Bristol City player ratings vs Norwich: Williams and Knight put on a clinic, Roberts on song

Max O’Leary - 6

There were a few dodgy kicks at the start of the game as Norwich pressed pretty relentlessly but O’Leary didn’t let it get to him and played his way back into the match. He wasn’t particularly troubled in the first half but had to be sharp to make a save in the second period from Jonathan Rowe. That said, this was one of his quieter games which tells its own tale.

George Tanner - 7

Eternally City’s Steady Eddie, there was nothing outstanding or highlight-grabbing from Tanner but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t another impressive display in the way he kept Norwich’s attacking forays to a minimum.

Rob Dickie - 7

Great to see him back in the side and there were a few hairy moments early on as he lost his bearings a little and wasn’t quite up to the pace of the game, up against one of the Championship’s best in Josh Sargent. But he was a tower of strength in defending the penalty area, heading pretty much everything away. He will be annoyed at the manner of Norwich’s equaliser though as they found a way through the middle of the pitch.

Haydon Roberts - 8

What a signing he’s turning out to be and it’s genuinely frightening he’s still only 21. Positionally excellent in defence to the left of Dickie, but on the ball he was magnificent with his passing and the way he drifted into midfield while his goal was a finish worthy of any striker. Fantastic.

Ross McCrorie - 7

He’s curbed some of his attacking instincts to always take his man on but that hasn’t made him any less effective because the Scot delivered a disciplined and measured performance but also one in which he gave the Robins plenty of width and kept Sam Mccallum’s involvement to a minimum.

Joe Williams - 8

It’s performances like which build the argument that a new contract is a no-brainer, albeit with various financial considerations. He played spoiler in chief and his use of the ball was fantastic throughout, controlling the pace and tempo of the game. City were just so dynamic through the middle of the park and Williams was central to that.

Joe Williams closes down Norwich City's Gabriel Sara (George Tewkesbury/PA Wire)

Jason Knight - 8

Can we please, please keep him in central midfield forever? Alongside Williams, the two City holders put on a bit of a clinic in terms of managing positional discipline with a willingness to make tackles, win second balls and constantly keep the Robins either in possession or in the Norwich half. A hugely impressive display from the Irishman.

Cam Pring - 7

Emerged from a challenging first half, in which Norwich repeatedly sent deep diagonals into his side of the pitch looking to exploit the space in behind. It worked on a few occasions with Jack Stacey having some joy but Pring mainly shut things down in the second period and also became more of an attacking force.

Mark Sykes - 6

It’s impossible to talk about Sykes’ performance without mentioning, and considering, that miss as he was sent clean through on goal only to tamely lift the ball over Angus Gunn and well wide of the post. A player of his quality should really be converting that. But outside of that moment he showed strong attacking intent and linked well with McCrorie down the right.

Scott Twine - 7

For Sykes, also maybe read Twine who had the bulk of the Robins best chances only to be denied by some impressive goalkeeping by Gunn and the crossbar, after his free-kick was deflected onto the woodwork. He had his head in his hands and was dumbfounded when Gunn kept out his effort in the second half, as he seemingly had the whole goal to aim at. It was a purposely performance by the loanee and he showed his value with the positions he took up.

Tommy Conway - 7

Although not to the degree of the two men above, he’ll also look back on this as an opportunity missed to add to his tally, although similar to Twine he was also denied by a fine Gunn save in the second half. He constantly had the edge over the slightly lumbering Shane Duffy and was a constant presence in the final third, in and out of possession.