Daniel Farke hailed his much-maligned Norwich City defence after a clean sheet topped off a first Championship league win against QPR on Wednesday.

The Canaries were punished by Sunderland at Carrow Road at the weekend but the likes of Angus Gunn, Christoph Zimmermann and Marcel Franke kept Ian Holloway's side at bay.

Nelson Oliveira and Harrison Reed sealed a win forged through a defensive resolve that delighted Farke.

'There was a lot of criticism for the defending of our last row (against Sunderland) and to be honest it was deserved,' he said. 'We had analysed the game against Sunderland and they knew there was some mistakes. We had to defend against QPR as well, really deep in the second half, and the last row of my centre backs and keeper did well. It is important in close games to know we can defend each and every attack. I think you can see that Christoph and Marcel can adapt. We were more aggressive, more awake in the situations.

'They were prepared to fight for the ball in the air. They know they have to adapt to English football and it shows something about their character. They know they were criticised after Sunderland but they want to improve and to do that in a short time.

'I am very pleased. You could feel it after the Sunderland game. The guys were really motivated to bring some points to the table. They were very aggressive in the game. It was important for the togetherness and the motivation to win this. After Sunderland it was vital for the self-confidence. I think we deserved to win this game so for that I am pretty happy.'

MORE: Like our Pinkun Facebook page for Norwich City content

Farke reserved special praise for Oliveira who notched his second of the season after a high profile spat with his head coach at Fulham.

'It was a brilliant goal,' he said. 'The attack was very good. Wes Hoolahan built up the attack and a world class pass from Mario Vrancic but Nelson was cool in the key moment. Goals decide games and it is always important when the teams are so close together. In the last few games we have had to come back from losing the first goal.

'All I said was congratulations for his performance. It was not so easy in the first half because you could feel the guys were a little nervous and in the first 20 minutes QPR dominated the game with more possession. We had to struggle and it was not so easy for the striker. He had to work for the team. I told him he had waited for his first start so I didn't expect some miracles or three goals or five assists. I just want you to work for the guys and he did that very well.'