Norwich manager Paul Lambert praised a "terrific" second-half display from his side as they came from a goal down to beat Swansea 3-2 in Wales.

The Canaries had trailed 1-0 at half-time thanks to Danny Graham's 23rd-minute opener but captain Grant Holt levelled two minutes into the second half as his header deflected in off Ashley Williams.

Anthony Pilkington put the visitors ahead just four minutes later as his strike hit Neil Taylor on its way in, before Holt grabbed what turned out to be the winner with a composed finish from a tight angle after being teed up by the excellent Elliott Bennett, taking his tally for the season to 11.

Holt blotted his copybook by giving away a late penalty for pulling back Williams, which Graham converted, but ultimately it did not prove costly as Norwich survived a fierce Swansea onslaught thanks to John Ruddy's brilliant save from Steven Caulker's point-blank header.

And Lambert said his side's attacking threat was such that he had no concerns when they trailed at half-time.

"I thought we deserved the win, the passing was brilliant, and the enthusiasm and desire to press the game was excellent.

"Swansea scored against the run of play and maybe Andrew Surman should have made it 1-1 before half-time, but in the second half we were terrific.

"At half-time I said not to worry as we were well in the game, we gave as good as we got, the passing was excellent and the way we played the game was excellent.

"I was not too downhearted at all because I always think we are a threat. We were hanging towards the end when they got the penalty but we deserved the win."

Lambert also praised Holt for responding to the stick he received from the Swansea fans with the bets possible answer.

"Grant has had a lot of that throughout his career, but he has been brilliant for us, not just this season, but for nearly three seasons now," he said.

Lambert also paid tribute to his defence, particularly Elliott Ward, who made his first appearance of the season at centre-half with Daniel Ayala and Zak Whitbread out injured.

Ward was an assured presence throughout and made a crucial first-half intervention to deny Graham a simple finish just before half-time.

Lambert, who also revealed that full-backs Adam Drury and Kyle Naughton had picked up knocks, said: "Today was Wardy's first game since July. He was fantastic, it was a massive performance. He was terrific and it's been a real long road back for him."

The win moved Norwich up to eighth in the Barclays Premier League table, but Lambert insists his only target is survival.

He said: "As long as we stay above 18th, that's it. If we stay in the league it will surpass anything me and my coaching team have done in League One or the Championship.

The defeat was just the second Swansea have suffered at home this season, and while manager Brendan Rodgers, who chose not to risk hamstring injury victim Joe Allen, felt his side had deserved something from the game, he acknowledged they had not been at their best.

He said: "We have scored two at home and we don't expect to lose those games. It was a close game in the first half and we scored an outstanding goal through Danny Graham, but we went to sleep in the first period of the second half and Norwich are a team that score goals and they will punish you.

"But from the moment it went to 3-1 I felt we had the better of it and were unfortunate not to get something if you look at the chances we created, but we were not at our best."