Two late goals puts clear daylight between them and Swansea in third as the teams around them failed over the weekend to hold their nerve.
The Canaries got off to a flying start, with Grant Holt converting a 2nd minute penalty, but despite dominating the play couldn't add to their goal tally. They succumbed to a 65th minute breakaway goal from Albert Adomah, but the never say die home side got their just rewards with Henri Lansbury coming off the bench to restore their lead and Andrew Surman sealing the 3-1 victory in added time!
Paul Lambert had just one enforced change to make to the side that performed so well at Leicester with Aaron Wilbraham, having scored his first City goal, suffering from a back injury. Simeon Jackson made his 16th start of the campaign.
Norwich kicked off attacking the Barclay end goal and inside the first minute Zak Whitbread's lofted through ball was headed on - first by Holt then by Jackson - into the path of Wes Hoolahan. He dribbled the ball deep into the Bristol penalty area before his run was halted by Liam Fontaine's mistimed tackle.
Referee Carl Boyeson promptly awarded a penalty and although David James dived to his right, he got nowhere near Holt's fierce right-foot spot kick, which flew well beyond his outstretched finger tips and into the top corner of the net.
Other chances came and went for the home side. The nearest Norwich got to scoring a second goal came ten minutes before the break when Jackson was only a couple of inches away from getting a boot on the end of Russell Martin's low diagonal cross from the right wing.
A minute later John Ruddy was in action palming away a fierce shot from Adomah.
HALF-TIME: City 1 Swansea 0
Six minutes into the second half Adomah brought another good save from the Norwich keeper.
After sixty-five minutes clever footwork by Bristol Substitute, Jamal Cambell Ryce released Adomah down the inside right channel and this time, when the lively striker unleashed an angled drive from close range, Ruddy could only deflect the ball into the net off his outstretched legs.
At this point it looked as if the Canaries might have to settle for a point to lift them above the Swans and into second place in the league table, but the home fans have come to expect late goals at Carrow Road and they were not to be disappointed, because in the eighty-ninth minute Hoolahan lobbed a pass over the Bristol defence for Lansbury to take the awkwardly bouncing ball in his stride before placing an acrobatic right-foot volley past the helpless James.
Seconds later Lansbury's persistence set up Surman for a run on goal from the Norwich left and his left foot finish went through the keeper's legs and finished in the far corner of the net to put the icing on the Canary cake - a dish that was clearly to the liking of majority shareholder Delia Smith who celebrated the goal as enthusiastically as any Norwich supporter in another bumper crowd of more than twenty-four thousand.
FULL-TIME: City 3 Swansea 1