Norwich City turn back the clock for Alex Neil
Norwich manager Alex Neil praised his side after a 2-1 friendly win against FC Augsburg. Picture by Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd - Credit: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd
Norwich City's second-half fightback to beat German Europa League hopefuls FC Augsburg brought back good memories for Alex Neil.
The Canaries' surge to the Premier League under the Scot's stewardship last season was notable for a number of late shows against the likes of Bournemouth, Bolton and Leeds, and Neil hailed City's comeback in Prien as a positive sign.
Piotr Trochowski's dipping free-kick appeared to deceive John Ruddy six minutes after the interval following an opening period when the City number one had underlined his shot-stopping prowess against the slick Bavarians.
Youssouf Mulumbu levelled following a sweet team move triggered by Seb Bassong and Wes Hoolahan's killer slip pass before Lewis Grabban raced clear to beat former Arsenal keeper Alex Manninger to cap a satisfying finale to the club's week-long tour of Austria and Germany.
'It wasn't just two goals, but two good build ups. Some of the interlinking was great, linking defence to midfield and moving between the zones was very good,' said Neil. 'That was a feature of our play last season when we got up and running, certainly towards the end, we were really good at that and you can see signs just now we are getting back to those heights.
'To come back from a goal down against a good calibre of opposition was pleasing. I think the free-kick just moved rather than took a deflection
'I was right behind it and it was dipping and then swerved the other way. I'm sure John will have a look at the video and see if he could have done better.'
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City flew straight back to Norwich following the game after a more than worthwhile training trip for Neil.
'I think it was fantastic, a great trip,' he said. 'We had two good games, got everybody game-time and then finished off against a good competitive team with a win. All in all the players are certainly fitter going home. We picked up little to no injuries, obviously Cameron (Jerome), inset, has a bit of a problem with the sole of his foot but he shouldn't be too long. Cam is making good progress. He is doing straight line running so it is just a case of getting him twisting and turning and that is him back available for training.'
