NO GOALS and nine bookings resulting in one dismissal. This might have seemed like a blood and guts encounter, but bloodless would be a more accurate description, both sides’ fear of losing far greater than any real ambition to carry the day. It was also a match which the referee Mark Clattenburg threatened to lose control of after a display of fussiness that left so many players teetering on the edge of dismissal and led to a harsh red card for Czech midfielder Marek Matejovsky 17 minutes from the finish.

Blackburn, despite their need to pick up points in a bid to get into Europe, never took full advantage of that dismissal, though the Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was by far the busier and had to pull off a couple of excellent saves in the second half to earn a valuable point for the home side.

Some of the other results at the bottom of the table didn’t go Reading’s way but, as Steve Coppell put it afterwards, “relying on other results is not a good way of extending a career in football”.

“We are capable of getting to 40 points and we have sufficient games left to achieve that target,” he said.

Having won three of their last four games, Coppell was happy to name an unchanged side from the one that secured a hugely valuable 2-1 victory at Birmingham last week. For his part, Mark Hughes was able to bring back his captain Ryan Nelsen after a 10-week absence caused by complications following surgery on a hamstring injury. Roque Santa Cruz started despite an ankle knock sustained on international duty in the middle of the week.

Despite all the goals in previous meetings between these two sides it was clear the way both managers set up their teams that caution was the order of the day and the first half was remarkable only for the lack of chances and the willingness of most of the highly-paid professionals on show to give the ball away.

The main threat, unsurprisingly, came from David Bentley, who produced an excellent cross after 10 minutes that Santa Cruz headed into the path of Jason Roberts,whose weak header didn’t even test Hahnemann. Bentley then cued up Morten Gamst Pedersen with a short free kick that Hahnemann had to tip over.

If the first half was awful the second was scarcely better save for the usual scramble at the end as the game stretched ever so slightly. Reading might have got more out of the game had Coppell not waited till the 78th minute before hauling off Dave Kitson and injecting much-needed bit of pace in the form of Shane Long.

The home goalkeeper had been by far the busier in the second half even before that Matejovsky’s second yellow card. dismissal. On 62 minutes he turned over a long-distance volley by Bentley and the England winger again threatened to dismantle Reading with a free kick, but Zurab Khizanishvilli’s close-range header was too near to Hahnemann, who made an excellent reflex save.

Reading came closest when Andre Bikey’s header goalwards deflected off Kevin Doyle and Steven Warnock had to clear off his line. And in the final minutes, Stephen Hunt had a fresh air shot near the penalty spot after Long had set him up with the goal gaping.

Match stats

Star man: Marcus Hahnemann (Reading)

Player ratings: Reading: Hahnemann 8, Rosenior 6, Ingimarsson 6, Bikey 6, Shorey 6, Oster 5 (Cisse 76min), Harper 5, Matejovsky 5, Hunt 5, Doyle 6, Kitson 4 (Long 77min) Blackburn: Friedel 6, Ooijer 5 (McCarthy 82min), Nelsen 5, Khizanishvili 6, Warnock 6, Bentley 7, Reid 5, Dunn 5 (Derbyshire 86min), Pedersen 5, Santa Cruz 5, Roberts 5

Yellow cards: Reading: Hahnemann, Matejovsky, Shorey. Blackburn: Nelsen, Warnock, Reid, Roberts, Khizanishvili Red card: Reading: Matejovsky

Referee: M Clattenburg

Att: 24,374