Norwich City vs Bristol City. Sky Bet Championship.
Carrow RoadAttendance25,715.
Saturday 23 September 2017 18:56, UK
Norwich were held to a goalless draw for the second home game in succession as Bristol City followed Burton Albion's lead by frustrating them.
The Canaries hit the woodwork in the first half and had an effort cleared off the line at the end of the second but the visitors also had their moments and a point apiece was just about right.
Having taken seven points from their previous three league games without conceding a single goal, Norwich went into the match in good spirits and created the better chances in a tight opening period.
The best of them came on the half-hour mark when Cameron Jerome's deflected effort fell nicely for Marco Stiepermann inside the six-yard box, only for the German fullback to drag the ball just wide when it looked easier to score.
Five minutes earlier Mario Vrancic had struck the outside of the far post after being set up by Jerome's cutback, while Jerome later had an effort rightly ruled out for offside.
Visitors Bristol City had plenty of the ball but their good work tended to peter out when they got close to goal. On-loan winger Jonathan Leko might have scored had he made proper contact with Nathan Baker's header into the danger area, but that was a rare first-half scare for Daniel Farke's side.
Norwich keeper Angus Gunn was called into action of the first time on 50 minutes when Josh Brownhill fired a low drive straight at him while at the other end Vrancic's free-kick from just outside the box was deflected over by the wall.
Gunn then needed to be alert to tip Jamie Patterson's lofted effort over the bar but it was the hosts who were exerting most of the pressure.
That elusive clear-cut chance was eluding the however and the Robins held out for a point they just about deserved.with Tom Trybull seeing a last-gasp effort cleared off the line by Brownhill.
Daniel Farke: "We didn't give away one clear chance and we created four or five good chances ourselves. There were some that we should have taken. I think we totally deserved to win this game but when you don't score obviously the next best thing is a draw.
"We have to live with the result and I can live with it because it was a really good performance, it was just the goal that was missing. That's now five games unbeaten and four clean sheets in a row, which is also pleasing. The lads deserve praise for the defending, which is brilliant right now. It is always the base to build on."
Lee Johnson: "I thought my defenders were outstanding. They were up against a really good side and did their jobs really well to limit them to only one shot on target in the whole game. We also had a few chances ourselves but overall I don't think we troubled them too much. It was one of those games where both sides defended well and, in the end, I think a point each was just about right.
"I am lucky that I can sleep well at night knowing that I have a set of players who will always give their all and carry out their jobs to the best of their ability. It is difficult for us to compare with sides like Norwich who still have the parachute payments - you just have to look down their squad list to see how strong they are. But we have come here and matched them and I am certainly pleased to go home with a point because this is a very difficult place to come."
