By admin 
Substitute Leon Chiwome scored on his return to action, as Wolves under-21s took a share of the spoils from their opening Premier League Cup fixture at Norwich City.
The striker, playing his first minutes of the season following a period out injured, pounced with just two minutes left on the clock to secure a point in Group C.
Ethan McLeod had given James Collins’ side an early lead with his first goal of the campaign, before the Canaries fought back through Ken Aboh and Harry Brooke at the Lotus Training Centre.
The visitors were quick out of the blocks and found themselves in the lead inside the opening eight minutes through McLeod’s first of the season. The striker had already seen an effort saved by Caleb Ansen but wasn’t to be denied a second time shortly after. Neat play from back to front saw Kam Kandola feed it into the feet of debutant Tawanda Chirewa who expertly threaded a defence-splitting pass in behind the Norwich defence, which McLeod latched onto and clinically fired in at the near post.
Kandola ➡️ Chirewa ➡️ McLeod ⚽️#PLCup pic.twitter.com/ZqF1I43Qzx
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) September 19, 2023
However, the Canaries weren’t behind for long and levelled on 16 minutes. A similar ball in behind caught the Wolves backline off-guard and Aboh had space and time to fire across goal, picking out the bottom corner past Palmi Arinbjornsson.
Norwich came closest to taking the lead later on in the half, but Wolves breathed a sigh of relief when Borja Sainz saw his long-range effort rattle back off the crossbar.
Half-time | Norwich 1-1 Wolves
The hosts took charge of proceedings eight minutes into the second half, as they took the lead for the first time on the night. Adian Manning’s free-kick deflected back off the inside of the post and rebounded to the grateful Brooke who was in the right place to fire home from close range.
Collins made a double change shortly after the hour mark as Chiwome and Mason Rees both came on, with the former making his first appearance of the season following a period out injured.
And Chiwome had half an opening as the Old Gold searched for a way back into the game. The striker did well to find space inside the penalty area and some good work from Marvin Kaleta saw him picked out in the centre, but Chiwome couldn’t divert his header on target.
Leon Chiwome makes it 2-2! ⚽️#PLCup pic.twitter.com/BKZPr9bLso
— Wolves Academy (@WolvesAcademy) September 19, 2023
At the other end, Arinbjornsson had to be alert as he was called into action as Waylon Renecke snuck in at the back post and forced to goalkeeper to get down low and push the ball around for a corner.
Wolves thought they should have had a penalty when Owen Hesketh was fouled outside the area before playing on and being hauled down inside the box, but the referee decided to bring the play back for the original foul much to the dismay of the away side. Moments later, Hesketh was in the thick of the action once again as he advanced into the penalty area and forced Ansen to save low with his legs.
Wolves’ persistence finally paid off and it was the returning Chiwome who found a leveller two minutes from time. Aaron Keto-Diyawa delivered a peach of a ball into the area and Chiwome got the first contact, before poking beyond the goalkeeper from a few yards out.
Both sides didn’t seem keen to settle for a point as the game entered additional time with Gabe Forsyth striking wide with identical efforts either side of Owen Farmer’s miscued header as the encounter ended level.
Full-time | Norwich 2-2 Wolves
COMING UP
Wolves under-21s are back on the road on Sunday afternoon, as they travel to face Liverpool in Premier League 2.
NEXT FIVE
- 24/09 Liverpool (A)
- 02/10 Leeds (H)
- 06/10 Bournemouth (H) PL Cup
- 10/10 Lincoln City (A) EFL Cup
- 16/10 PSV (H) PLIC
TEAMS
Norwich | Ansen, Fisher, Renecke, Warner (Wilson 82), Adegboyega, Brooke, Manning (Duffy 75), Djedse, Ogwuru (Dickson-Peters 46), Aboh (Forsyth 75), Sainz (Welch 46).
Wolves | Arinbjornsson, Kaleta (Ojinnaka 89), Keto-Diyawa, Hesketh, Kandola, Hubner, Birtwistle, Whittingham (Ashworth 82), E. McLeod (Chiwome 46), Chirewa (Rees 61), Farmer.