Norwich City boss Andy Cook believes his players learned a great deal from facing a professional academy outfit in Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon in the Women's National League Plate.

Centre-back Hope Strauss scored the game's only goal from the penalty spot early in the first half as City edged past a Seagulls side made up of promising youngsters.

The most notable player in the visitors' starting line-up was 20-year-old striker Aisha Masaka, who is capped at senior international level by Tanzania and is set to feature for Brighton in the Women's Super League this season.

Cook was pleased with how his team withstood the pressure that was put onto them as the match progressed and feels that facing players of Masaka's calibre can only benefit them.



"They'll have learnt a lot," he insisted. "They (Brighton) were a quick side. It's not often you come up against players that are as good athletically as they were. Technically they were good as well.

"But they were still a young side and they made errors when they were playing the ball in-between and in the units, and that's what we wanted to try and expose.

"I think we did in the first half, a lot more than we did in the second. The second half we changed, and it was a different animal. We finished the game with a 3-5-2 and we wanted to be nice and solid.

"There were a few different bits (to learn from) throughout the game."

One of City's star performers was winger Holly Kennard, whose pace caused Brighton real problems, particularly in the first half.

Speaking post-match, Kennard revealed why she thinks her overall game has improved since her move from AFC Sudbury last year.

She said: "Now that I've got a more experienced squad (around me), I feel like it's a lot different.

"Playing with a younger squad, you don't have as much experience so you don't get to know the game.

"But playing with people that are older and who have played longer, I feel like that's made me a better player, and better as a team player."

Natasha Snelling goes up for a headerNatasha Snelling goes up for a header (Image: R.S.BROWN)

Kennard also discussed the competitive battle for starting berths in the City team, after being limited to substitute appearances in the first three weeks of the league season.

"It's tough but I think at some point, everyone will get their chance," she said. "I think you've just got to prove yourself to get your chance.

"I haven't been so fortunate yet, but I feel like (in) this game, I might've done just enough to prove myself for next week.

"It comes with both training and matches. In training, you have to put in the same work rate that you put into matches.

"You can't go into training thinking 'I'm going to be in the squad.' You've got to go into it thinking, 'my position might be taken by someone else, so I've got to be better than them.'"

City's reward for making it past Brighton is a trip to MK Dons at the end of September.

The Buckinghamshire side play in the same division as Ipswich Town, who the Canaries lost heavily to last month, but Cook anticipates that the Dons will provide a challenge City are more familiar with.

He stated: "They play pretty much all of their games at Stadium MK. It's a lovely stadium. I played there before when I was with (Nottingham) Forest.

"MK Dons are closer to us (than Ipswich) in regards to they'll be training a couple of times a week, players will be working during the day, so it's quite level.

"We're happy to pitch ourselves against tier three sides like that, as we were with Ipswich, but Ipswich is a different model because they could drive up to a hotel in Norfolk and chill out in the afternoon.

"We've got people who are doing all sorts of jobs in the day and then coming to play, so we've got to combat with that."

Norwich City (4-2-3-1): Quantrill (c); Medd-Gill, Flye, Strauss, Moore; Hailes, Powell (Booty 65); Densley (Johnston 90+3), Smith (Daviss 46), Kennard (Symonds 65); Snelling (Shaw 66). Subs not used: Locker, Cook.