John Ruddy proved yet again what everybody in Norfolk knows, but to this point no-one within the England international set-up is prepared to concede. The keeper formed a one-man barricade for a large slice of the action either side of the interval to frustrate Wigan's attempts to convert territorial hegemony into tangible reward.

Ruddy produced a string of consistently excellent stops - the pick arguably to deny Hugo Rodallega after Emmerson Boyce and Victor Moses had cut Norwich open to serve up a gilt-edged chance 10 yards out. Ruddy had already been pressed into action to comfortably smother Jean Beausejour's early effort. He deserved his fortune when Boyce's cross spiralled off Adam Drury and cannoned against his crossbar. Ruddy then spilled Jordi Gomez's long range shot but did enough to force Rodallega to lift over.

He saved Norwich again in stoppage time before the interval with a double stop to thwart Rodallega and Moses with City's lead at the interval largely down to their stopper's assured display. Ruddy continued in the same vein immediately after the restart when he kept out James McCarthy's surge into the penalty area with his body.

Moses finally broke through at the umpteenth time of asking for the visitors, but Ruddy is now undoubtedly a reliable last line for the Canaries.