West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Norwich City

West Brom had lost just once in their previous seven games but failed to register a shot on target

Norwich secured their first win in 11 league games to move out of the bottom three with victory at West Brom.

After a turgid first half, Robbie Brady put the away side ahead with the game's only shot on target.

West Brom went close through Claudio Yacob's first-half drive before Stephane Sessegnon wasted their best chance, firing wide from a tight angle.

Norwich are now three points clear of the drop-zone in 17th, but will return to 18th if Sunderland win on Sunday.

Sam Allardyce's side play local rivals Newcastle United, who are 19th, at St James' Park.

West Brom, for whom this was a first home defeat since December, stay 11th.

Relive Norwich's win at West Brom

Just where did West Brom go?

Tony Pulis's side had been on an impressive run, winning three of their last five - including a 1-0 home victory over Manchester United in their previous game.

But that was two weeks ago, and the Baggies looked more than a little rusty here.

There were 17 shots on goal between the two sides, but Brady's second-half winner was the only one on target

Saido Berahino, Salomon Rondon and Sessegnon all wasted decent openings in the first half, each time shooting wildly when composure was required.

Yacob fizzed an effort high and wide after John Ruddy clawed out a swirling corner but in the second half the opposition goalkeeper had almost nothing to do.

The introduction of Rickie Lambert from the bench failed to spark a late rally from the home side, and even with six minutes of added time they finished with a whimper.

The turning point for Norwich?

This win ended a run of six consecutive defeats away from home for Norwich, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The Canaries didn't cover themselves in glory in the first half either, but after the break they began to look something more like side that picked up some impressive results earlier in the season.

After the goal, Jonny Howson, Gary O'Neil, Brady and Matt Jarvis began to dominate in midfield and their play at the back was also much improved.

The Canaries hadn't kept a clean sheet away from home in the league all season, but they never looked like being pegged back after Jarvis's miscue fell to Brady for a close-range finish.

With only seven matches left to play, this was an important victory, but there are more vital games to come. Norwich host relegation rivals Newcastle after the international break, and Sunderland two weeks later.

Now, and after holding Manchester city to a 0-0 draw last week, they'll feel a lot more optimistic about avoiding the drop.

What the managers said

West Brom manager Tony Pulis: "It's disappointing. We were on such a good run and playing so well. I couldn't see it coming, they've trained well this week.

"We're not good enough to be anything less than 11 players playing to their maximum. Today, I don't think there's a player who could say they hit any sort of form.

"You have to give Norwich credit but if we don't play well and the opposition don't play well, I thought it had 0-0 written all over it. We didn't have a player who gave us a spark and the same for them."

Norwich manager Alex Neil: "The boys performed well, we deserved to win. The frustrating thing is we've played well in the three or four games before and haven't picked up any points.

"There haven't been enough breaks go our way recently. Today was a big result, and we've got a batch of another four big games coming up.

"We need to take this momentum into those matches, we will fight tooth and nail to stay up."

Man of the match - Robbie Brady (Norwich)

Before being taken off as a precaution following an awkward landing, Brady pounced for the game's decisive goal

What's next?

West Brom have to wait another two weeks before they play again, when they travel to Sunderland on 2 April. Norwich's next game is at home to Newcastle on the same day.

The stats you need to know

• Brady has now equalled his best ever Premier League goal record in a season (three, scored with Hull in 2013-14)

• Jarvis provided his first assist in the Premier League since January 2014

• Norwich became the final Premier League team to keep a clean sheet away from home this season

• The last four league meetings between the Baggies and the Canaries have seen wins for the away team and the home team failing to score