THREE goals in seven devastating second-half minutes finally put paid to the stubborn resistance of ten-man Orient as the Canaries gained a welcome 4-0 League One victory at Carrow Road.
Substitute Chris Martin set the ball rolling in the 75th minute and within seven minutes it was 3-0 thanks to great strikes from Grant Holt and Michael Spillane. Jamie Cureton came off the bench to wrap up the scoring with a well-taken fourth in injury time.
The game turned on referee Karl Evans' decision to send off Orient midfielder JJ Melligan in the 53rd minute for a challenge which left City's Adam Drury writhing on the pitch.
Although Orient reorganised and set their stall out to graft for a point, they were eventually undone by some cracking goals from a Norwich side determined to take maximum points.
The first goal came when Wes Hoolahan and Korey Smith combined to send substitute Chris Martin racing clear into the box in the 75th minute. The young striker still had work to do but drilled home a fierce low drive with considerable panache to open the Canaries' account.
Just three minutes later a deep cross from Adam Drury was chested down by Grant Holt who promptly smashed in a sweet volley for his seventh goal of the season.
The goal of the game finished Orient off in the 81st minute, Michael Spillane showing lovely skill to cut inside his man before curling an angled shot into the far corner from 16 yards - his first senior City goal.
Substitute Jamie Cureton provided the icing on the cake as he broke free from the halfway line and slotted home coolly past Jamie Jones to make it 4-0.
Commenting on his team's display City boss Paul Lambert said: "I thought after the initial 10 minutes, when we weren't really in it and we didn't start as well as we had been in previous couple of games, after that I thought we were excellent.
"It's never easy to play against ten men, as Gillingham found out themselves on Saturday. It gets a little bit apprehensive when they go down to ten men and the crowd are willing you on. It's hard to break them down - but all credit to the lads, I thought they were brilliant."
"Every goal was great, Grant's goal was excellent, so was Micky Spillane's and Jamie's come off the bench and taken his very well. As for Chris Martin, one thing I will definitely say about him is that he knows how to finish. Chris's goal is huge for us, it was a big, big goal and a terrific finish."
Though the goals at the other end caught the eye, there was a welcome clean sheet for a defence which featured 'keeper Declan Rudd making his first senior start at Carrow Road - and Gary Doherty coming back into the fold after a tough few weeks.
Lambert commented: "I thought Gary was terrific. It would have been easy for him to go out there and think 'I've not been playing and I used to be captain' and all those kinds of things, but I thought he was excellent. I've had a chat with him yesterday and to be fair to Gary he's done great."
Asked if tonight's display had left him with a selection headache building up to Saturday's clash with Bristol Rovers at Carrow Road (3pm), Lambert replied: "Yes but that's my job. I can't please everybody all of the time but my job is to help Norwich City win as many games as we can and that's what we'll try to do."
Full-Time - What a second half! JJ Melligan's sending off definitely changed the game, but four fantastic goals, all very well-taken and created. City dominated for the most part and it was a case of whether they would be able to break them down, which they initially did 15 minutes from time when Hoolahan and Smith combined for sub Martin to finish with unerring precision. Holt struck three minutes later and Spillane three minutes after that. Cureton struck a fourth in injury time off the bench.
90th - Six minimum of added time to be played.
90th - Jamie Cureton gets in on the act. The sub striker races through on goal and finishes expertly. Cureton's first of the season.
85th - Captain Grant Holt leaves the pitch to a standing ovation, handing over the armband to Gary Doherty on his way and Jamie Cureton comes on for the final few minutes.
84th - Lappin comes close to making it four, with a fierce left-footed shot but it fizzes an inch wide of the post.
82nd - Martin forces a good low save out of Jones down to his right. Stephen Hughes replaces Darel Russell in centre midfield.
81st - If Martin's was good, Spillane's was even better. The right-back with a step over and shimmer on the right to step inside his man, opens up his body to shoot left-footed into the far corner.
78th - Grant Holt doubles the lead three minutes later when a fine control and volley from ten yards.
75th - Chris Martin puts City ahead with a terrific finish low and hard across the goal, nestling in the far corner.
