The squad travelled over to Germany early on Friday morning and used Friday to get settled in their accommodation and for a training session on a cold afternoon. As the tournament started on Saturday the Canaries didn't really know what to expect. The opposition consisted of a mix of German teams from professional and top amateur clubs together with a range of foreign sides. With no indoor football being played in this form in the Academy the Canaries were going to have to learn quickly against sides that play indoors for all of their winter "break". The competition started well enough for Norwich as they beat Spanish soccer school Plan Marcet 4-1 in their first eight-minute game. The Spanish were a small side and City used their strength and skill to combine well to achieve a comfortable victory.

The City subs look on as Norwich attack against Marcet

Norwich on the defensive against Langenbochum

This early result should have given the Canaries the confidence to continue well through the competition but they failed at the next hurdle. Perhaps there was a touch of complacency as they lost 3-1 to amateur side Neptunia from Holland. The Dutch were a big side and Norwich allowed them too much room, subsequently suffering defeat. The next game was against Lok Leipzig - a well known club in Germany. City had several chances to take the lead but learnt how cruel the indoor game can be as they allowed Leipzig into the game and the Germans ran out 2-0 winners. It was a similar story against German side Langenbochum. City again failed to take their chances and lost 1-0.

By the time the last group against last year's winners Hertha Berlin came around the Canaries had clearly lost their rhythm and were looking forward to the end of the day. To their credit Norwich fought hard and played well against one of the strongest sides in the competition before going down 2-0. The second day saw Norwich with two play-off games for 17th to 20th place. The first game of the day looked like a potential banana skin against host club Viktoria Heiden with their vocal support. Just as on the first day City started well and didn't allow the hosts a chance as they put in a good performance to win 4-0. Unfortunately the second game was also a repeat of the first day as the Canaries lost concentration and went down by a similar scoreline to FC Bocholt.

All Change! City change the whole side after a goal against Viktoria Heiden

With some time left in the afternoon City went outside to play a 40 minute 9-a-side friendly against Rushden and Diamonds who had also travelled to Germany for the competition. Norwich seemed glad to be outside again (even if the spectators were not so impressed in the freezing weather) and ran out 4-0 winners against their English opponents. And so we came to the end of another weekend abroad for the Norwich City Academy with plenty of experience gained. Although Coach Ian Thornton and his squad were disappointed with their final position in the competition, as always they were a credit to Norwich City and hopefully will have gained a lot from the experience.

City climb high in the friendly v Rushden

It was VERY cold outside!

Results table Opponents Result Scorers Plan Marcet 4-1 Brindley, Joe Clark, Josh Little, Remy Gordon Neptunia 1-3 Remy Gordon Lok Leipzig 0-2   Langenbochum 0-1   Hertha Berlin 0-2   Viktoria Heiden 4-0 Jackson Ramm, Jordon Bond, Wyatt Hill, Remy Gordon FC Bocholt 0-4

City Line Up In Heiden

The Squad Jordan Bond, Richard Brindley, Joe Clark, Remy Gordon, Wyatt Hill, Josh Little, Remy Matthews, Jackson Ramm, Danny Savory, Andrew Wilton. Staff Ian Thorton (Coach), Colin Watts (Youth Development Officer), Ken Adey (Assistant), Damien Bowyer (Physio)

Report and Pictures courtesy of Paul Standley.