Plymouth Argyle have given Cardiff an early Christmas present ahead of our Boxing Day meeting, as their holding of West Brom at Home Park has kept the Bluebirds narrowly inside the top six after an improved, but still frustrating result away at Leicester.

It was a case of a lack of bite up front for both Bluebirds and Foxes, with the limited chances enough to seal a goalless draw. From what little was created it could have been a different story if not for the quality of Alexander at the end of the first half and a missed sitter from Chopra with less than ten minutes to go.

Main positives could be derived from the return of Kerrea Gilbert, who looked solid enough in his first run-out since that terrible training ground injury that had seen him out of contention for over ten games. Darcy Blake was also a player worthy of praise in an impressive second forty five minutes as he came on to replace Riccardo Scimeca after the interval. Early reports state that Riccardo was suffering chest pain at the break and has been taken to hospital for tests.

Despite the lack of attacking action from the red clad Bluebirds in the opening forty five minutes, Cardiff looked distinctly better than they had only seven days earlier at the KC Stadium and the demoralising defeat to Hull.

Leicester were the first to create a chance, as Elvis Hammond gave Alexander an easy save to make inside the opening minutes. Michael Chopra then fired a shot over the bar from the right, before forcing a last ditch tackle from Kisnorbo moments later to deny a good chance.

The first half was effectively a war of attrition between the two teams as both looked to see who would crack - Leicester admittedly holding the majority of possession, though both teams were lacking any real cutting edge action up front. For Cardiff it was a case of some solid defending and midfield play, but the final ball was hard to find and harder to stick from the front two when delivered.

With the first half growing the Foxes applied more pressure than the Bluebirds as first Hume came close with a header. Then at the death they almost crept ahead via Elvis Hammond, but Alexander pulled off a fine double save and then did enough to force a missed shot to clear the danger.

HALF TIME: LEICESTER 0 - 0 CARDIFF

Both teams made a single change at the interval, as Academy product Darcy Blake replaced an assumed injured Riccardo Scimeca. For Leicester Andrew Welsh came on for ex Bluebird Josh Low.

Leicester continued to apply the pressure on the visiting Bluebirds after an early chance for Chopra, though again the goalmouth action and goalkeeper involvement was limited.

Both teams made changes as the half progressed. First it was Cardiff as Kerrea Gilbert was replaced by the on-loan Alan Wright from Sheffield United. Leicester then aimed to revitalise their attacking options as Matt Fryatt was introduced for Hammond ten minutes later.

Cardiff continued to give Henderson an easy afternoon in the Foxes goal, though with almost fifteen minutes remaining created their best chance through the industry of Darren Purse and Paul Parry. Purse was the instigator of the move before linking with Parry as the two aimed to get the first goal of the game. Unfortunately the Leicester defence did enough to clear close range shots from Parry to prevent the opener.

It was an encouraging site to see after so long without enough goalmouth action, but Leicester came close moments later themselves through a good move that ended with the ball in the back of Alexander's net. Thankfully the linesman caught fact that Fryatt's final touch to stab the ball into the net was clearly a few yards offside.

Possession was more evenly shared as the half progressed, with Cardiff in fact becoming a stronger prospect towards the end of the match.

It could have been turned into a memorable afternoon inside the final ten minutes as Thompson set a great ball to fellow Scotsman McNaughton in a wide position. McNaughton then sent in a fine ball to Chopra, who looked dead set to side-foot the ball in from eight yards. In keeping with recent weeks however, whether it's luck, form or something else he sliced the ball wide of the target.

It was the last act of note in an otherwise tame day for both teams - the result a fitting one based on the quality up front from either club.

FULL TIME: LEICESTER 0 - 0 CARDIFF