Bristol City 0 Blackpool 0

Just when they thought they had cracked life in the Coca-Cola Championship, Bristol City were brought back down to earth with a resounding bump.

Victorious at Reading a week earlier, the Robins were being talked of as potential candidates for automatic promotion.

But their failure to break down stubborn Blackpool served to remind us all that English football's second tier is no respecter of reputations.

Having won eight of their last 10 games to climb from 18th into the play-offs inside two months, Gary Johnson's in-form team was expected to make light work of the struggling Seasiders. But in true Championship fashion, the underdogs refused to act the part of sacrificial lambs.

In seventh heaven after beating Reading 2-0, City were forced to endure an exercise in frustration as Blackpool put a wall of men between City and the goal.

City claimed a point to maintain their standing among the play-off places, but this must necessarily go down as an opportunity missed, given that three of the four clubs ahead of the Robins at the start of play all suffered shock defeats.

Leaders Wolves lost at home to Plymouth Argyle, Reading succumbed to Nottingham Forest at the Madejski and Cardiff City lost out to lowly Southampton, while Swansea City were frustrated by Charlton Athletic who earned a point at the Liberty Stadium.

Nobody came closer to narrowing the gap between Wolves and Bristol City than on-loan striker Stern John. Introduced as a substitute midway through the second half, the Trinidad & Tobago international almost scored with his first touch, meeting Lee Johnson's corner at the far post with a header which seemed destined for the top corner until David Vaughan affected a dramatic goal-line clearance.

John admitted: "It was so close to being a goal. I thought it was in and had already turned round to celebrate when he got his head to it.

"He managed to push it onto the post and away to safety and the chance was gone."

It was one of many opportunities spurned by the home side, who dominated possession but lacked the quality to unlock a well-drilled defence.

John added: "Blackpool came here with a game plan, put two banks of four behind the ball and made life difficult for us.

"We still created some good chances but we weren't good enough to finish them on the day. People will say we should be beating teams like Blackpool and perhaps they're right. But there are no excuses if you don't take your chances."

When City failed to threaten Blackpool's goal during a first half in which the home side were restricted to long-range shots, manager Gary Johnson turned to his substitutes. And the changes he made so nearly worked.

Either side of John's header being cleared off the line, Ivan Sproule created the best chance of the entire game for Gavin Williams and late arrival Jamie McCombe threatened to become a hero in time added on.

Unfortunately for City, Williams shot wide when presented with a clear sight of goal and McCombe sent his towering header over the bar from six yards out to allow the Seasiders to wriggle off the hook.

"It was really frustrating, because we've dominated the game for so long," reflected John. "We were even more gutted when we got back into the dressing room and found out the other scores.

"After the manager finished his little talk we switched on the television and learned that the top clubs had all lost. That's when we knew we'd missed a great chance to move in on the automatic promotion places."

It could have been far worse, however. Having shown only limited ambition for much of the afternoon, Blackpool threatened to cause an almighty upset during the closing stages.

As Bristol City committed men to the attack and threw caution to the wind in pursuit of an elusive winning goal, the visitors twice almost profited from swiftly-launched counter-attacks.

Substitutes Graeme Owens and David Fox both threatened to emerge as unlikely match-winners, only to be denied by Brazilian keeper Adriano Basso, who displayed his trademark agility and athleticism to keep the scores level.

It would have been a travesty of justice had Blackpool sneaked a win. But City will justifiably be kicking themselves after failing to translate territorial advantage into goals.

The impressive Michael McIndoe was twice frustrated by Paul Rachubka, Louis Carey and Liam Fontaine sent headers inches wide and Williams, Dele Adebola and Nicky Maynard all tried their luck from range without testing the keeper as City peppered the visitors' goal.

While frustrated City fans were left to rue the absence of a cutting edge on this occasion, Blackpool and their manager, Tony Parkes, could feel rather pleased with themselves as they travelled back up the motorway on the long journey to Lancashire.

They arrived at Ashton Gate with a game plan and adhered to it with an iron discipline which belied their lowly position. Inspired by their outstanding captain, Shaun Barker, the Seasiders defended in a manner which suggests they possess the character and fortitude required to retain their Championship status.