Reading's Championship goal drought continued as they were held to a draw against Burnley at Turf Moor.

The visitors just about shaded an uneventful encounter but failed to break down a stubborn Burnley rearguard.

The Clarets boast one of the meanest defences in the division and the Royals attack, minus the injured Les Ferdinand and Dave Kitson, were unable to get any change out of them.

Promotion hopefuls Reading had drawn a blank in their three previous Championship games and Nicky Forster was keen to get them back on the goal trail, bringing the best out of Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen with a shot from the edge of the area.

Forster's early attempt was the only clear-cut chance of the opening exchanges as both teams tried to take charge and gain the upper hand in a midfield battle.

The hosts should have been raring to go in only their second game of 2005 with their Championship clash against Leicester and their FA Cup meeting with Liverpool falling victim to the weather.

But Steve Cotterill's side offered little going forward and it was the visitors who almost broke the deadlock when winger Glen Little, desperate to score against the club he left in the summer, volleyed over the crossbar with little over half an hour gone.

The Clarets' cause was not helped when Michael Duff, a slight doubt before the game with a calf injury, limped off and was replaced by Lee Roche after 33 minutes.

Andy Hughes tried his luck as Reading continued to search for the opener before the interval but Jensen held his effort before Graham Branch missed the hosts' only chance of the half from close range as time ran out.

Burnley looked a bit more lively at the start of the second half and Ian Moore found the time and space to have a shot from distance but his effort flew wide of the upright.

Reading winger Bobby Convey was handed his first start in the Championship since the beginning of November and he let fly from the left hand side but Jensen denied him with a smart stop.

Jensen was a lot busier than his opposite number Marcus Hahnemann but the Royals keeper had to be on his toes to block Moore's 70th minute drive from the edge of the area before Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko got in the way of another Moore effort.

Reading looked the more likely to make the breakthrough and the impressive Convey came closest to opening the scoring in the 73rd minute. John McGreal's challenge on Hughes presented the visitors with a free-kick 25 yards from goal and American international Convey curled a fantastic effort off the woodwork.

Forster and Burnley substitute Jean-Louis Valois traded long-range efforts late on but the points were always going to be shared.

Teams:

Burnley: Jensen, Cahill, Sinclair, McGreal, Duff (Roche 33), Camara, Chaplow, Grant, O'Connor, Branch (Valois 46), Moore.

Subs Not Used: Coyne, O'Neill, Scott.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Little, Sidwell, Hughes, Harper, Convey, Forster.

Subs Not Used: Owusu, Brooker, Savage, Newman, Young.

Booked: Sidwell.

Att: 11,392

Ref: M Jones (Cheshire).