Koroma on target as Roeder takes note

Michael Bailey Norwich City Res 1, Colchester Utd Res 1: Omar Koroma sent out a reminder to his watching manager Glenn Roeder with his first goal for Norwich City as the club's second string drew with Colchester at Carrow Road last night.

Michael Bailey

Norwich City Res 1, Colchester Utd Res 1

Omar Koroma sent out a reminder to his watching manager Glenn Roeder with his first goal for Norwich City as the club's second string drew with Colchester at Carrow Road last night.

But a Simon Lappin penalty miss and an embarrassing slip from goalkeeper Stuart Nelson blemished a competitive yet scrappy game for the Canaries.

It took just three minutes of the second half for the Canaries to break the deadlock, after Luke Chadwick drilled in a low cross from the right-hand edge of the penalty area that found an unmarked Koroma, who tucked the ball past Mark Cousins at the far post.

With the second half continuing in a scrappy vein, Colchester equalised in fitting fashion as Scott Vernon's tame 65th minute shot inside the area ballooned up and slipped inexplicably through Nelson's fingers, probably not helped by the evening's wet conditions.

The Colchester side had Kit Symons watching in preparation for his first game as U's caretaker manager on Saturday, following Geraint Williams' departure earlier in the week.

Norwich started off on the front foot but had to wait until the 23nd minute for their first chance, James Hammond's woefully short backpass letting in Koroma, but too many step-overs saw his chance slip by before Danny Kelly's own effort was blocked on the line.

Lappin blew the perfect chance to open the scoring on the half-hour mark after Koroma, sporting some rather fetching shiny green boots, had his shirt tugged in the area, but the Scot smacked his spot kick against the bar.

City were far from having it all their own way. The impressive Troy Archibald-Henville prodded Medy Elito's dangerous centre clear five minutes before the interval, moments before United had their own penalty appeals waved away after Ben Griffiths went down.

Following Koroma's opener, Nelson tipped over Anthony Wordsworth's looping free-kick, while Koroma should have had his second after being put through by Lappin, but he took the ball too wide when rounding the keeper.

t Norwich (4-4-2): Nelson; Smith, Archibald-Henville, Stephens, Habergham (Dawkin 66); Chadwick (Daley 87), Adeyemi (Francomb 45), Lathrope, Lappin; Koroma, Kelly. Subs not used: Rudd, Cooper.

t Colchester (4-5-1): Cousins; Griffiths, Hammond, Baldwin, Nelson; Batchelor (Malton 64), McCloskey (Dennis 57), Corcoran, Wordsworth, Elito; Vernon (Sandsford 70). Subs not used: Cusack, O'Sullivan.

t Referee: L Betts. Att: 843