Sebastien Bassong laid claim to a return to Norwich City's first team by playing an hour for the club's under-21s last night – in front of watching manager Alex Neil.

The 28-year-old put in a good shift for the under-21s, directing proceedings from his central defensive position and leading the younger Canaries players with some commanding orders.

He helped City to a 1-0 victory against the under-21 side of German club Borussia Mönchengladbach, thanks to an excellent finish from young striker Carlton Morris in the 63rd minute.

Bassong, along with senior left-back Javier Garrido, was substituted after 61 minutes and City's under-21s manager, Paul Wilkinson, was pleased with their efforts.

'They were all terrific. Him, (Ignasi) Miquel and Javi (Garrido) all showed good professionalism, which I know they will, I expect that from them,' Wilkinson said.

'And the boys know that when they come into the team that they'll expect my boys to be up to the level that they want as well.

'That's what we all expect at the club and I thought the whole team gelled well and it was very pleasing.'

Bassong will now hope to feature for the Canaries at Birmingham City on Saturday, with Wilkinson adding: 'The most important thing is that he got through his minutes here and he's fit and ready to go, as the other two are, and I'm sure they'll all be involved again at the weekend.'

Match report: Norwich City U21s 1 Borussia Mönchengladbach U21s 0

Wilkinson was also happy with the performance of his younger players, keeping alive their hopes of qualifying from Group A of the Premier League International Cup, now knowing that they will qualify for the quarter-finals if they win their final match against Porto.

'It was an all-round team performance, every single one of them put a shift in and to be fair I thought we thoroughly deserved it over the 90 minutes,' he added.

'The boys set off on the front foot and maintained that mainly throughout the game. We had little spells but they never really had us under any pressure and I thought it was a thoroughly professional performance.'

The former Grimsby Town striker also praised the quality of the goal from Morris, who played despite currently being on loan in League Two with York City.

'It was terrific, Carlton is one of those that sometimes instinct finishes are better for him and he's taken it on his chest and volleyed it without thinking, it was a great finish,' Wilkinson continued.

'Great run, great ball by Josh (Murphy) into his path and he's taken it off his chest and on the volley and it was a great finish.'

Match report: Norwich City U21s 1 Borussia Mönchengladbach U21s 0