich came back with a Gary Holt cross towards Doherty that the Irishman only just missed, and then Francis burst into the Rovers box before diverting his shot wide of the target from the right side.
Agogo turned on the edge of the Norwich box before firing a shot narrowly wide of the target, and then at the other end Miller got down well to deny Huckerby.
Substitute Aaron Lescott needed to clear off his own line as the Premiership side pegged Rovers back with a spell of concerted pressure, before another substitute, Craig Disley, squandered his side's best opportunity of the game as he controlled and turned well in the Norwich box, before rifling a shot over Green's crossbar.
Miller made a superb save to deny Francis, before Rovers' final real chance of the game came from a 25-yard Elliott free-kick that Green was able to dive to his left and hold onto.
Norwich had a final surge forward on the visitors' goal with a David Bentley shot that sailed high and wide of Miller's right upright, before the evening was marred from a Rovers point of view in the final moments, as Elliott collected two yellow cards in three minutes to receive his marching orders.
It was a useful exercise for Rovers who competed well for most of the 90 minutes with a talented Premiership side, who have already shown their quality in the English top flight this season with draws against established clubs including the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.
But for Rovers the league is the most important thing this season, and while Ian Atkins will be pleased with the way his players performed for much of the contest this evening, the dismissal of Elliott and his resulting one-match suspension will have left a bitter taste in the manager's mouth.
Kevin Miller
Craig Hinton
Steve Elliott
Christian Edwards
John Anderson
Jon Beswetherick
Ali Gibb
Paul Trollope
James Hunt
Stuart Campbell
Junior Agogo
Lee Thorpe
Jamie Forrester
Richard Walker
Craig Disley
Aaron Lescott
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YellowJen
86 |
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allgas
79 |
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LearGas
78 |
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ProgrammePete
78 |
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stevegas
73 |
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richardstad
42 |
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Gasman83
39 |
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stephen292
37 |
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markbrimson
37 |
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frazmac
19 |
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