75th - The lone furrow is ploughed well and Leyton fancy an opportunity for Summerfield but he curls over.
73rd - The sending off of Melligan hasn't changed much, Leyton are still remaining solid with those two banks of four. McGleish is ploughing the lone furrow up front.
71st - Jones is back on his feet and able to continue after receiveing treatment for over two minutes.
69th - Holt gets to the byline and drives in a low cross, which Martin attacks but Jones gets a strong hand to push away. The 'keeper stays down and on comes the medics.
68th - Martin has joined Holt in attack, Hoolahan dropping back to centre midfield and Smith to the right.
67th - Here comes Chris Martin and he replaces Paul McVeigh. Lappin's free-kick from just over 20 yards sails over the bar.
65th - A double change by the visitors veteran Scott McGleish replaces James Scowcroft in attack and Jason Demetriou for Andros Townsend on the right hand side of midfield. Chris Martin is waiting to be introduced for City.
63rd - A great pass by Smith puts Spillane in behind on the right, his first time cross is met by Holt at the far post but again Jones is down to save with his legs.
61st - Simon Lappin forces a corner and City get three chances to cross the ball back in but Orient get it clear every time.
58th - "Sorry all I think I just dozed off there had a great dream though, I was listening to a Norwich match and the referee actually gave us a decision and sent one of their players off." - briang0604
56th - 23,981 is tonight's official attendance.
53rd - Drama as JJ Melligan is shown a straight red by referee Karl Evans after a strong challenge with Adam Drury. Both players go in hard for a loose ball and the referee adjudged the Orient player has a foot raised as he went in, leaving the City full-back writhing on the floor.
51st - Jamie Scowcroft brings the Barckay roaring angrily to life as he goes in late on Michael Spillane, a challenge for which he receives the game's second yellow card.
49th - Daniels hits a dangerous curling cross from Orient's right which Jarvis is inches away from meeting at the far post, but the ball strikes Drury and falls kindly for Rudd to collect.
46th - Good start from City as Drury's deep cross into the box falls to Hoolahan and his effort is blocked by Chorley. The Canaries force a corner and McVeigh's flag-kick is headed powerfully by Holt but strikes the back of Hoolahan.
46th - City get us underway with no changes made at half-time.
Half-time - To be fair IMT he did save with his legs at point-blank range from Wes - but on other occasions you're right, we should have been looking to test him more.
"
"
Half-time: City 0, Orient 0
45+1 - One extra minute to be played - Lappin has a free-kick which is headed away and eventually cleared by Orient.
45th - Game has quietened down after a lively first 35 minutes. Orient will point to the lightning strike from Charlie Daniels that crashed against City's crossbar, while Wes Hoolahan will be disappointed not to have opened the scoring for City after a lively first-half display in which he was clean through on two occasions.
37th - Lovely counter-attack sees Hoolahan spot the run of Holt and the striker in turn pick out McVeigh, whose first-time shot is saved by Jamie Jones. In the next attack a superb one-two between Holt and Hoolahan sees the Irishman blast goalwards from close range, only to be denied by the out-stretched leg of the diving Jones. Very close to a City opener.
32nd - Adam Drury uses his experience to draw a foul on the left touchline by Cave-Brown. Orient scramble the free-kick from Lappin to safety.
31st - Holt's cross from the left byline is met by the head of Spillane but straight at Jones.
28th - "
26th - Holt goes down in the box and a section of the City fans want a penalty. The ball is still alive though in the penalty area and Spillane attempts an overhead kick, which Ben Chorley heads behind. McVeigh's corner from the left is claimed by Jones though.
25th - City dominating the latest passage of play, with McVeigh shooting straight at Jones at his near post.
24th - City keep the pressure on and look to work an opening, Hoolahan finds a yard of space on the edge of the area and curls at effort, which takes a nick for a corner.
23rd - The free-kick is taken wide to the left and Lappin's cross is aimed towards the back post where McVeigh winds up for a header but the defender gets the slightest of deflections on it to leave the wee man heading nothing but air.
21st - Jimmy Smith is booked for a late challenge on Darel Russell in the middle of the park.
