Former Norwich City forward Derrick Lythgoe, who helped the Canaries to one of their first pieces of silverware, has died at the age of 79.

The inside forward spent four years at Carrow Road after signing from Blackpool in 1958 and enjoyed his finest moment in the first leg of the 1962 League Cup final against Rochdale when his two goals helped City to a 3-0 win in the away leg.

He was also in the side that completed the job seven days later with a 1-0 victory at Carrow Road – but that turned out to be his final game for the club, with a transfer to Bristol City following in the summer.

Born in Bolton on May 5, 1933, Lythgoe spent the early part of his career at Blackpool, then one of the top sides in the country, with the likes of Stanley Matthews, Jimmy Armfield and Stan Mortensen in the line-up.

Lythgoe was unable to break into the first team and caught the eye of City boss Archie Macaulay, who recognised the diminitive frontman as a useful addition to his squad.

The new striker scored on his debut, a 1-0 victory at Plymouth Argyle on March 22, 1958 and, while never a regular, went on to make 74 first team appearances, scoring 29 goals – a fine strike rate for a player who spent much of his time at Norwich in the reserves.

Lythgoe made 14 appearances during the famous 1958-59 season, scoring five goals, but never featured in the historic run to the FA Cup semi-finals, with Macaulay relying on the likes of Terry Bly, Bobby Brennan, Errol Crossan and Terry Allcock for his goals.

After a short spell at Bristol City Lythgoe returned to Norfolk and spent much of his 30s playing locally, with King's Lynn, Gothic, Lowestoft and Yarmouth, while he also worked in local government.

After hanging up his boots he coached locally and followed the career of his son Phil, a talented winger who made 12 first team appearances for City in 1978 and 1979.

Former colleague Terry Allcock paid tribute to his friend and former colleague, who joined the Canaries the very same week as the club's second highest goalscorer.

'We were both based in the north of England so we decided to hire a removal lorry and move to Norfolk together to save a bit of money,' he recalled. 'Derrick was a smashing bloke – he was never a moment's trouble to anyone. Everyone who met him was very fond of him and although he had been unwell for some time it is very sad news.'