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Stoke 0 - Norwich 1: Howson winner relieves pressure on Hughton
JONNY HOWSON'S first-half strike gave Norwich their first away win of the season against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
Questions were starting to be asked at Norwich after Chris Hughton's side had won just one Premier League game in five.
And Howson's winner earned the Canaries boss some breathing space as Norwich move ahead of Stoke in the table and into 14th.
Norwich's 1-0 over Mark Hughes's side owed much to sloppy play from the hosts, who conceded possession and allowed Howson to collect the ball from Anthony Pilkington and beat Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from outside the box.
Norwich had already hit the crossbar through Ryan Bennett and were good value for their lead, with a shot from Marko Arnautovic whistling just over being the closest a subdued Potters side came in the opening 45 minutes.
Stoke improved after the interval and looked unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Leroy Fer had a hand on Kenwyne Jones in the area, before Begovic pulled off a smart save to keep out a Robert Snodgrass shot.
With both clubs struggling for goals this season, a tight affair had been expected and Norwich boss Chris Hughton will be delighted to have emerged from the contest with all three points.