Norwich 1-0 Bristol City: Alex Neil and Gary Johnson reaction

Norwich manager Alex Neil was pleased with his side's display after seeing them beat Bristol City 1-0 at Carrow Road to move up to second in the early Championship table.

A well-taken 38th-minute goal from Jonny Howson was enough to earn the Canaries a deserved victory that banished memories of Saturday's frustrating goalless draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

Neil said: "That was a very pleasing performance. We were a bit tentative for the first 10 minutes or so but then we settled down and played some really good stuff.

"We got our goal and also hit the woodwork a couple of times and in the end I think it was a relatively comfortable win. That's seven points out of nine now, which is a good start in what is a very tough league, and sets us up nicely for the derby on Sunday. We are all looking forward to that and I know the fans are too."

Neil saved special praise for veteran midfielder Wes Hoolahan, who set up the only goal with a deft flick.

He added: "From a technical and vision point of view I think Wes is as good as you'll get in the Championship. He is a key player for us in and around the box and also works hard on the defensive side of his game too.

"He just seems to get better and better with age and long may that continue."

An encounter between two sides who had started the season well was an entertaining affair with Norwich having the edge but their visitors showed why they had won their first two matches by giving them a decent game.

The Robins went close to taking the lead midway through the first half when Jonathan Kodjia worked himself a sight of goal before seeing his fierce drive well saved by keeper Michael McGovern, who was making his full debut.

Norwich largely bossed the game after that and scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 38th minute following a sustained spell of pressure.

It ended with Josh Murphy picking out Hoolahan on the edge of the sea, with the Republic of Ireland star then slipping a delightful little pass into skipper Howson, who finished with aplomb.

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Bristol City boss Gary Johnson was pleased with his side's display despite seeing them come away empty handed.

He said: "I thought the lads were excellent. If we had scored late on it certainly wouldn't have been a smash-and-grab raid. We weren't too far away from getting a comfortable draw.

"It is sometimes easy to forget what a young group we have got here and for large chunks of the game we matched a really top side. We won our first two games - but this is the best football we have played so far.

"We fell a bit short at the end of the first half when they pushed us back a bit and got their goal. We tactically switched off a bit to allow them space for the goal but overall I was very pleased with the performance.

"It's a good marker for us and on another night we could easily have come away with something."