CITY comfortably saw off ten-man QPR to clinch Championship safety with a 3-0 triumph at Carrow Road.

Emotional scenes before and after the match saw the City faithful bid farewell to Dion Dublin - but it was the goals from Ched Evans, Mark Fotheringham and Darel Russell that saw the fans in party mood by the end.

Rangers failed to provide any serious resistance - particularly after Damion Stewart was shown the red card in only the fourth minute of the game.

For City the equation couldn't have been simpler before the game - win today and Championship football was guaranteed for next season.

A draw would still be enough if Sheffield Wednesday went under in their six-pointer at Leicester - a defeat and the Canaries would travel to Hillsborough next week with it all still to play for in their final game.

City boss Glenn Roeder made one change to the starting line-up from last week's defeat to West Bromwich Albion, loanee Russell Bertrand replacing Mo Camara at left back. Player of the Season Dion Dublin, making his final appearance at Carrow Road, was named among the substitutes as was Lee Croft, replacing Spaniard Juan Velasco.

QPR made one change from their victory over Charlton Athletic at Loftus Road, with Michael Mancienne, on loan from Chelsea, replacing the injured Fitz Hall. Former Canary Lee Camp started in goal with Zesh Rehman back on the bench.

By the time the two teams ran out into a Carrow Road stadium bathed in bright sunshine the home crowd had already had their Canary passions stirred by a lively pre-match build-up.

First supporters of both sides had risen as one to give their acclaim to this year's Anglian Norwich City Player of the Year, as veteran Dion Dublin picked up the final silverware of his illustrious career.

Today was the penultimate game of Dublin's 20 years as a consummate professional footballer, with the former scourge of Premiership defences having confirmed his intention to retire after next week's curtain-closer at Sheffield Wednesday.

QPR fans joined their Norwich counterparts in a huge ovation for the former England international striker, who edged out midfield battler Darel Russell (2nd) and Scottish international 'keeper David Marshall (3rd) to lift the prestigious Barry Butler Memorial Trophy.

Then as the teams emerged from the tunnel a few minutes later they were greeted by the stirring sight of 24,000 green and yellow cards held aloft by supporters to form a giant mosaic of the Club's proud colours around all four sides of the ground.

As the players took their positions this was followed as kick-off loomed by Sky Sports News presenter and City fan Simon Thomas coming on to the pitch to lead the Norwich faithful in a roof-raising rendition of the Club's traditional anthem 'On The Ball City'.

With Glenn Roeder and his players having spoken during the week about the crucial part the Canaries' magnificent supporters could have to play in today's proceedings, the Barclay, Jarrold, Norwich & Peterborough and City stands responded with a wall of noise as referee Phil Joslin's whistle got the game underway.

We didn't have to wait long for the second roar of the afternoon from the crowd as Rangers were dramatically reduced to ten men with the game only four minutes old.

A long kick forward from Marshall bounced awkwardly for the Rangers defence and as Ched Evans waited to pounce 'Keeper Lee Camp and defender Damion Stewart clattered into him just outside the area. Although it appeared Camp had made the illegal contact, it was Stewart who was given his marching orders by Mr Joslin.

And within less than two minutes City had seized their extra-man advantage by the scruff of the neck and powered into an early lead.

The goal came after Huckerby's corner from the left came back out to the City winger. When his clever cross to the back post was knocked back in by Cureton the Rangers defence could only partially clear - and as the ball fell to Ched Evans 16 yards out he unleashed a piledriver which flew past Camp and into the net for his tenth goal of the season.

GOALSCORER - Ched Evans

QPR boss Luigi De Canio responded to his side's rocky start with a double substitution, former Canary loanee Zesh Rehman and Mikele Leigertwood coming on for Ainsworth and Ephraim with the game barely nine minutes old.

You probably couldn't have scripted a better start for Norwich if you tried, with news filtering through from the Walkers Stadium that Sheffield Wednesday were losing 1-0 to Leicester.

But the job was far from done. City pushed forward probing for a second goal which would give them more comfort and Kieran Gibbs tried his luck in the 13th minute with a speculative 30-yard effort which flashed well wide of Camp's left-hand post.

As the game approached the quarter-hour Connolly of Rangers was shown the yellow card for a foul on Evans as he threatened to break down the Norwich left.

In the 19th minute City mounted another useful attack and this time Pattison grafted well to give himself a great chance from 14 yards out but his effort from an angle spun wide of the far post.

The Canaries had their tails up as ten-man Rangers found it hard to relieve the pressure with attacks of their own. Norwich went close again in the 24th minute after a good combination between Cureton and Evans freed Huckerby in the box only for his placed effort to curl a couple of feet wide.

