READING 2 BRISTOL CITY 0: Will the real Bristol City please stand up and make itself known!

Outstanding in victory over automatic promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion only last month, the Robins arrived back to earth with a resounding bump when trounced 5-2 on home territory by mid-table Doncaster Rovers.

No matter. Manager Gary Johnson and his players rolled up their sleeves and demonstrated resolve and character in spade loads to win 1-0 at Crystal Palace and silence those critics who predicted a looming relegation battle and subsequent change of regime.

Given the manner in which City dominated in midweek, the 1,600 supporters who made the short journey to the Madejski Stadium had reason to believe they would receive value for money in the guise of a wholehearted and committed performance from their team.

Prior to kick-off, talk was of City achieving back-to-back wins for the first time since October and re-establishing themselves in the top half of the Championship.

Against such a backdrop, what followed could only be described as huge letdown.

Quite simply, City failed to turn up and Reading, amazed at the ease with which a fifth successive home Championship win was secured, had the game in the bag after just 22 minutes.

Rock-solid, disciplined and prepared to put their bodies on the line at Selhurst Park just four days earlier, Johnson's charges succumbed once more to the shapeless chaos which characterised recent heavy defeats at the hands of Doncaster and Cardiff.

True, upwardly mobile and resurgent Reading represent an altogether different proposition from that presented by struggling Palace.

But the Royals still had no right to carve out goal-scoring opportunities with such alarming ease and regularity during a painfully one-sided first half.

The only surprise at half-time was that the home side were not further in front.

Unable to stem the flow, City's players resorted to arguing among themselves and, when that failed to yield any tangible improvement, engaged in open dissent with manager Johnson and his assistant, Keith Millen, who cut frustrated figures on the touchline.

Although Johnson made the necessary changes in both personnel and shape to steady the ship after the break, the damage had already been done.

Having scored 12 goals in their previous four Championship outings at the Madejski and with morale further boosted by an FA Cup odyssey which saw them oust Liverpool, Burnley and West Brom before bowing out to Aston Villa, the Royals displayed a level of confidence borne only out of a winning habit.

Victorious in seven of their last eight Championship games and now six points clear of the relegation zone, Reading are arguably the form team in the English second tier.

But not even watching manager Brian McDermott could have expected his side to achieve this latest victory with such ease.

Perhaps he had learned from City's defeat to Doncaster, who deployed Arsenal youngster Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in a withdrawn attacking role behind a lone striker.

McDermott asked Gylfi Sigurdsson to operate just behind the hard-working Shane Long and the Icelandic international, afforded wide open space in the gap which existed between City's midfield and back four, put the visitors to the sword. He scored twice and only he will know how he failed to register a hat-trick.

Unable to retain possession for long enough to build an attacking platform and confronted by opponents who inter-changed positions and moved the ball at pace, City frequently lost their bearings in and around their own penalty area.

Such was the extent that Sigurdsson was left unchallenged to meet Jobi McAnuff's 12th-minute centre with a firm header which comfortably beat keeper Dean Gerken.

City only had themselves to blame when falling further behind 10 minutes later.

Paul Hartley needlessly pushed Sigurdsson inside the 18-yard box, leaving referee Paul Taylor with no option but to award a penalty.

Sure enough, Sigurdsson stepped up to beat Gerken and put Reading in almost total control.

Hartley atoned in part, clearing Sigurdsson's shot off the goal-line to deny the Icelandic raider a hat-trick, while Gerken made brave saves to foil Jimmy Kebe and Long and centre-back Matt Mills headed over from Brian Howard's in-swinging free kick when it appeared easier to score.

Just as worrying for City was the inability of their midfielders and forwards to exert any kind of pressure on a Reading rearguard which was seldom extended.

Hartley and Liam Fontaine sent shots wide, but Nicky Maynard was, for the most part, too far removed from Chris Iwelumo to profit from the big man's numerous headers and flicks. Both were removed at half-time and Johnson sent on John Akinde to lead the line and Danny Haynes to give him the kind of support on the right which Jamal Campbell-Ryce was offering on the left.

Cole Skuse was deployed in a midfield holding role with express instructions to track Sigurdsson's runs from deep positions and, for a while, things improved for the visitors.

Had Campbell-Ryce not been denied by a fine save from Adam Federici when put through on goal, it might have been a different story.

But the Royals held firm, finished the stronger of the two sides and City were ultimately indebted to their goalkeeper, who performed a series of outstanding saves, notably from Kebe and Howard, to keep the score down.

Consistent only in their inconsistency, City travel to lowly Plymouth Argyle tomorrow knowing that victory will stave off any lingering fears of relegation.

But given their fluctuating fortunes over the course of a see-saw season, even Mystic Meg will be hard-pressed to predict what might happen from here on in.