SUBSTITUTE Ola John struck four minutes from time to rescue Reading a point on a frustrating night for the hosts at Madejski Stadium.
Royals found themselves trailing inside the opening two minutes to a Jamie Paterson effort but levelled things up soon after through Oliver Norwood – only to fall behind again when Nakhi Wells netted midway through the opening half.
And on an indifferent evening in front of goal, it looked as though the dogged visitors would have done enough to flee Berkshire with all three points.
Such a scenario, however, was eradicated late on when replacement John tied up the scoring through a tidy finish.
A late rally from Reading ensued, but they were unable to prevent their winless streak stretching to a fourth game.
Boss Steve Clarke made three changes to the side which held league leaders Brighton to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, bringing in Jordan Obita, the fit-again Anton Ferdinand and Lucas Piazon.
As a result, Andrew Taylor and Orlando Sa dropped to the bench, while Michael Hector did not make the matchday squad at all.
This was because the hosts already had their quota of five loan players in the team for any given match.
But it was a shocking start from the Clarke’s charges, who found themselves a goal down inside the first 70 seconds.
Obita’s pass to Ferdinand was short and Huddersfield pounced, stealing in and slipping the ball to Jamie Paterson, who timed his run to perfection and coolly beat Ali Al Habsi with a shot from 10 yards which rolled into the bottom corner.
And Royals were lucky not to conceded a second soon after.
Town’s Philip Billing was granted too much time and space to advance forward, taking his run into the box and sucking in two defenders before squaring to an unmarked Harry Bunn.
The midfielder looked to beat Al Habsi at the near post, but the Reading ‘keeper got down well to block the effort and smother the loose ball.
Despite being sloppy in possession thus far and with few ideas going forward, Reading did manage to get themselves back on level terms in the 15th minute via a goal which pretty much came out of nowhere.
Royals’ greatest threat during the opening 45 minutes came down the left, and through the recalled Jordan Obita in particular.
It was the full back who was hurled to the ground and awarded a free-kick over by the far touchline.
Against his old club and in front of the visiting fans, Oliver Norwood took the set-piece.
Some will argue it was a cross, and others a shot, but either way, the Northern Ireland international netted the equaliser when beating Huddersfield shot-stopper Jed Steer at his near post.
The latter should have done better, but Norwood was now enjoying a goal against previous employers – giving the small pocket of Town supporters in the South Stand a celebratory clinch of the fist in the process.
Momentum had now swung the way of the hosts and Royals would find themselves encamped in opposition territory, yet although working the ball neatly out to both flanks, struggled to create any chances of note.
And failure to break down the Huddersfield resolve was punished on 26 minutes.
Again the Reading defending was questionable as Paterson played in Nakhi Wells, who drew out Al Habsi before firing over the Omani and into the roof of the net.
The hosts again rallied, but the end product from two more chances lacked the necessary conviction, with Danny Williams firing straight at Steer from distance when set up via a gorgeous flick from Blackman.
Blackman himself then climbed highest to meet another Obita centre, but the header lacked power and was an easy catch for the Town No.1.
Toothless in attack and struggling to find a way past stubborn opponents, the hosts were booed off the field by a small section of fans when the half-time whistle was blown.
And boss Clarke was clearly unhappy with what he had witnessed during this time, hauling off both Piazon and McCleary during the interval, with the pair replaced by Orlando Sa and Alex Fernandex respectively.
The changes did help galavanize the side, who started the second half in a positive manner.
Appeals for a penalty, however, were waved away when Matej Vydra went down in the box under a challenge.
The loose ball fell kindly to Blackman, but his effort rattled off a post and into the path of Sa, who saw Steer tip his effort over the bar.
Sa, though, was flagged offside.
The same player sent a first-time effort wide moments later when the ball was worked through the middle before Paul McShane tried his luck from some 30 yards, with Steer plucking his strike out of the air.
It was now pretty much one-way traffic as Reading sought an equaliser, although their work was not helped by a Town side appearing to stifle such attacks through time wasting – and with referee Brendan Malone doing little to kurb such antics.
If not already riled by this, the majority of the crowd were soon up on their feet and calling for a card when Huddersfield defender Joel Lynch scythed down Vydra deep in his own half.
A scuffle duly followed and Malone did go to his pocket, but only to produce yellow cards to Lynch, Blackman and Bunn for the tackle and subsequant reactions.
The last throw of the dice from Clarke saw Ola John added to the attack, with Williams making way – and the change had the desired affect.
With Reading now pouring forward in numbers, the Dutchman, who had earlier saw a shot on the turn defelcted away for a corner, latched on a Chris Gunter cross to the far post, where he showed his marker inside before firing across Steer and into the far corner to make it 2-2 with just six minutes remaining.
The goal again breathed new life into the hosts, who now began to lay siege on the Terriers’ goal.
Only a last-ditch tackle from captain Mark Hudson denied Vydra a strike at goal when the ball was worked into the box from the right and John again let fly, but his drive from range was off target – as was another Norwood drive – meaning Reading, after a fruitless five minutes of additional time, had to be content with a point.
Despite no wins in four, three of which have finished as draws, Reading this evening remain seventh in the table on 24 points from 15 games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Cardiff City.
Reading: Al Habsi, Gunter, McShane (c), Norwood, Vydra, Obita, McCleary (Fernandez 46), Ferdinand, Piazon (Sa 46), Blackman, Williams (John 74).
Subs not used: Taylor, Hurtado, Cooper, Bond.
Huddersfield Town: Steer, Davidson, Hudson, Paterson (Lolley 46), Cranie, Huws, Bunn, Wells (Vaughan 80), Dempsey (Smith 89), Billing, Lynch.
Subs not used: Murphy, Carayol, Wallace, Bojaj.
Attendance: 14,379 (266 away).
