The festive spirit was alive and well at Ninian Park with goals gifted and, at times, a sluggish display producing shouts of 'too much Xmas pudding' and honours shared. As it is Christmas, see how many Xmas No 1's and Xmas songs you can spot in this report.

In a strong, competitive Boxing Day clash, Cardiff twice lost a lead given to them by Earnie and drew for the 3rd successive game and the 11th time this season, that's twice more than anyone else in the division (more regularly than Kenny Hibbitt ever did!) and four or five more times than most teams at the top.

Not winning often enough will cost City and is affecting serious promotion ambitions. Losing just once in 16 games is brilliant but 8 have been draws - if we'd lost half and won half of those 8 instead, we'd be top! So while City have hovered around 6th place (where they currently stand), there is a gap from the teams above which is not closing whilst it's really bunched up below. Seventh to twelfth placed sides teams are within 3 points of City, half of them with a game in hand.

But is was a day where, in a good standard game, only the most bias City fan would fail to acknowledge that the team, collectively and individually with many, failed to reach recent standards so Reading, who played well throughout, more than deserved to leave Ninian Park with a point keeping them one place and two points ahead of Cardiff with a game in hand.

There was the lightest scattering of overnight snow and Ice Ice Baby but with a sunny morning, the pitch looked excellent for the midday kick-off. In front of an excellent crowd of just under 17,000 (which looked about right to me despite all the arguments over it on the internet - there were nearly 2,000 unused places in the away end and, looking from the Grandstand, room in the Grange, Bob Bank terracing and Canton Stand), City were able to field an unchanged team.

This was a surprise in itself as we were lead to believe Scott Young would be absent for a month but it's the latest miracle recovery at Ninian following Peter Thorne (out for 4 months) now returning by mid-January (hope it's quicker), Simpkins (out for the season) back in full-time training and Earnie has returned weeks ahead of the time quoted too. If someone clears these injuries this quickly at City, they should be earning millions clearing NHS injury lists instead!!

It's Now Or Never as far as a real promotion challenge is concerned but it was all Reading in the opening 20 minutes. In a reversal of the clash at Madjeski Stadium, Reading attacked City, piled on pressure and had the chances to have taken a comfortable lead before Cardiff showed any intent. Starting with two widemen (Salako and Rougier) and controlling possession and territory, they gave Cardiff's midfield and defence a torrid time.

City were guilty of ball watching in the early phases and giving Reading far too much time and space (another way of saying sluggish). Salako, a classy player who it seemed City fans forgot had previously played for Swansea as he had few vocal reminders, flashed an effort into the Canton Stand, Parkinson sliced wide, Rougier 'skinned' Spencer Prior on the touchline and as he darted into the area, the slightest deflection off Scott Young's boot stopped Forster having an open goal from 6 yards and the same player was allowed to turn and shoot on the edge of the area by Young which brought a superb Alexander stop.

Before you could ask, Can We Fix It?, back came City with a resounding, Yes We Can! The biggest threat was coming through Bowen and Gabbidon linking on the right and it was this combination that sent the ball over for Gavin Gordon to head narrowly over the bar, an effort many thought had dropped in. Earnie met a far post Dean Gordon cross and perhaps should have done better than hit the rear of the side netting but a couple of minutes later (on 28 minutes), EARNIE scored a cracker that simply said So Here It Is Merry Xmas and sure enough, Everybody Was Having Fun.

Every time Earnie was near the ball, you could literally see the fear etched on the faces of the Reading defence so when Jason Bowen breaking clear inside his own half played a beautiful ball into space, the Reading defenders said "Eh Oh" as Earnie got there first.

There was plenty left to do but Earnie is probably the only player in this division who could do it as he came inside from near the touchline and with three Reading defenders in front of him, he waved around them, found space and drilled a low left footed drive to perfection beating Reading's 6' 3" American keeper, Hahnemann, at the base of his near post. Magic, magic, magic, magic, magic!

Earnie celebrated in style by throwing off his City shirt, running towards the dugout, somersaulting right in front of Alan Cork (another fine?) then hugged fans in the Lower Grandstand. The skinhead referee, Dermot Gallagher (not even his all over no 1 cut will make us forget that he was recently demoted from the Premier League), showed some common-sense by having a quiet word with Earnie (The Fastest Striker In The West, not Milkman!) appreciating it was an outstanding goal and moment for this special player and large holiday crowd to appreciate on The Green Green Grass of Home.

Reading were rocking (around the Xmas Tree) and not helped by their American keeper who played just like his compatriot Sylvester Stallone in the Xmas "classic?" movie, Escape To Victory. He was competent with his hands but had no idea how to hold the ball and wait until players got upfield. Instead, he'd run and boot the ball 60 yards ahead either straight to a City shirt or out of play for a throw in. It was funny to watch the Reading players waving at him to take his time and then watch the ball fly over their heads.

It was one way traffic as City took hold of the game. The Two Little Boys, Bonner and Boland, were now first to everything as City passed the ball confidently and stretched Reading but they defended well and looked strong so no major chances arose for City. Instead, they were again indebted to Alexander for preserving the lead as he flew full length to stop an edge of area John Salako drive.

