Matt finish can be first of many

Chris Lakey

Matty Pattison finally broke his career scoring duck on his 43rd appearance for City - and says there are more to come.

The South African midfielder - Glenn Roeder's first permanent signing when a loan move from Newcastle was made permanent in January - volleyed home a spectacular opening just two minutes after Gary Doherty was sent off.

It set City on the way to what could be a crucial victory - and finally ended Pattison's barren City run stretching back a year, during which time he has peppered the frame of the goal with shots but just not managed to get one in.

“I was really pleased and hopefully there's more to come. I've been waiting so long to do it - a year since I first came. It's been a long time coming but I'm over the moon and hopefully I can get plenty more,” said Pattison, whose post-match spirits were buoyed further by news of his country's rugby union success over England at Twickenham.

Roeder believes Pattison has it in him to score goals.

“I came across Matty just before his 18th birthday when I went to Newcastle and became manager,” Roeder said. “He was injured at that time and when he got fit he scored plenty of goals as an attacking midfield player, both in the youth team and in the reserve team, but since he's been here he's hit the post five or six times, he's hit the crossbar three or four times - he should be heading towards double figures as a Norwich player. It's incredible that it's taken this long for him to get his first one. But it was worth waiting for and very importantly it was a goal that's helped us get three points - it was a meaningful goal.”

Pattison jumped the advertising hoardings to share his celebrations with City fans, earning himself a booking, but was back there at the end of the game to thank for the 1,600 members of the travelling army for their show of support on a cold Saturday evening when they could easily have sat at home and watched it on TV, doors firmly shut against the snow.

“The support was great, there were a good few here today,” added Pattison. “And the lads showed their appreciation after the game by going over and throwing all the tops in the crowd because we know how much it means to them and it shows how much it means to us as well.

“In the changing room and seeing all the lads and the staff, they're buzzing, it's such a good feeling and for a footballer you want that feeling all the time in the dressing room after a game so all of us have got to stick together, because there are a lot of games coming up in December.”

Pattison's strike helped calm a few nerves following the loss of Doherty and although City were indebted to goalkeeper David Marshall and a Chris Cohen own goal, there was no doubting their right to all three points.

“Obviously it is a hard place to come and going down to 10 men so early we knew it was going to be a hard job,” said Pattison. “But the lads stuck behind it and we put an extra shift in and got our rewards. It was a great performance by all the lads.

“It's a case of coming into the games with the same frame of mind for every game. This game we have come in and knuckled down, we have dogged and we played some good football as well with 10 men - we passed the ball around as well and you just have to go to the next game and do the same and try and get the same result.

“Obviously getting the goal helped, but it was just having to kick on. Leroy (Lita) had to start playing on his own up front and start putting in more of a shift in than he would have to, but he did. When Doc got sent off you think the heads might drop, but the lads didn't, they just kept going, which you need to, because winning teams get these sort of results.”

The key now is winning again and achieving some consistency, with Pattison adamant the squad contains the quality to do just that.

“We have massively under-achieved,” he said. “We know we have got the players in there to compete with the best.”