An 88th minute goal forced in by a combination of Danny Haynes's hand and Norwich defender Gary Doherty gave the Blues a deserved derby win at Carrow Road. The home side had gone ahead in the first half through Jonatan Johansson but the ex-Addick deflected in a Jimmy Juan freekick soon afterwards.
Keeper Shane Supple failed to recover from the virus which struck him down at the end of the week and Lewis Price returned to the Town line-up, as did Gavin Williams and Jimmy Juan after knee and heel injuries respectively. Joe Royle once again employed Darren Currie in his role between out-and-out striker Alan Lee and the midfield four.
Juan created the first chance of the game in the fourth minute, feeding Lee on the left of the Norwich area, the Irishman hitting a low shot which Robert Green saved.
Three minutes later, new Norwich signing Robert Earnshaw got away behind the defence, probably from an offside position, but shot weakly to Price.
Town came close to going in front in the ninth minute. Darren Currie sent in a corner, Jason De Vos headed the ball down and Juan's shot was blocked. De Vos followed up but was wild with his strike. Soon after, Currie brought the best from Green with a volley from 25 yards as the Blues started the game much the stronger of the two sides.
Youssef Safri's 12th minute freekick caused a slight heart flutter for Town fans when Matt Richards flicked a header only just past his own post. Five minutes later, Fabian Wilnis, booed throughout by the home fans for comments made before the corresponding game two years ago, headed over his own bar ahead of Earnshaw.
Town continued to enjoy the better of the possession with Juan, Richards and Owen Garvan controlling the midfield. A long spell of passing ended with Currie forcing another save from Green, the Norwich keeper pushing his looping 20-yard strike wide.
On 25 the Blues reorganised when the injured Gavin Williams was replaced with Danny Haynes. The 18-year-old joined Lee up front with Currie switching to the right of midfield.
The switch-around allowed the Canaries to get more into the game and in the 29th minute a Fabian Wilnis slip gave Johansson the ball in a promising position but the one-time Town trialist saw his effort pushed over by Price.
The Blues again went close to opening the scoring on the half hour. A cross from the left was headed to the edge of the box from where Richards lashed a powerful volley against Green's right post with the former England keeper well beaten.
Despite enjoying most of the game and chances, it was the home side who would go in front in the 33rd minute. Safri played a ball over the top for Johansson to chase, Town's offside trap, which up to then had worked superbly, was caught with Naylor playing the Finn onside and the former Charlton man ran on and lobbed the ball over Price and into the net.
Three minutes later, the Blues were back on terms from a freekick after Danny Haynes was the victim of a high tackle on the edge of the area. Jimmy Juan stepped up to take the kick and beat Green, the ball deflecting off Johansson in the wall. Not the Frenchman's best freekick goal of the season but for many his most important.
Town were more than good for their equaliser but could still have gone in a goal down at the break had new Norwich loan signing Zesh Rehman not shot over from three feet out after Johansson had headed a corner into the six-yard box in injury time.
A good half from the Blues who had largely controlled the game with midfielders Currie, Juan, Garvan and Richards all impressing. Richards had been unfortunate not to put the Blues in front prior to the two goals, his shot off the post reminiscent of the previous Carrow Road derby when the Blues hit the woodwork twice in a first half they had dominated.
Town's domination of the midfield led to Nigel Worthington making two switches for the second half. Darren Huckerby and Carl Robinson, a recent signing from Sunderland, taking over from the ineffective Andy Hughes and Dickson Etuhu.
Robinson wasn't far away from putting his side in front in the 48th minute, Richard Naylor blocking his shot from Johansson's low right-wing cross.
There was controversy in the 49th minute when Craig Fleming caught Jimmy Juan high on the chest with a studs-up challenge. Surprisingly, referee Keith Stroud, an unusually inexperienced official for a local derby, failed to issue even a yellow card when some referees would have shown a straight red.
Juan went wide with another 20-yard freekick, before Fleming finally saw yellow for a late and high challenge on Scott Barron. On the hour mark, Carl Robinson added his name to Mr Stroud's collection with a late tackle on Currie.
Alan Lee should have put the Blues in front in the 63rd minute after good work from Currie on the right. The former Brighton man sent in an inch-perfect cross but the recent signing from Cardiff headed straight at Green.
Richards forced Green to concede a corner with an excellent low 30-yard effort as the Blues continued to have the better of the game.
Town should have been awarded a penalty in the 71st minute. Haynes had chased a Garvan pass into the area and lobbed the ball over the keeper who had flattened him as he ran past him to tap the ball home.
It appeared a formality that referee Stroud should point to the spot but amazingly he saw no foul and play continued. Town fans' memories went back to 2003 when, shortly before Fabian Wilnis's opening goal, Matt Richards had been denied a similarly cast iron penalty.
Two minutes later, the Blues had another good shout for a spotkick when Lee cut in from the left and appeared to be tripped by Doherty. Again Stroud saw no foul and indicated a corner suggesting he felt the Norwich defender got a toe to the ball.
Owen Garvan got his name in the book in the 74th minute for a foul on Earnshaw. The yellow card was his fifth of the season, meaning he's miss the trip to Crewe a week on Tuesday.
From the freekick, McVeigh's overhead kick fell to Johansson whose shot came off the post with Price beaten.
Haynes had a golden opportunity to score Town's second in the 86th minute when a Lee flick sent him away on goal. The youngster, under pressure from Jason Shackell, rushed his shot and sent the ball well over, suffering a leg injury in the process. After treatment, the former Charlton trainee was OK to carry on.
With two minutes remaining, the Blues got the winning goal their performance justified. Barron found Richards in space on the left, deep inside the Norwich penalty area. The England U21 international crossed to Lee at the far post, the Irishman nodding back across the edge of the six-yard box to Haynes who stooped to head home. As he did so, Doherty tried to clear but caught his arm with his boot appearing to knock it onto the ball and pushing it across the line.
There were few Norwich protests with the incident happening so quickly and Haynes and the rest of the Town players ran to celebrate in front of the Blue Army in the new Jarrold Stand.
The young striker, again causing the opposition huge problems, limped off as the game entered injury time, Sito taking over in the right midfield role as the Blues moved to a one-man attack.
There were few scares in the four minutes of injury time, Rehman heading a corner well wide aside, as Town kept possession with relative ease, as they had throughout the second half in particular. Referee Stroud's whistle was greeted with cheers from the Town support and boos from an increasingly discontented home contingent.
Despite the scrappy nature of both goals, the Blues were well worth their win in one of their best derby performances since the 5-0. The midfield controlled the game and it was difficult to pick a man of the match from Juan, Garvan, Richards and Currie.
A vital derby win at a crucial stage of the season as the Blues continue the improvement of the last couple of months. The play-offs might be out of reach this season but, given the youth of most of the current starting line-up, Town could make a very serious push for promotion next season. However, East Anglian derby glory will keep fans happy in the mean time.
Town: Price, Wilnis, Barron, Naylor, De Vos, Garvan, Richards, Williams (Haynes 25 (Sito 90)), Juan, Currie, Lee. Unused: Supple, Magilton, Westlake. Att: 25,402.