Aston Oxborough made his return from injury as Norwich City Under-23s brought an end to a run of 13 games without a victory on Friday night.
The young Canaries beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Colney thanks to goals from Icelandic midfielder Isak Thorvaldsson and top scorer Anthony Spyrou, the striker scoring his ninth goal of the season – and for a fourth successive game.
Goalkeeper Oxborough was back after three months out with a wrist injury, picked up while warming up with the first team when he featured as a substitute during the win at Reading in September, and made an important early save from a Villa header.
Thorvaldsson fired the hosts in front with a 25-yard shot from distance in the 34th minute, with his effort deflecting past visiting keeper Sam Lomax,
Spyrou doubled the lead in the 54th minute when strike partner Adam Idah held up the ball and the forward went past two defenders before slotting past the keeper.
The visitors pulled a goal back with 10 minutes remaining but City held on for a first PL2 win of head coach David Wright's reign.
Next up is another Friday night match under the floodlights at Colney, facing Tottenham Hotspur U23s in City's final Group C game of this season's Premier League International Cup, knowing they must win to have any chance of reaching the knockout stages.
City U23s: Oxborough; Odusina (C), Lomas, Jones, Richards; Payne, Thorvaldsson; Scully, Spyrou, Coley; Idah. Unused Subs: McCracken (GK), Omobamidele, Milovanovic, Kamal, Dronfield
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