Not the best 45 minutes, City found it hard to get going and never truly started. Some key attacking players, Bowen, Kavanagh and Gavin Gordon all struggled throughout but it was satisfying.

Half-Time: CITY 1 Reading 0

There was a slow start to the second period, Dermot Gallagher booked Shorey for diving (obviously "Keane" to make up for his Premier League demotion after failing to send off Leeds' Robbie Keane for doing likewise recently).

The overall subdued crowd (maybe midday Boxing Day kick off after the food and drink binge of the previous day is too early to expect any different. Please note City, playing Xmas Carols before kick-off may be nice but it hardly whips up a crowd either.) tried to roar City on but were rocked by a Reading equaliser, it had been coming.

On 53 minutes, Dean Gordon was comprehensively "skinned" and left for dead by Rougier who took the ball into the area and square for Forster to have a routine simple finish ... except he blazed it into the Grange End. It was a major let off but neither Gordon or City learned their lesson as a minute later, Gordon was done again, this time by Murty. As he cut inside, he tried a tame looking effort which Alexander had covered until FORSTER stuck a boot out and deflected past him. It was fortunate but deserved if we're honest.

Dean Gordon had a poor match, he looked fine going forward, but defensively, he was having a 'mare and worryingly for a Premiership player, naive. He was often slow to react or realise danger and Reading seemed to identify him as a weakness although Gabbidon wasn't having the best of games on the opposite side either and Prior in the middle looked nervy throughout. Kavanagh fell into an old habit of playing too deep and showed little penetration or desire to push on - he was never in the game at any time - and Gavin Gordon again failed to make a real impression. He wins headers and flicks 30 to 40 yards out but nothing in, or around, the area where it really matters leaving Earnie to forage alone at times. Come back soon Peter Thorne, please!

The recent great performances have largely been due to the spine being strong, it wasn't quite there today.

At this stage, I would have seriously considered introducing Leo who seems made for these occasions and would have worried Reading having scored both City's goals in the away win early in the season. Cork ignored that but swapped Brayson for Bowen on the hour which seems to be a standard change lately, it paid dividends. Brayson nearly scored moments after coming on as a sweeping move put him clear, he opted to hit first time on the edge of the area when he could have gone closer and his effort was parried away.

The game was now quite scrappy with no real pattern but just when you were thinking, Do They Know It's Christmas?, Reading showed they as they gifted Earnie his, and City's, 2nd goal with 22 minutes remaining. City won a free-kick near the touchline in the Reading half which Scott Young moved further back into City's own half. He just swung a hit it high and hope effort into Reading's area. Incredibly, it dropped behind all their defenders and to Paul Brayson who lobbed the ball over Hahnemann. He didn't put enough power on it to make the net but no worries as My Sweet Lord EARNIE darted in and turned into an empty net from 4 yards as the ball dropped. The tannoy announced Brayson scored, does he ever get an announcement right?

Any worthy promotion team should kill the game and not lose a lead twice, especially at home. For a time, it seemed that City would do that. Ex-City loan star James Harper, owner of football's skinniest legs but now a little fatter in the body, hardly Mr Blobby though, had been well shackled but their threat remained wide. And 10 minutes later, City had a Return To Sender moment as they Went And Did Something Stupid by gave Reading a gift of a goal back.

It was all too simple as Dean Gordon was yet again far too easily beaten by Rougier who then turned inside and played a ball across the area. Willie Boland looked certain to cut out the danger but the ball went by him and, as it did, in moved SALAKO to strike a low shot inside Neil Alexander's far post. It was a choker.

As news filtered through that The Jacks from The Caravan of Love were cruising at Exeter, it was Always On My Mind that City would lose. It was Mistletoe and W(h)ine and some players were looking Lonely This Christmas but I Will Always Love You, the draw may be Another Brick In The Wall towards promotion, who knows? Pegged back at 2-2, It Was Just Like Starting Over! Ok, that's enough.

There was drama in the closing stages but the sort nobody enjoys. Gavin Gordon challenged with Reading's Welsh defender Adrian Williams for a Gabbidon cross and went down with what was obviously a concerning injury as stewards and a doctor ran onto the pitch. He had the best medical care ... from stewards in Bluebirds Santa hats! After a long stoppage and some anxious moments, Gavin Gordon was put in a neck brace and stretched off very slowly. Let's hope it's nothing too serious. If the club announce he's out for the season, expect to see him back in action within a fortnight!

With the delay, City had a last throw of the dice. Leo came on for the hapless Gordon while Andy Legg replaced Graham Kavanagh (with City fans yet again divided over whether he was playing ok or total tosh, I was in the latter camp). Leggy was instructed to play wide and fire in some service fro Leo and Co and also use his long throws whenever possible but in the last 11 minutes including 6 minutes on injury time following the Gordon stoppage, neither side came close.

A draw was very disappointing but the right result. At the start of the season, fans would have willingly taken 4 points off Reading, that's a sure sign of a good side. It's not our failure to beat Reading or draw with Stoke that are holding City back, it's not winning at Blackpool when they dominated for the whole 90 minutes and losing at places like Bury and Cambridge. It's also worth reflecting that whilst it hasn't happened for a while, The Bluebirds have now dropped 15 second half points this season but only 2 points in the same period. Too many draws, loads of second half points lost and we're 7 points off the top, enough said!