Tsaroulla on Norwich FA Youth Cup win: 'I really loved it!'

Academy left-back Nick Tsaroulla spoke with passion and pride after helping us through to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup against Norwich City on Thursday night, declaring: “I just wanted to win that football match so badly!”

The 17-year-old, who has made real progress with our Under-18s this season, was superb both in defence and going forward as Kazaiah Sterling’s first-half brace secured a 2-0 victory over the Canaries in front of almost 700 fans at Stevenage.

One stand-out moment for Nick came with five minutes to go as he raced back to slide in and block Glenn Middleton’s shot inside the area, before once again stepping in with a well-timed tackle to thwart a Norwich break-away 60 seconds later.

“I love tackles like that!” he smiled afterwards. “I just wanted to win that football match so badly so going forward I want to continue making those challenges to help the team out and maybe save us sometimes as well when we’re not in a good position and the opponents are going through.

“Obviously it was a very hard game but as a group we stuck together, we showed fight, everyone won their individual battles – I think that was very important – and at the end it was just enjoyable to play in. I really loved it.”

Asked about the way the team defended the two-goal lead in the second 45 minutes, Nick added: “As a defender, the job is to keep a clean sheet and then if you can go forward as well, try to add a little bit more. As a collective I thought we were excellent – not just the back four, George Marsh in midfield as well. Everyone was defensively solid.

“It can be dangerous at 2-0 but I think it’s good to play under pressure – you’ve got to rise up to it and everyone did so I’m proud of us.”