Cherries exit Carabao Cup at hands of Canaries

AFC Bournemouth bowed out of the Carabao Cup after Norwich City stamped their Premier League credentials on this second-round tie at Carrow Road.

The Canaries, beaten by Liverpool and Manchester City in their first two games in the top flight, made no fewer than ten changes while Cherries head coach Scott Parker made eight.

Daniel Farke’s team, who lifted the Championship title last season, netted three well-taken goals in the space of 21 first-half minutes to leave the visitors facing an uphill task after the break.

New signing Christos Tzolis opened the scoring with a deflected effort in the 12^th minute before finely-taken goals from Kenny McLean and Lukas Rupp gave the hosts a comfortable cushion.

Norwich continued to show their ruthlessness into the second half with Tzolis’s second of the game sandwiched by a double from United States international Joshua Sargent as Parker suffered his first defeat since taking the reins.

New signings Orjan Nyland and Morgan Rogers were joined in the Cherries starting line-up by Brennan Camp who was handed his debut by head coach Parker.

Academy graduate Camp, 20, joined the club in 2007, captained the under-18s and has had two successful loan spells with National League Weymouth.

Steve Cook also started for the first time this season having fully recovered from an injury he sustained in the first leg of the Cherries’ Championship play-off defeat by Brentford.

Kyle Taylor, another product of the club’s youth ranks, made his third appearance and first since he lined up in the FA Cup third-round defeat by Brighton at Vitality Stadium in January 2019.

The Canaries handed debuts to Greece international Tzolis, a £10m signing from PAOK Salonika, and Brandon Williams, who joined on loan from Manchester United on the eve of the clash.

Zeno Ibsen Rossi made an important interception to prevent Sargent’s cross reaching Tzolis before a promising move from the Cherries came to nothing after Leif Davis’s centre eluded everyone.

Both teams enjoyed their share of possession during the early stages until the Canaries drew first blood through Tzolis in the 12^th minute.

The teenage winger beat the offside trap by a matter of inches and chased down a ball from deep from McLean.

And after racing into the 18-yard box, Tzolis took aim, his shot taking a slight deflection off Ibsen Rossi before nestling in the back of the net.

Tzolis’s low cross was then scooped up at his near post by Nyland before a slick move involving David Brooks, Taylor and Marcondes ended with the former Brentford man’s centre being blocked.

As the Cherries went in search of an equaliser, Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn saved comfortably from Camp's header following a Marcondes cross.

The hosts doubled their lead through McLean following a sweeping move which saw Williams and Kieran Dowell combine to tee up the Scotland international.

Having been picked out by Dowell’s pass, McLean made his way to the edge of the 18-yard box and unleashed an unstoppable left-foot shot past the despairing dive of Nyland.

The Cherries were left with a mountain to climb when Norwich added a third through Rupp, the German midfielder finishing another quick move.

Williams nicked the ball off Gavin Kilkenny and slipped it to Tzolis who, in turn, fed Rupp, his effort beating Nyland and squeezing inside the upright.

The Cherries fell further behind just four minutes into the second half after Dowell had seized on a loose pass from Ibsen Rossi.

Dowell’s pass gave McLean an opportunity to test Nyland and, although the Cherries goalkeeper made a superb save to keep out his effort, Sargent was there to tap the loose ball into an empty net.

Kilkenny was booked for a foul and Rogers required a spell of treatment after taking the full force of Dowell’s venomous free-kick in the face.

Nyland saved comfortably after Tzolis had flicked on Dowell’s free-kick before a double substitution saw Ryan Glover and Chris Mepham replace Brooks and Emi Marcondes.

Tzolis added his second and Norwich’s fifth, the Greece international sweeping home Sargent’s pass after the American had seized on Nyland’s stray pass in the 66^th minute.

Cook’s error led to Norwich making it 6-0, the skipper gifting the ball to Tzolis who laid it into the path of Sargent, the striker stumbling and bundling the ball home.

Sargent and Tzolis both blazed presentable chances wide, the pair squandering opportunities to bring up their hat-tricks, while a Billy Gilmour shot was saved by Nyland.

The Cherries went close to grabbing a consolation when substitute Christian Saydee headed Camp's cross over the bar in added time before Nyland saved from Tzolis with the last kick of the game.

AFC Bournemouth: Nyland, Camp, S Cook, Ibsen Rossi, Davis, Kilkenny, Taylor, Pearson, Brooks (Mepham, 64), Rogers (Saydee, 82), Marcondes (Glover, 64).

Unused subs: Zemura, Moriah-Welsh, Anthony, Travers (g/k).

Booked: Kilkenny, Camp.

Norwich City: Gunn, Mumba, Omobamidele, Zimmermann, Williams (Giannoulis, 75), Rupp (Idah, 77), Sorensen, McLean (Gilmour, 70), Dowell, Sargent, Tzolis.

Unused subs: Hanley, Cantwell, Rashica, Krul (g/k).

Booked: Zimmermann.

Referee: Charles Breakspear.