Reading FC were hurt by their former player Dom Ballard who continued his excellent season for Leyton Orient by hitting a hat-trick against the club he used to play for.
The Royals went into the game on a strong run of form under manager Leam Richardson where they have flown up the League One table and put themselves in contention to fight for a play-off place.
Having had a goal disallowed earlier in the match, Ballard did give his team the lead right at the end of the first-half.
Reading equalised through their talisman Jack Marriott but Ballard restored Orient’s lead in the 65th minute.
Ballard then completed his superb afternoon when he bagged his third of the game to seal the points for Orient.
Ballard showed great promise during his short time with Reading when he arrived on loan from Southampton.
Having scored three goals, Ballard then suffered a season ending injury in an away game at Wycombe Wanderers which cut his time with the Royals short.
Since recovering, Ballard had a quiet loan spell with Cambridge United before joining Orient on a permanent deal in the summer and is having a fantastic season.
The result means Reading drop down to 11th
