Norwich City's under-18s captain Cameron McGeehan insisted cutting his Chelsea ties was the perfect career move after his FA Youth Cup final, first-leg stoppage time penalty helped sink the holders at Carrow Road.

The teenager spent six years as part of the Blues' academy set-up before moving to Norfolk, but McGeehan and the rest of Neil Adams' squad are now just 90 minutes away from dethroning the holders and lifting the club's first FA Youth Cup trophy since 1983.

'Once the game starts you forget you are playing against your old mates and you just concentrate on 11 players,' he said. 'Apart from maybe a couple of players they are all still the lads I played with. I was there from about 10 when Chelsea purchased me from Fulham and I spent six years there in total, but we came to a mutual agreement I wouldn't progress at Chelsea. I have moved to a great club in Norwich. I was happy to be signed and it has worked out really well for me. You see the support we had again from the fans. It was amazing to get 21,500 people watching. They really spurred us on and to get the right result at the end was superb and it was nice to give something back to them.'

McGeehan is confident the Canaries can scale similar heights when they head to Stamford Bridge for the return leg on May 13.

'We know what it takes – we had done the research and we hopefully can do the same at Chelsea,' he said.

'We'll look to bottle that atmosphere and use it in the next tie and hopefully we'll bring a few fans to Chelsea like we took to Nottingham in the semi-final. When you have the support behind you as well it gives you that extra yard, especially when you haven't had the ball for a while.

'We needed that boost and it paid dividends at the end with the goal. I have practised a lot of penalties this year and I have scored a few, but in front of about 20 not 20,000 people. You just try to zone it out and take yourself back to the training ground and just concentrate on the ball and trying to strike it as well as I could.'

Beaten Blues' boss Adi Viveash felt his side paid a heavy price for failing to punish Norwich in a frantic opening period at Carrow Road.

'In the first half we were exceptional, but it was a game of chances and we didn't take them. We have to be more ruthless in the final third and we could have been three up in the first 10 minutes,' he said. 'We played some fantastic football, controlled the tempo of the game, dominated possession, but goals change games and you need to get the goal.

'At half-time the game plan was working and we had some top performances. Norwich began to come into it in the second half and there were chances at both ends. We didn't take shots when we could, some shots got blocked, Norwich cleared off the line and the keeper made a good save from a corner. It just wasn't our night and we got done by the sucker punch at the end.'

Viveash expects the holders to prove their class to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit.

'I am still feeling very positive that we will put on a good show. It is a very exciting final and that is what you want,' he said.

• Norwich supporters can now purchase tickets for the second leg tie at Stamford Bridge on Monday, May 13 (7.45pm). Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for over-65s/under-18s. Club Canary coach travel is £15 per person with coaches scheduled to leave Carrow Road at 2.15pm. Tickets can be bought from the club's usual ticket outlets and must be purchased in advance with no tickets available on the night at Stamford Bridge.