U21s Report: Leicester City 2 Norwich City 1

- A Joe Dodoo double secured a 2-1 victory for the Foxes after Benny Ashley-Seal had earlier given Norwich the lead 

- City will take on PSV Eindhoven (16 November) and Villarreal (1 December) at King Power Stadium in their other two Group C fixtures 

Leicester City’s Development Squad kicked-off their Premier League International Cup campaign with a victory over Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening. 

The visitors were ahead after three minutes following a neat finish from Benny Ashley-Seal, but a typical battling performance from the Foxes then followed. 

A well-taken strike from Joe Dodoo shortly before the break saw City equalise, before the winger pounced on a deflected Jacob Blyth effort with 10 minutes to play. 

Blyth’s low drive bounced up off a Norwich defender and into the path of Dodoo, who nodded in on the line to secure all three points for his side. 

Norwich had already played two fixtures ahead of Tuesday’s game, having lost 3-0 to PSV Eindhoven before winning 1-0 against Villarreal last time out. 

Meanwhile, City tasted success for the first time this term in their last fixture, as they beat Manchester City 3-1 in the Barclays U21 Premier League on 4 October. 

Hoping to emulate last season’s excellent form in this competition, the Foxes started with real intent as Danny Rowe nodded Jak McCourt’s cross from the right wing goal-bound, only to see his effort saved by Norwich shot-stopper Ben Killip. 

The visitors then mounted a swift counter-attack and took the lead with just three minutes on the clock as Ashley-Seal converted from deep inside the City box. 

Leicester responded well as Elliott Moore had two chances to level the game. First, the defender saw his low strike blocked on the line with 12 minutes gone, before coming close again shortly after as his towering header was tipped away from goal by Killip. 

City’s pressure finally paid off nine minutes before the break as skipper Dodoo pounced on a loose ball, slotting in past Killip to haul his side level. 

The Canaries did have a chance to restore their lead on the stroke of half-time, but Ben Chilwell put in an excellent tackle to block substitute Louis Ramsay’s effort deep inside the box. 

The visiting side came closest to scoring next as Jamie Eaton-Collins slotted just wide, before Ramsay lifted an effort over from eight yards shortly after. 

Ramsay threatened again after the hour mark, firing over from 20 yards, but it was City who would net the decisive strike with 13 minutes to play. 

McCourt found Blyth, who cut inside from the right before hammering a low drive that deflected into the path of Dodoo. The winger rose well and nodded in on the line to make it 2-1 to the Foxes. 

Opportunities for Cedric Kipre and McCourt followed, before the visitors had a late spell of possession that City defended admirably against. 

Leicester continue their U21 Premier League campaign against Middlesbrough on 26 October and Sunderland on 2 November, before taking on PSV Eindhoven in the International Cup at King Power Stadium two weeks later. 

CITY: Maddison, Miles (Kipre 58), Chilwell, McCourt, Moore, Johnson, Dodoo (c), Cain, Blyth, Panayiotou, Rowe (Stankevicius 58) 

SUBS NOT USED: Choudhury, Smith-Varnham, Ndukwu 

GOALS: Dodoo 36, 77 

NORWICH: Killip (c), Wisdom (Coker 72), Hall-Johnson, Grant, Norman, Efete, Eaton-Collins, Mulumbu (Crowe 63), Ashley-Seal (Ramsay 26), Odjidja-Ofoe, Cantwell 

SUBS NOT USED: Oxborough, McIntosh 

GOAL: Ashley-Seal 3 

REFEREE: Robert Massey-Ellis 

ATTENDANCE: 2,026