“Get him off,” at least one Manchester City supporter screamed as Georgios Samaras tumbled to the ground for the umpteenth time in what was becoming an inauspicious return to the big stage, but, luckily, Sven-Göran Eriksson is not one for kneejerk reactions. The forgotten man at the City of Manchester Stadium was kept on for the duration and, finally, as the game entered its 90th minute, he delivered the goal that spared everyone the misery of extra time.

It was harsh on Norwich City, who had been the equal of their Barclays Premier League opponents to that point, but, if anyone was entitled to a bit of luck on an otherwise forgettable evening, it was Samaras. The £6 million Greece forward became a byword for impotent attacking play under Stuart Pearce last season, but, as he kept his nerve to shoot past the advancing goalkeeper with 53 seconds of normal time remaining, it was tempting, not for the first time, to remark on the feel-good factor that has swept the club since Eriksson’s arrival in July.

Not that Eriksson was getting too carried away afterwards, either by yet another 1-0 win or by the part played by Samaras. This was the first time that the forward had featured under Eriksson and, while the manager intimated that it may not be the last, it remains difficult to see a long-term future for him at a resurgent City. Still, at least he impressed with his persistence, one of the many qualities that he has been accused of lacking since his big-money move from Heerenveen in January 2006.

“I am happy for him,” Eriksson said. “He hasn’t been playing with us this season, but he played well tonight and the goal can only make him better. He has a future here, of course he has. He has a contract and you see that I used him tonight and I will use him if he goes on playing like this. It was a good goal, a good pass, a good run and a good finish. It will help him.”

Samaras pointed to the heavens in celebration and he might not have been the only one. To that point, extra time had seemed inevitable, thanks largely to the endeavours of a Norwich team whose performance, in terms of organisation and spirit, made a mockery of their lowly position in the Coca-Cola Championship.

Peter Grant, the manager, had described the 2-0 defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, when they had two men sent off, as the worst that he had been involved in during his long career, but this was a significant improvement. “The only disappointing thing was the result,” Grant said. “It was very, very cruel.”

This was not a manager indulging in spin. Norwich had matched the home side for long periods and, with Jon Otsemobor and Lee Croft forming an impressive partnership on the right-hand side, showing a little of the promise they showed briefly as youngsters at Liverpool and City respectively, they frequently threatened on the counter-attack.

Too often, though, their final ball narrowly missed its target and, on the one occasion that Jamie Cureton was given a half-chance, midway through the first half, he shot over the crossbar from Croft’s cross.

Geovanni, the Brazil playmaker, had been City’s best source of attacking inspiration for the first hour, setting up Samaras with a perfect cross in first-half stoppage time, only for the Greek to fail to connect with the ball. That was one of several occasions when City supporters were biting their lip in deference to Eriksson, who had asked them not to jeer the forward.

Finally, though, Samaras was to justify whatever faith had been shown in him, racing on to a clever pass from Kelvin Etuhu, a 19-year-old substitute, and taking one touch before slipping the ball past David Marshall, his first goal since January 7.

Whether it is enough to earn him a starting place at home to Newcastle United on Saturday, though, is another matter entirely.

Manchester City (4-4-1-1): J Hart - S Logan, R Dunne, N Onuoha, M Ball – Sun Jihai, S Ireland, G Fernandes (sub: K Etuhu, 63min), G Samaras – Geovanni (sub: C Evans, 80) – R Bianchi. Substitutes not used: A Isaksson, O Dabo, S Williamson.

Norwich City (4-1-4-1): D Marshall – J Otsemobor, G Doherty, I Murray, S Lappin – M Spillane – L Croft, D Russell, R Jarvis, C Brown – J Cureton. Substitutes not used: M Gilks, D Strihavka, C Martin, R Eagle, A Cave-Brown. Booked: Spillane.

Referee: A Marriner.

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