Tyrese Omotoye is starting to reap the rewards of his hard work in the academy ranks at Norwich City, after grabbing the headlines with an EFL Trophy hat-trick.
The 18-year-old striker, who was born in Belgium but raised in England, scored the first three goals as the Canaries’ under-21s romped to a 5-0 win over League Two leaders Newport on Tuesday night.
The win - and progress to the knockout stages - was sealed by a long-range strike from Matthew Dennis and a penalty from Josh Martin.
City’s development squad coach, David Wright, speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk after the game, said: “It’s great for him but he works so hard. He works so hard at his finishing - at times we actually have to drag him off the pitch because he’s doing it at seven o’clock in the morning!
“But he’s now reaping the rewards of all that hard work. Obviously he’s still got a long way to go but if he continues on like this then he could have a bright future.”
Newport had named a totally changed starting line-up after a busy start to the season, reaching the fourth round of the League Cup, but still named plenty of experience alongside four teenagers - including 41-year-old former Morecambe winger Kevin Ellison.
It was similar as the Canaries youngsters beat League One side Plymouth 3-2 in their Southern Group F opener last month - with the victory at Newport sealing progress to the knockout stages of the Trophy.
“It’s a great experience,” Wright continued. “Plymouth we worked out it was about 1,750 Football League appearances in that Plymouth side.
“We’re a young group of 18 and a couple of 19-year-olds, to go up against seasoned professionals and perform the way they have been doing has been brilliant.
“I’ve been really pleased. Every single one of them has shown real courage to play the way we want them to play and with that courage they’ve shown their personality on the pitch, that’s what we’ve been asking them to do and they’ve got their rewards.”
City will travel to Cheltenham on Tuesday, November 10 (6pm kick-off), to decide who will finish top of the group.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here