19th - City struggling to find their rhythm at the moment, partly due to the pressure and high tempo with which Leyton Orient have started the game putting pressure on right from the front and not letting City have any time or space anywhere on the pitch.
16th - Hoolahan is away and in the clear on the right, the Orient defenders all appealing for offside, which isn't forthcoming and the Irishman cuts back inside his man instead of opting to shoot on his right, is closed down by three but squares for the onrushing Simon Lappin. However, Lappin's left-footed shot is saved by the legs of Jamie Jones in the Leyton goal.
15th - Hoolahan with the trickery on the left wing, turning his man inside one, not once, not twice but three times before delivering a right-footed cross, which goes over the head of Holt and McVeigh seemed to duck out of it.
12th - Back come the visitors, Askou has to head a deep cross behind for a corner and the great Dane is there again to head clear the corner. Charlie Daniels then rattles the City crossbar, Rudd may have got a touch to the swerving left-footed shot from just over 20 yards but a slow start from Norwich.
9th - City are able to construct their first attack of the match, Holt holds the ball up and lays it off for Hoolahan who drives at the defence and feeds Holt out left. His first cross is blocked, his second is just cleared from Hoolahan by the sliding intervention of Tam Mkandawire...I think he shall be called just Tam from now on. Corner from the left by McVeigh eludes all but Russell drives a low cross/shot across goal, which finds Doherty, the script was being written but his stab at goal is blocked.
7th - "
6th - All Leyton at the moment and all Andros Townsend, Doherty throwing himself in the way of the loanee's shot. Corner, which is headed clear the near post, but they keep it alive and a fizzing shot from the left by Luke Summerfield is palmed away by Rudd down to his left.
5th - The quick Townsend gets away down the left but his cross is well read by Drury who comes across to intercept and clear. Doherty is up to head clear the subsequent throw-in. Leyton come again though Russell ball across midfield is cut out and Townsend is away down the left and it requires the presence of Russell atoning for his error to clear the danger.
1st - Leyton get us underway and Gary Doherty wins the first aerial challenge of the match, nice early boost for the defender who hasn't played since the League Cup defeat to Sunderland here on August 24.
The teams are out and going through last minute preparations. Both sides are lined up around the center cicle for the moments applause for striker Terry Bly, who passed away last week aged 73. Terry was a major part of the 1958-59 cup run - scoring seven goals in nine those games, all coming at Carrow Road, including two of the three against Manchester United.
Team news from Carrow Road. Paul Lambert makes three changes from the weekend's draw away to Gillingham. Two are enforced on-loan goalkeeper Fraser Forster is suspended following his dismissal for a professional foul at Priestfield Stadium and Jon Otsemobor is out with a hamstring injury, while Luke Daley drops to the bench. In come Declan Rudd for his first senior start, Gary Doherty and Paul McVeigh.
For Leyton Orient, former Canaries Ryan Jarvis, Andrew Cave-Brown and Jimmy Smith start. Jarvis and Cave-Brown are products of City's Academy and Smith was on loan from Chelsea between October and December 2007 playing nine games. Jarvis is likely to partner former Ipswich Town forward James Scowcroft in attack, while on-loan Spurs winger Andros Townsend is an exciting youngster to watch.
CITY: Rudd, Drury, Holt (c) (Cureton 85), Doherty, Hoolahan, Spillane, McVeigh (Martin 67), Lappin, Russell (Hughes 82), Smith, Askou. Subs not used: Theoklitos (GK), Adeyemi, Daley, McDonald.
Leyton Orient: Jones, Chorley, Mkandawire (c), Melligan, Daniels, Jarvis, Summerfield, Cave-Brown, Smith, Scowcroft (McGleish 65), Townsend (Demetriou 65). Subs not used: Morris (GK), Ashworth, Pires, Baker, Patulea.
To have your say on the match, simply head over to our 'Message Board' found under the 'Fans' tab and post your comments on the thread entitled, 'City v Leyton Orient - Official Thread'. To post on the message board you will need to be registered on canaries.co.uk, if you are not then complete this simple online registration form.
