Bristol City 1 Norwich City 0: WITH one deft flick of his right boot, Bristol City's big Jamie McCombe consigned months of hurt to the past and instantly relieved the pressure which had held Ashton Gate in a vice-like grip.

A meagre return of one win in eight games, culminating in heavy defeat at Sheffield United, had created something akin to a siege mentality in BS3.

Unaccustomed as they are to under-achievement, management, Bristol City players and supporters alike manifested their discontent in the form of an insidious brooding during the fortnight break for international matches.

No wonder it felt possible to cut the atmosphere with a knife as City, having spurned a plethora of goal-scoring opportunities in the first half, laboured to break down stubborn Norwich after the interval. The tension was almost tangible.

Yet McCombe altered the mood at a stroke when, with 15 minutes remaining, he arrived in the right place at the right time to show those whose job it is to supply goals how it should be done.

Jamie McAllister's lofted free kick, delivered from inside his own half of the pitch, sailed over the covering defence and picked out the unattended McCombe who, timing his run to perfection, delivered the kind of finish more often associated with predatory strikers than towering central defenders.

McCombe's first goal of the season not only served to lift City spirits, but also represented a triumph of human will over adversity.

Sidelined for seven weeks after suffering a depressed fracture of the cheekbone, McCombe's injury masked a deeper anguish occasioned by the loss of his granddad and the subsequent death of his girlfriend's father.

Selected in place of the injured Louis Carey, the 6ft 5in Yorkshireman displayed character aplenty to quell the threat posed by former City forward Leroy Lita and then claim the role of unlikely hero for himself.

His iron resolve and steadfast refusal to bow to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune were mirrored by teammates who continued to believe in themselves even when events threatened to take a turn for the worse during an increasingly sterile second half.

Marvin Elliott and Lee Johnson had spurned clear-cut invitations to break the deadlock, while Canaries keeper David Marshall had frustrated Michael McIndoe, Liam Fontaine and the recalled Lee Trundle with the kind of saves which suggested this was not going to be City's day.

If the first half was an open affair, pleasing on the eye and full of attacking enterprise, the second half proved a let down, neither side quite possessing the wherewithal to surmount stubborn defence.

Left-back McAllister admitted: "We could have allowed our heads to drop after missing so many good chances, but we didn't.

"People talked of a loss of confidence after the Sheffield United game, but we've always believed in ourselves and that helped us to stay strong in the second half.

"We knew a goal would come eventually if we just kept plugging away and it was no more than we deserved when the big man popped up to score."

The product of set-piece practice on the training ground, City's goal owed everything to a last-minute change of plan.

McAllister revealed: "We'd practiced that particular free kick on the Friday with Jamie McCombe running to the back post. On this occasion, he decided to do things differently.

"As he ran past me, he told me to put the ball right down the middle rather than to one side of the goal, and it worked. I did what he asked me to and his movement killed their defenders. It was a great finish for such a big man."

McCombe proved equally effective in his own penalty area, combining with the impressive Fontaine to present a defensive bulwark against which the dangerous Lita was rendered ineffectual.

Apart from two snap shots which proved meat and drink to City keeper Adriano Basso, the livewire striker, on loan from Reading, failed to breach a well-organised rearguard.

On the one occasion when Basso and Fontaine were found wanting, victims of suspect communication, they were allowed off the hook by Matt Pattison's wayward shot.

McCombe's finishing proved rather more reliable and the home side should have added a second goal when Ivan Sproule shot at Marshall instead of passing to fellow substitute Nicky Maynard, who was more favourably positioned at the far post.

City have yet to rediscover the fluency which characterised much of their football last season, but this result nevertheless represents a significant staging post.

Defeat would have consigned Gary Johnson's team to 18th in the Championship table, instead of which City now head to Charlton Athletic tomorrow in eighth place and within a point of the play-off positions, their confidence restored by a victory which was as welcome as it was overdue.