City stand-in captain Gary Doherty hailed the Canary spirit after they overcame an awful Banks’ Stadium pitch to go three points clear at the top of League One on Tuesday night.
After the snow in Walsall – which meant this match was being played at the third time of asking – and recent heavy rain, the outfield was sodden and not without its fair share of divots.
But they’ve already seen off Stockport and Colchester on similar pitches and Doherty admitted they just had to get the job done.
And after Charlton and Leeds both slipped up, it could certainly prove to be a very important victory indeed.
“It really was exhausting,” said the former Republic of Ireland international, speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk after the 2-1 win.
“The pitch was terrible to play on and it was tiring – especially after we had to play for 10 men for a long time on Saturday against Brentford.
“We found it hard but we showed great courage and determination to get the win and get the three points.
“The pitch made it extremely difficult on our legs. You really have to concentrate the whole time and you’re having to smash the ball instead of pass it because it was difficult to play any football on it.
“But we’ve come across these pitches before, at Colchester for example, and we’ve got good results. Thankfully we’ve got maximum points here.”
It’s fair to say that City weren’t at their fluent best and before Chris Martin’s 77th minute leveller, it looked as if Paul Lambert’s men were facing their first league defeat in 15 games.
But this current Canary outfit are made of sterner stuff – even if the Norwich centre-back admitted they may well have taken a point with 15 minutes left on the clock.
“Yes we would probably have taken a point at 1-0 down. But with the way things are at the minute, with the spirit in the team, we’re just driving on.
“We needed the three points, with Leeds chasing us now. It’s a good position for us to be in, looking down on everyone else. We’ve just got to push on.”
It has certainly been a good week for fans of the Norfolk club, with Swindon and Leyton Orient doing City a huge favour in the promotion race.
And Doherty was under no illusions as to just how important the three-point haul in the West Midlands could be.
“These three points are massive, especially after Charlton’s result,” continued the ‘Ginger Pele’, in fine form at the heart of the City backline.
“One thing it does show though is that anyone can beat anyone in this division. For them to drop three points was massive for us and gave us extra incentive here.”
The absence of Grant Holt, who served the first game of his three-match suspension, meant Doherty had the skipper’s armband once again, after losing it to the 23-goal striker upon Lambert’s arrival at Carrow Road.
And the defender was glad to have it back, even if it meant they didn’t have their talisman leading the line.
But Doherty insists City can cope as they prepare to face Hartlepool on terra firma this weekend.
“I enjoyed it,” he continued. “We’re missing one of our best players but if we can stay in the top two by the time he gets back, hopefully he’ll be nice and fresh to return.”
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