Manchester United loanee Radek Vitek kept fourth clean sheet of the Championship season as Bristol City beat Norwich City at Carrow RoadRadek Vitek kept his fourth clean sheet in Bristol City colours against Norwich City(Image: Photo by Rogan/Bristol City)

Gerhard Struber has claimed that even he has been “a little bit surprised” by Radek Vitek’s start to life at Bristol City, after the goalkeeper played a crucial role in the Robins’ away win over Norwich City.

The Reds ended a four-match winless run against former boss Liam Manning’s Canaries, as Mark Sykes’ first goal of the Championship season in the second half proved to be enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win and send Struber’s side into the top six.

Just five minutes after he was introduced from the bench in place of Ross McCrorie, the Ireland international turned home from close range after Emil Riis flicked Anis Mehmeti’s cross into his path. Having set himself well, Sykes prodded past Vladan Kovacevic to send the travelling fans into celebration.

READ MORE: Norwich City 0-1 Bristol City live: Mark Sykes hands Robins second-half lead at Carrow Road

OPINION

While the Robins limited the home side’s scoring chances, they had to call upon Vitek on a couple of occasions. The Manchester United loanee produced smart saves to deny both Emiliano Marcondes and Josh Sargent from close range.

When asked what he made of the 21-year-old’s display in East Anglia, the head coach told Bristol Live post-match, “Very impressed, very impressed, and sometimes even a little bit surprised. He’s 21 years old, and he looks like an outstanding, experienced Championship goalkeeper.

“In this direction, he’s highly talented – I’ve told you this many times – high potential, and today, again, we can see the consistency in his performances. This makes him very, very interesting for sure.”

Sign up for our City newsletter

Bristol City looking to build on last season’s play-off finish under Gerhard Struber and you won’t miss a beat with our free newsletter.

All the latest news, views, interviews, gossip and analysis concerning the Robins, delivered straight to your inbox.

It’s completely free and you can sign up HERE

Although the October international break had come at a good time for the Robins in terms of being an opportunity to reset physically, it meant that Struber and his players were made to stew on their defeat to Queens Park Rangers for a fortnight.

However, in the lead-up to the trip to Carrow Road, the Reds head coach suggested the extended gap between matches had given his squad plenty of time to prepare, even admitting that he felt City were capable of causing the Canaries plenty of problems.

Although Struber was happy to see his game plan executed perfectly in East Anglia, he was quick to credit his players for their commitment, particularly in what were a rather cagey final few minutes.

“I think, of course, you need next to the plan, players with really big effort,” Struber explained. “Today, especially in the last minutes, we could see that – I would say, the battery was close to empty; that’s how much we invest today.

Bristol City Live on Whatsapp

Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone

Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.

Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.

To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.

We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.

To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.

If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

“We know against a team like that, we have to come on the highest level and we have to bring, of course, a big effort. But I would say match plan-wise and how we deal with the opponent on this level was great from the boys.

“We stepped out of the QPR game, and no one was happy,” the Reds boss continued. “We were super disappointed about this game, and then we had the international break, and everyone was so ready to do everything in the next game so that we could bounce back on the winner’s streak.

“I would say, how we deal with Norwich – especially with the quality in the different areas from them – how we create in the wide areas always a two versus one moment, and also how we control Sargent in some moments, was really, really, really good. [It] showed me that the boys, in this direction, are on a good level.”

READ MORE: Bristol City fans forum notebook: Pair offered contracts, takeover latest, recruitment and moreREAD MORE: Neto Borges: Bristol City’s ‘typical Brazilian’ on loan switch, Conway advice and promotion aim