CHRIS LAKEY Norwich City went down 2-1 in their opening pre-season game of the summer at Exeter this afternoon. Manager Peter Grant “mixed and matched” for the opening half, with new signing David Strihavka opening up front beside fellow summer signing Jamie Cureton.

CHRIS LAKEY

Norwich City went down 2-1 in their opening pre-season game of the summer at Exeter this afternoon before a crowd of about 1500 - which included 200 Canary fans.

A disappointed manager Peter Grant said: “You could see it was the first 90 minutes. There was a bit of rustiness.” But he said the players had been working hard. “It was tough out there.”

Grant “mixed and matched” for the opening half, with new signing David Strihavka opening up front beside fellow summer signing Jamie Cureton.

There was no sign of player-of-the-season Darren Huckerby in the travelling squad, nor midfielder Dickson Etuhu, nor goalkeepers David Marshall and Matty Gilks.

Exeter went ahead on 11 minutes when Jamie Mackie took advantage of some sloppy defending to fire the ball into the net. A minute later it was 2-0 with Adam Stansfield giving the Conference side a surprise early advantage.

City stepped up a gear and Luke Chadwick fired into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit.