Norwich close gap to top six with Stoke draw

Last updated on .From the section Championship

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn was instrumental in helping Norwich City close the gap to the play-off places to three points after a goalless draw at Stoke City.

He first denied Will Smallbone from close-range, before twice stopping Jacob Brown from putting the Potters ahead.

After the break, the inspired Gunn foiled Brown twice more and tipped a Tyrese Campbell effort over the bar to help the Canaries edge closer to sixth-placed Millwall, after they were beaten by Huddersfield.

In a game largely dominated by Stoke, Ben Pearson also lashed an effort into the side-netting on a frustrating afternoon which saw the hosts move up a place to 13th.

Potters boss Alex Neil made just one change from their midweek draw at Middlesbrough, with Morgan Fox coming in for the injured Dwight Gayle.

While Marquinhos was available for Norwich, having had his red card from Wednesday's draw with Huddersfield overturned, the winger dropped to the bench.

And with Adam Idah out injured, Teemu Pukki and Christos Tzolis were called upon from the start.

Tzolis almost crafted an early opener for the Canaries, sending Sargent through on goal, only for the American to drag his finish wide of the target.

Gunn, who has received a first Scotland call-up for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers, ensured it remained goalless at the break, keeping Smallbone out from close-range before going on to deny Brown from a back-post header and again by coming off his line to foil the forward.

Gunn's brilliant performance in goal for Norwich was undoubtedly exasperating for Brown, who had a last-minute header pushed away by a keeper who had a spell on loan with the Potters in the 2020-21 season.

Play-off chasing Norwich were well-contained throughout and were limited to a solitary shot on a target as they managed just 35% possession.