Goalscorer Martin not blaming officials

Teenage striker Chris Martin reckoned he struck lucky last night in scoring for City for the fourth game in a row - but was disappointed to see his second goal ruled out in the 2-1 defeat by Derby.

Martin gave the Canaries the lead after 51 minutes with a powerful right-foot shot that Derby 'keeper Stephen Bywater let through his hands, his one fumble of a busy night's work.

“I think I got a bit lucky,” said Martin, now with five senior goals to his name in just nine appearances, four of those as a substitute.

“It slid under the 'keeper's hands but I just got my head down and took a strike on it and luckily it crept in the near post.”

The 18-year-old was denied an even better goal, however, by the linesman's flag.

He said: “I went through and slotted the ball away and thought I'd scored until I heard the referee's whistle. I was very disappointed. I haven't seen it played back but I don't think I was offside, but I think he should have brought it back for a free-kick anyway.”

However, Martin did not blame official Lee Probert for the result.

He said: “A few of the lads weren't too happy with his performance but we can't really blame the ref. We were sloppy towards the end there, giving the two goals away, and I think we need to take a bit of responsibility for that.”

Martin was more than a match for man mountain Derby defender Darren Moore and admitted: “He's a very strong lad. I won't play against much stronger than him. I'm still learning a lot. To play against players like that I think you have to come off them and not try to play against them because he's always going to be stronger than me. Don't make it out to be a fight.”

He added: “I think we played very well in long periods of the game. We were very unlucky. They just snatched a victory towards the end.

“We need to go to Cardiff and be positive there and I think we can win the game.”