The Canary fans who cheered their team at the end of the match at Craven Cottage, in spite of the 5-0 scoreline, were rewarded for their loyalty at Carrow Road, where City were much the better side and deserved all three points.
The fact that they had to settle for a draw was in no small measure due to the match officials. When Djibril Cisse went down rather easily under a challenge from Norwich debutant Sebastien Bassong, in the nineteenth minute, no one on the pitch - or in the ground - could have expected referee Mark Clattenburg to award a spot kick.
Justice might have been done if John Ruddy's penalty save from Cisse had not rebounded to Bobby Zamora who smashed the loose ball into the net from close range, having encroached some three yards into the
penalty area when the spot kick was taken!
This was rough justice on the home side who had gone ahead after eleven minutes when man-of-the-match Simeon Jackson headed in a left wing cross from Anthony Pilkington at the far post, after good work from Robert Snodgrass.
In the twenty-fourth minute Clint Hill was booked for a foul on Grant Holt, who was giving him plenty to think about, and when Hill committed a similar offence he was lucky not to see a second yellow card.
Not surprisingly, he was replaced by Nedum Onuoha at the start of the second half, but with the Norwich back four looking solid and plenty of movement in midfield it seemed only a matter of time before City's second-half dominance would produce a winning goal.
When Robert Green handled the ball outside the area, everyone except the officials seemed to see it, but the former City keeper escaped punishment.
Russell Martin, the only back-four survivor from the Fulham game, was probably too honest for his own good by staying on his feet after being fouled in the QPR penalty area. He was also unlucky to see his looping header rebound off the visitors' crossbar.
Needless to say, the City manager was well pleased with the much improved performance after the 5-0 defeat at Fulham and things really can only get better, once the newcomers have settled in and the Ghana- born, Norwegian international, Alexander Tettey obtains clearance, following his move from French side Rennes.
Finally, a word of praise for Leon Barnett who fully justified his recall to the starting line-up after a very long absence. He and Bassong did not miss much in the air and no one would have suspected that this was the first time they had played alongside one another at the centre of the Norwich defence.
FULL-TIME: City 1 QPR 1