READING were pegged back late on to draw 1-1 at fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest last night.
The two sides placed 23rd and 24th in the Championship form table over the last 10 games heading into the contest with just two wins between them in that time.
Royals should have gone ahead when a Chris Gunter cross was inexplicably turned over the crossbar by Chris Martin.
At the other end, Kieran Dowell got the ball in the net for Forest but the flag was raised for offside.
And Reading, who travelled to Spain last week for a mid-season training camp due to having no fixture for 10 days, took the lead when Gunter’s shot was parried out as far as fellow full-back Omar Richards to lash in his first goal for the club.
Jaap Stam’s men looked to set to cling on to three precious points after surviving two close shaves from Tendayi Darikwa, only for Lee Tomlin to pop up with five minutes to play to rescue a point for the hosts.
The draw keeps the Royals 18th in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone with promotion hopefuls Derby County visiting Madejski Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
READING: Mannone, Gunter, Moore, Ilori, Richards, Bacuna, van den Berg (Evans 81), Aluko, Kelly (Edwards 90+1), Barrow (McCleary 71), Martin.
Subs not used: Jaakkola, Blackett, Clement, Bodvarsson.
Bottom of the Championship –
17. Nottm Forest P33 Pts.37
18. READING P32 Pts.33
19. Bolton P33 Pts.33
20. Birmingham P33 Pts.30
21. Hull P32 Pts.29
——————————–
22. Burton P33 Pts.29
23. Barnsley P32 Pts.28
24. Sunderland P33 Pts.26
