Bennett chirpy as Canaries edge towards survival

Norwich 2 Reading 1

After Ryan Bennett netted early in the second half, Elliott Bennett struck almost immediately for Norwich’s second win in 17 Premier League matches.

The crucial victory saw the Canaries move seven points clear of 18th-placed Wigan with four games to play – the fixtures coming against Stoke, Aston Villa, West Brom and Manchester City.

“It’s an amazing three points and a brilliant feeling to get back to winning ways,” Elliott Bennett said.

“It’s been a long time coming for us – we haven’t been on a great run. We had a really good run earlier on in the season and hopefully we can go on a little bit of a run to end the season on a high.”

Norwich started well, but Reading weathered the storm before a similar fast start in the second half was rewarded with two goals, only for Garath McCleary’s strike to set up an anxious conclusion.

Elliott Bennett, whose shot went in under the legs of Reading goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, said: “We started the first 25 minutes in the first half brilliantly, but we didn’t manage to get the goal.

“We did the same in the second half. We got two goals in quick succession and perhaps could’ve had a few more. We didn’t manage to and we made it twitchy like we always seem to.

“I had two shots in the first half that I was disappointed didn’t hit the target and a scruffy one went in. The main thing is getting three points and Premier League survival. Hopefully we’ve taken a step towards that.”

The Royals have five points on the road this season and now are 10 points adrift with 12 to play for following defeat in Nigel Adkins’ fourth game in charge. The former Southampton boss appears to have resigned himself to focusing on an immediate return to the top flight next season.

“We have to be realistic now,” said Adkins, whose side’s fate could be confirmed if Villa beat Manchester United tonight.

“Let’s not hide away from where we are in the division. It was always going to be a massive challenge. We’ll learn the lessons from this game and we’ll get ourselves ready for the next one.

“Obviously we’re at the wrong end of the division, but we’ve got to keep building on what we’re doing.”