It was an Easter cracker in front of the Sky Sports cameras as Bristol City and Middlesbrough shared the spoils in an enthralling contest at Ashton Gate.
There were a mixture of emotions at the full-time whistle - the obvious disappointment at failing to pick up three points when holding such a commanding position but also one of pride as Nigel Pearson's side proved they are going to be no pushovers for sides chasing the top flight between now and the end of the season.
Sam Bell was back among the goals as he continued on from his fine performance at Stoke on Friday with Harry Cornick also grabbing his first in City colours, taking advantage of Nahki Wells' unselfishness to tap home from close range.
It was two avoidable goals in six minutes that cost City all three points as Aaron Ramsey headed in from close range before Matt Crooks fired beyond Max O'Leary. Against a side that could be a Premier League side at the beginning of next season, defensive errors will be punished as Cam Pring found out the hard way.
City could have won it towards the end when Zak Vyner was unfortunate not to score from close range when a cross from out wide took a small deflection, altering the ball flight just before he made contact.
The combination of a side that played with the shackles off as they look to build momentum and a team needing to win to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive, served up a brilliant game of football.
Here's the verdict with five games and two home matches remaining before the end of the season.
Cornick endears himself
There were plenty of positive signs on his introduction at half-time against Stoke to suggest the forward is starting to find his feet in a Bristol City shirt. Yesterday we saw why Pearson and the recruitment team were so keen to bring him to the club during the January transfer window.
He's had his fair share of critics from some quarters who were expecting instant success on his arrival, but patience was always going to be required as he develops into a new system and way of playing. Against Middlesbrough, he was a handful from the first minute as City utilised his physicality and height to hit the diagonals.
His harassing and work-rate were almost rewarded in the 12th minute when he forced his opponent into an error, winning the ball and setting up Andi Weimann who could only hit the keeper from close range. As Pearson put it on Friday, he may not seem the tidiest player on the ball but he makes things happen and that summed up his evening in BS3. His assist for Bell's opener typifies what he's about.
He won the initial aerial battle in a scrappy passage of play before emerging with the ball, slipping in Bell who had space out on the left. The striker didn't even need to take a touch, hitting it first time into the corner.
Cornick may not get the supporters on their feet in comparison to Anis Mehmeti, but he's a handful to deal with and his first goal for the club was fully deserved at the beginning of the second half. He played his part in the build-up, again forcing Paddy McNair into an error before feeding Bell out wide.
His strike was palmed into the path of Nahki Wells who simply played it across goal, leaving Cornick with a simple tap-in. He earned the recognition from the home supporters he deserved when he was substituted, with the crowd giving him a standing ovation.
Cornick just needed a goal to help kick-start his career and now he's got it, perhaps it will provide an injection of confidence in front of goal. It's been a good four days for City with Mehmeti also grabbing his first for the club.
Home comforts
That's now eight games undefeated on home soil in the Championship with the last defeat coming against West Bromwich Albion on Boxing Day. To achieve promotion, home form is paramount and City seemed to have turned the tide playing in front of their home fans after a couple of difficult years.
There's still improvements to be made - for example, City have only won eight of their 21 games at Ashton Gate, losing six of those. They currently sit 11th in the 'home form guide' but there has been a marked improvement since the turn of the year and for the first time in a long time, that previous aura of anxiety appears to have been lifted built both on confidence and a shift in mentality.
Pearson spoke about it in his post-match interview saying: "I don't think fans feel the anxiety like they used to. Whether one feeds the other, I don't know but I think our players go out there believing they can win any game - that's got to be a big shift in terms of how you go into any game.
"If there's a fear or anxiety, then that's something that can inhibit performances. It always takes time to build a team and one of the big things about building a team is moving players as well as adding players."
There's just two home games remaining and stretching that run to 10 games and carrying it into next season will be an achievement that may go under the radar. Rotherham are the next team to visit the Gate, a winnable game on paper although they could be fighting for their lives before a big test against already-promoted Burnley.
Kane Wilson's absence
This is no slight on Harry Leeson or Callum Wood, both of whom have enjoyed impressive campaigns with the Under-21s, but their involvement in the matchday squad over Kane Wilson is indicative of the position the summer signing finds himself in at the moment.
Having made the substitute bench in the last six matches before yesterday, earning 10 minutes of pitch time against Swansea, he was left out of the squad against Middlesbrough with Kal Naismith returning to the bench following his calf injury.
His absence wasn't injury-related, suggesting he's fallen down the pecking order behind Leeson who is also a right-back by trade. At some point, questions marks will soon be raised about Wilson's immediate future with the club, especially if Pearson is already looking towards next season by handing Leeson the opportunity to earn first-team experience.
Wilson's injury problems have been well-documented having missed the best part of five months following knee surgery but Pearson has reiterated his stance that last year's League Two Player of the Year still has plenty of catching up to do in terms of his training workload.
Of course, there's also the debate that he doesn't fit in the current system having built his glowing reputation at Forest Green as a wing-back. City started the season with wing-backs but made the switch to a back four in January which is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Whether Wilson has the defensive attributes to play in a back four, that evidently doesn't seem to be the case from the manager's perspective, and given the form of the ever-improving George Tanner (who was superb against Middlesbrough) his position in the side going forward looks increasingly bleak.
Life without Alex Scott?
The last three matches without the midfielder have provided a glimpse into the expected going forward as Scott recovers from a knee injury. Just hours before kick-off, the Mail Online published an article suggesting Liverpool had been scouting him ahead of a potential summer move.
Whether that materialises or not, who knows? Although it's clear he'll unlikely be a City player next season given the amount of Premier League interest.
Scott has been such a key figure for City over the last two seasons and a pleasure to watch. Yesterday marked the first time since his breakthrough that he's been absent for three consecutive league matches.
City could have done with him against Reading but they have shown over the last two games that they can still carry that threat going forward while meaning defensively sound in the middle of the park. There's no doubt they are a better side with Scott in the team but there's been plenty of encouraging signs to suggest that if the money is invested wisely, his expected departure won't feel like the be-all and end-all.
Andy King has admirably stepped up recently while Omar Taylor-Clarke continues to learn and develop at this level. In the No10 position, City have options in Tommy Conway, Andi Weimann and Anis Mehmeti - all of whom are more than capable of making an impact.
Weimann certainly looks more at home in that role and there will be other positions of priority over the summer including in central defence and undoubtedly a defensive midfielder with King's playing future beyond this season unclear. City will have Scott back for the trip to Watford next weekend and he'll come back into the starting XI with the clock ticking on his time in BS3.
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