Nahki Wells marked his return to the Bristol City starting line-up with the second goal in their crucial 2-1 victory over Norwich City last night in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Robins took a sixth-minute lead against the Canaries through Irishman Mark Sykes.

Wells doubled the home side’s lead in the 23rd minute with a crisp finish into the far corner beyond goalkeeper George Long after Joe Williams had slipped the Bermuda striker in on goal.

The strike was Wells’s eighth league goal of the season and his first since grabbing a late winner at home to Blackburn Rovers on January 25.

Wells has had to make do with a place on the bench for the four games before last night, but marked his return to Liam Manning’s starting XI with another key goal for City.

Wells, in his fifth full season at Ashton Gate, could and should have added to City’s tally in the first half. Max Bird’s shot was parried by Long straight to Wells, for whom it seemed easier to score in the gaping net.

But Wells could only strike the rebound straight back at Long, failing to put away the chance to put the game to bed before the break and missing out on a second league brace of the season.

Despite Borja Sainz’s 82nd-minute consolation for the visiting side, Bristol City held on for an invaluable victory in their quest to secure a first season in the Premier League.

The Robins are now unbeaten in seven games and have lost only once in their past 11 — a 1-0 home defeat by Swansea City last month.

City’s late-season dash for a Championship play-off place is gathering momentum with the team sitting fifth in the table, and only a point separating sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion and seventh-place Coventry City, who sit just outside the play-off places.

The other two play-off spots are occupied by third-placed Burnley and fourth-placed Sunderland as the race for a richly coveted place in the Premier League heats up.

After the international break, Bristol City travel to Burnley with games against West Brom, Sunderland and leaders Leeds United still to play.

The Robins are looking to return to the top flight of English football for the first time since 1980.

Wells recently confirmed that he will not be available for Bermuda’s Gold Cup play-off games against Honduras this month, as he stays in England to focus on the business end of the season for Bristol City.

However, the 34-year-old striker is likely to be available for Bermuda’s World Cup qualifiers against Cayman Islands and Cuba in June.