2 weeks Ago
Here is Samuel Seaman's verdict on Norwich City, who were soundly beaten by Millwall for their third consecutive defeat. Vicente Reyes Ironically one of his better performances since first breaking into the Canaries' first team last month, as he turned in a performance that the replaced George Long would be unlikely to improve upon. Although his failure to claim any set-pieces was a concern, the Chilean came off his line on multiple occasions to save the City defence, as well as completing a number of routine saves.
5 Jack Stacey Worked hard and covered plenty of ground, fulfilling at least the baseline requirements absent from many of his team-mates in the Good Friday defeat by Portsmouth. But his technical quality falls just short of what's needed to control possession and play Johannes Hoff Thorup's pass-heavy football effectively. Struggled to halt the impressive Femi Azeez.
5 Shane Duffy At the heart of a defence that conceded three cheap goals, but this wasn't as disastrous an afternoon for the Irishman as that might make it sound. On the ball he made no obvious errors, distributing effectively even when under pressure, and without it he made some vital blocks to keep the contest alive. Rose highest to score against the run of play.
7 Jose Cordoba The centre-back's sloppy work in possession led to the strike that changed the game in the eighth minute, and from there it didn't get much better for him. Also jumped into a tackle to give away the foul for Millwall's second, and offered little by way of progressive passing from the back. Continued a fairly poor end to his season.
4 Kenny McLean (C) Not the perfect performance, but as part of a team that looked far from unified, his work ethic and determination were welcome characteristics for the away side. One last-ditch tackle to deny Luke Cundle epitomised that, as he combined both defensive and attacking contributions throughout. Strong in the first half, but his influence faded once returned to his usual midfield position.
6 Jacob Wright Similarly to McLean, the Manchester City loanee started very strongly before seeing his influence wane after the break. In the first half he was everything his team-mates were not: high-quality, purposeful, physical and effective. But there was only so long he could keep it up for, and he faded into the background late on.
7 Jacob Wright impressed despite his team-mates' struggles (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Marcelino Nunez Briefly looked like the player that Norwich have missed in the early exchanges, covering ground and zipping balls around at pace. As soon as the first goal went in, though, he turned into the Nunez of Portsmouth or Plymouth defeats. Thereafter he was quieter and more inconsistent, picking up a yellow card for a clumsy challenge in the second half.
5 Emiliano Marcondes A very tough afternoon for the 30-year-old, who showed promising signs and scored a fine goal on Good Friday but saw hardly anything come off for him in the capital. Balls bounced off him, flicks were easily intercepted and passes were overhit. Always works as hard as he can, but that didn't make up for his poor afternoon on the ball this time.
4 Oscar Schwartau Kept running almost relentlessly right up until his substitution just after the hour mark, but similarly to Marcondes saw few of his attempts at creativity amount to anything significant. Looked tidy when he played it safe, but this wasn't a replica of his outstanding goal-scoring performance in the reverse fixture. 5 Oscar Schwartau was ineffectual despite his best efforts (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd) Borja Sainz Started off slowly, but when Norwich recovered from the first goal and made things more of a contest around the half-hour mark, he was at the heart of a lot of what they did right.
A couple of darts beyond opposition the like of which have been too few and far between since his early hot streak, but he still couldn't deliver much in the final third. Headed straight down the tunnel when replaced by Liam Gibbs. 6 Josh Sargent One of very few shining lights in a poor visiting team, battling with two impressive Lions defenders and still managing to link play well and get involved often.
The highlight of his game was a left-footed strike that whistled just wide of the far post, although other than that the American struggled to find many real openings. 6 SUBSTITUTES Liam Gibbs (on for Sainz, 61) Battled well and showed some decent technical quality, even when played in a bizarre left-wing position. Valuable minutes as he attempts to build match fitness.
6 Onel Hernandez (on for Schwartau, 62) Was a nuisance to the Millwall defence, but the right decisions and executions were lacking when he got to the penalty box. 5 Anis Ben Slimane (on for Marcondes, 62) A couple of tidy interactions, but nothing of any real significance to report. 5 Callum Doyle (on for Nunez, 76) Seemed to shore things up somewhat.
A tough game state for him to really impact from defence. 6 Jacob Sorensen (on for Wright, 81) Played a few simple passes with no trouble, offering little threat of any attacking thrust. 5.
