Steve Sidwell secured Albion's best win of the season, then gave all the credit to his team-mates for their defensive qualities.

The young Arsenal loan signing's third goal in ten games gave the Seagulls a knockout Boxing Day victory which left promotion-chasing Norwich looking like turkeys.

Sidwell's close range volley from a Simon Rodger corner six minutes from the break clinched an overdue second away success following the opening day triumph against tomorrow's visitors Burnley.

The 20-year-old midfielder played down his role, preferring instead to concentrate on the collective resolve which yielded Albion's first clean sheet on the road.

"The way we defended was superb, from the keeper to the strikers," said Sidwell. "You couldn't ask for more. It was the best since I've been here.

"We knew we had a lead and we protected that to get a great three points."

Only Albion diehards would have predicted such an outcome before the start. Norwich had won their last four at home, the Seagulls hadn't won at all for seven matches.

Sidwell, on loan from Highbury for the rest of the season, revealed how being regarded as such big underdogs inspired the players.

"That's what we thrive on," he declared. "Nobody has given us a chance to be in the First Division.

"They see us down at the bottom and a lot of teams think they are going to have an easy game, but everyone in our dressing room believes we can win every game we play in."

That belief rose another notch when Sidwell struck for the third time in five away fixtures.

He arrived unmarked to steer in Rodger's corner with a right-foot volley from eight yards.

It was an ironic blow, since all the pre-match talk had been about Norwich's expertise at scoring and Albion's vulnerability to conceding from set pieces.

Sidwell's strike rewarded a polished performance in the opening 45 minutes by Steve Coppell's unchanged side.

They restricted Norwich to three routine saves for Michel Kuipers from a Iwan Roberts volley and header plus an early Paul McVeigh shot which should have given the big Dutchman more of a test.

Robert Green, the Canaries' custodian, made similar straightforward stops from a Bobby Zamora header and long range efforts by Sidwell and Graham Barrett.

Once ahead Albion visibly grew in confidence, so much so that shortly before the interval Nathan Jones cut inside on a solo run which ended with the Welshman almost audaciously chipping Green from the brink of the box.

A couple of injury setbacks forced adjustments for the second half.

Rodger's 300th League appearance of his career was curtailed by another knock to his broken big left toe so Charlie Oatway took his place on the left side of midfield.

Kuipers had pulled a muscle in his right leg as he stretched outside his area which meant the impressive Robbie Pethick took over the kicking duties.

It developed into a predictably frantic affair with Norwich pouring forward and Albion clinging on manfully to their advantage.

Norwich thought they had equalised after 57 minutes. Mark Rivers scored from close range after exchanging headers with Roberts.

Jones, however, had stepped up just far enough to catch the former Crewe winger marginally offside.

For once fortune was on Albion's side. They deserved it, because there was some magnificent backs-to-the-wall defending as well.

Five times in the final quarter-of-an-hour the elements of luck and superb individual interventions combined to preserve the scoreline.

Sub Ian Henderson's touch to a Gary Holt chip was cleared off the line by Paul Watson after Kuipers had slowed the pace of the ball down with a swatting right hand.

Rivers' left-footer curled against the angle of post and bar, Kuipers kept out a far post header from Phil Mulryne, while another header from Norwich's third substitute Zema Abbey accidentally hit the awesome Danny Cullip on the left arm before dropping inches wide.

Finally and appropriately the heroic Kuipers blocked Rivers' drive from a difficult angle a minute into stoppage time when a cross for better placed colleagues would surely have condemned Albion to a cruel late twist.

Modest matchwinner Sidwell, meanwhile, answered Coppell's call for the rest of the side to ease the scoring load on Zamora. He had a rare off day against the club which turned him away as a schoolboy for being too small. Coppell said: "In the first half we played ever so well, some really bright football. Sidwell, just in that little hole behind the front two, was picking up a lot of balls.

"When we have scored there has been a tendency in my time at the club to sit back and to a certain extent that was true again.

"Michel damaging a kicking muscle invited a bit of pressure. Norwich threw five men forward and that is when the passion came out."

Albion are still six points adrift of safety. What matters now is that they build on this marvellous result in the back-to-back home games against Burnley and Wimbledon.

ALBION (5-3-2): Kuipers (gk) 9; Watson (rwb) 7, Mayo (cd) 7, Cullip (cd) 9, Carpenter (cm) 7, Pethick (cd) 8, Jones (lwb) 8, Rodger (lm) 7, Sidwell (rm) 8, Zamora (f) 6, Barrett (f) 6. Subs: Packham, Hart for Barrett (withdrawn 80), Oatway 7 for Rodger (injured 46), Brooker, Hinshelwood. SCORERS: Sidwell (39). BOOKINGS: Kuipers (50) unsporting behaviour, Jones (63) foul, Oatway (80) foul, Zamora (90) unsporting behaviour.

  • NORWICH (4-4-2): Green; Kenton, Drury, Mackay, Fleming, Mulryne, Holt, Rivers, Easton, Roberts, McVeigh. Subs: Lee-Barrett, Henderson for Kenton (injured 70), Russell, Abbey for Roberts (withdrawn 77), Nielsen for Easton (withdrawn 51).
  • BOOKINGS: None.
  • Referee: K.Hill (Royston).
  • Venue: Carrow Road.
  • Attendance: 20,687.
  • Pitch conditions: Good.
  • Weather: Rain.
  • FAN'S VIEW, by Jim Nurse (Hove): "A great three points and well worth the early start from Sussex. Most Albion fans will agree that the win was their best Christmas present. We rode our luck a bit, especially in the second half, but no one expected us to go to a place like Carrow Road and give a decent side like Norwich the run-around. Danny Cullip and Robbie Pethick were awesome at the back and I like Steve Sidwell in that little role behind the front two. He gives us options in there and he passes the ball well. The Norwich home defeat was the start of our bad run so hopefully this result will kick-start a climb up the table. The other results went against us, but we're still in there fighting."