Leeds United 0 Norwich 2

JONNY Howson kept Norwich right in the thick of the promotion hunt by scoring the crucial goal against boyhood team Leeds at Elland Road.

City are in the midst of a four-team scrap for automatic promotion and, with two of their rivals winning, needed something special at Elland Road, especially as Graham Dorrans had already missed a penalty.

Howson, who made 226 appearances for Leeds and captained them to promotion, provided it in the 58th minute, with his cool edge-of-the-box finish paving the way for a 2-0 win. Dorrans added a late clincher.

Consequently Norwich are second with three games left, although a big win for Watford against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday could change that.

It was perhaps inevitable that Howson would be the game's key man, returning to Elland Road for the first time since leaving with a heavy heart in January 2012.

Canaries boss Alex Neil hailed a "crucial win".

"It was a tough match and at times I felt we needed to move the ball quicker, but then the first goal was the crucial point in the match," Neil said.

"I wasn't happy with some things in the first half but in the second, after the goal especially, we were the better side and we deserved to win.

"If you look at the opposition, John (Ruddy) made one good save, and had to collect a lot of balls, but we did well.

"It was a crucial win. We always work on the basis that our rivals are going to win. We have a job to do and we have come away from two tough fixtures - Bolton and Leeds away – with maximum points.

"I enjoyed the win, especially the second-half performance."

Howson went out of Elland Road against his will and, still a Leeds fan, refused to celebrate his critical strike.

"He's a top player," said Leeds boss Neil Redfearn of a player he worked with in the past.

"There is a reason they are second in the table. The difference was the quality of the strikers and the amount of money they have outlaid to bring their players in.

"For long spells we stifled them, and we could perhaps have done a bit more when we broke on them, but for large spells I thought that we played well."

Norwich now head home for a Friday meeting with Middlesbrough, the side they lead by just a point. A win could effectively price Boro out of the running for the top two.

"That's why I am in this job," Neil added. "It's a huge game."