Within a minute it was 'oohs' and 'aahs' again as Gibbs showed coolness on the ball to tee up Evans, but this time the Manchester City loan striker was off-target with his shot from 18 yards.

Chances were coming thick and fast - and on the half-hour only the woodwork denied Norwich a second goal. Huckerby's slick pass into the box was deftly flicked on by Cureton into the path of Bertrand - and the Chelsea youngster responded with a fierce drive which crashed off the base of the far post and away to safety.

A lengthy stoppage while Rangers' Mancienne received treatment for an injury came at just the wrong time as it seemed to take the wind out of City's sails a bit.

Their next chance didn't arrive until the 42nd minute as Cureton touched a good cross from Evans into the path of Fotheringham, but the City skipper's shot was well blocked by Rehman.

Cureton got himself into a dangerous position on the stroke of half-time, but with Evans screaming for the ball in space to his left he instead took a touch before hitting his shot high, wide and not very handsome.

Half-time score: Norwich City 1, Queen's Park Rangers 0

ON THE ATTACK - Ched Evans and Jamie Cureton

'Finish the job' was probably the message in the dressing room at half-time, particularly as Wednesday had grabbed an equaliser in the 45th minute of their crunch match at Leicester.

In the 53rd minute a drilled pass across the edge of the Rangers box from Fotheringham was hit goalwards by Cureton but blocked by a defender. A minute later Lee Camp palmed a close-range effort from Cureton away and when Pattison returned the ball into the danger area Evans' shot on the run was hacked off the line by Connolly.

But there was to be no denying a City side determined to secure Championship status and Carrow Road erupted as they doubled their advantage in the 55th minute.

A corner from Gibbs was headed out to the edge of the area and collected 22 yards out by City skipper Mark Fotheringham. He promptly let fly with a daisy-cutter which took a telling deflection off Zesh Rehman and flew past the wrong-footed Lee Camp into the corner of the net.

The mood amongst the season's highest crowd of 25,497 was palpably shifting from high tension to pure relief, though Roeder and his staff would be expecting no taking the foot off the gas from anyone until the final whistle.

In the 63rd minute Matty Pattison left the field to a warm ovation as he was replaced by Luke Chadwick.

UNDER PRESSURE - Rangers' Lee Camp

Two minutes later Lee Camp nearly gifted City a comedy third goal as he came out of his area to deal with a difficult high ball into no-man's land. He was pressurised superbly by the terrier-like Chadwick and Cureton and was left stranded as they forced the ball out to Fotheringham - but with the goal gaping City's captain missed the target with a 35-yard attempt.

Cureton broke down the right in the 70th minute and waited patiently for players to arrive in the area before pinging in a useful cross which Chadwick was inches away from nodding home.

With a quarter of an hour to go the introduction of Dion Dublin and Darel Russell brought a standing ovation from the crowd - with your reporter joining in - for what was to be Dion's last appearance at Carrow Road. Jamie Cureton and Kieran Gibbs were the players to make way.

The script called for a Dion Dublin goal to cap an excellent afternoon's work - but it was his fellow substitute Darel Russell who capitalised on another moment of uncertainty from Lee Camp to stretch City's advantage.

Yet again Camp came piling out of his area to try and deal with a ball into the space behind his defence - and yet again he was thwarted in his efforts to clear by Chadwick. The ball eventually bobbled to Russell and he calmly lobbed the ball into the empty net from 35 yards.

Dublin then nearly scored a goal which would merely have served to underline what we all know - that he is a class act. When the ball came out to him just inside QPR's half in the 86th minute there seemed few options other than a simple pass inside. Unless you are Dion Dublin of course, in which case you lash it first time from fully 50 yards and force Camp to leap high to make a good save.

It was an effort which Camp himself sportingly acknowledged with applause.

There was still time for a bout of pushing and shoving involving players and staff from both sides as Ched Evans stormed in to some fiery challenges just in front of the Rangers dug-out - and duly got a yellow card for his efforts along with Rangers captain Martin Rowland.

But that didn't bother him or any Norwich sympathiser in the ground as a minute later the referee blew his whistle to signal Norwich had done it - Championship football had been secured for next season.

Final score: Norwich City 3, QPR 0

Norwich City: Marshall, Otsemobor, Shackell, Huckerby, Cureton (Dublin 77), Fotheringham (C), Gibbs (Russell 77), Bertrand, Pattison (Chadwick 63), Doherty, Evans. Subs not used: Croft, Pearce.

QPR: Camp, Delaney, Mahon, Stewart, Mancienne, Blackstock, Ainsworth (Leigertwood 10), Rowlands (C), Connolly, Ephraim (Rehman 10), Balanta. Subs not used: Crowther (GK), Barker, Lee.