ALI AL-HABSI produced a last minute penalty save to earn Reading a huge 1-0 win over fellow play-off chasing Fulham at Madejski Stadium.
Royals looked set to end their three game losing streak thanks to a Roy Beerens strike earlier in the half when he followed in on John Swift’s missed penalty.
But Fulham were handed a late lifeline when Liam Moore, who won the penalty at the other end, tripped former Royal Lucas Piazon in the box.
Up stepped Chris Martin, who was not in the squad when these two sides originally met when the game was abandoned due to fog in December, but his effort down the middle was saved by the legs of Al-Habsi.
And Reading survived a couple more nervy moments to hold on and move up to third in the Championship table.
Jaap Stam made three changes from the side which lost 3-2 at Derby County with Tyler Blackett replacing the suspended Jordan Obita while Dutch duo Joey van den Berg and Roy Beerens were preferred to Tiago Ilori and Yann Kermorgant.
With four strikers named on the bench and no recognised forwards in the starting 11 there was intrigue to see how the Royals lined up and it was a new look front two of Garath McCleary and Roy Beerens leading the attack in a 3-5-2.
While neither side created any clear cut chance early on the game settled into a good rhythm with both sides matching up in formation and style of passing out from the back.
McCleary was the first to get in behind the defence after a good ball from Danny Williams but his low cross was cut out.
It was a similar story down the other end when Reading had a huge let off when wing-back Ryan Fredericks ran off Blackett but his pull back was stopped by captain Paul McShane.
Just a minute later Royals carved out their best opening of the game when Beerens peeled away down the left and teed up Swift, whose low left-footed effort was tipped away by Button.
Sone Aluko wasted a good chance to at least test Al-Habsi on 34 minutes when he got in down the left channel but blazed off target.
While the first half ended level, both sides looked more than capable of finding a way through.
And so it proved just four minutes after the restart. Liam Kelly’s free-kick forced McShane out wide but the defender hooked the ball up into the air and over his head towards his fellow centre-back Moore, who went down under the challenge of Ream.
Referee Stephen Martin pointed to the spot allowing Swift the chance to break the deadlock, but his penalty was saved by Button – the sixth penalty missed by Reading this season.
However, fortunately Beerens was lively to the rebound and followed it in to steer the ball past the keeper.
And that goal certainly seemed to liven everyone up inside Madejski Stadium with a second goal nearly arriving almost immediately when Kelly laid the ball off to Swift inside the box, but his shot was blocked.
McCleary looked to have gone one better on 57 minutes as he cut in from the left and unleashed a rocket towards goal, but the effort crashed back off the underside of the crossbar.
The Jamaican international then led a three-on-one attack minutes later on the break in the end-to-end contest, picking out goalscorer Beerens, but his shot was deflected behind.
It was far from all one-way traffic as half-time substitute Lucas Piazon came close to haunting his former club having spent a year on loan here last season, but his shot was brilliantly blocked by McShane.
With the game winding down, Royals were clearly happy with the 1-0 with McCleary’s saved shot the only effort of note from the home side.
Stam introduced Ilori for his home debut following his switch from Liverpool while George Evans and Yann Kermorgant provided some late physical presence.
But just as it seemed Royals had completed the shut out, Fulham had one last chance to take a point, and a huge chance at that.
It was hearts in mouths for the home faithful when Piazon broke into the box with the game entering its final minute and he was tripped by Moore, giving the visitors a penalty of their own.
But there was still one late twist in the tail as Al-Habsi produced the save with his legs to stop Martin’s powerful effort to send the Mad Stad into raptures.
Al-Habsi had been relatively untroubled throughout but he certainly picked his moment and as the fans trailed out of the ground, it was the goalkeeper’s name they were singing.
READING (ratings out of 10): Al-Habsi 8; Gunter 6, McShane (c) 8, Moore 7, van den Berg 6, Blackett 5 (Ilori 69 5); Kelly 8 (Kermorgant 85 n/a), Williams 7, Swift 7; McCleary 6, Beerens 8 (Evans 85 n/a).
Subs not used: Jaakkola, Meite, Samuel, Mendes.
Goal: Beerens (49)
Yellow cards: McShane (33), McCleary (68)
FULHAM: Button; Fredericks, Madl (Piazon 45), Kalas, Ream, Malone (Sessegnon 69); McDonald (Parker 83), Johansen, Cairney (c); Martin, Aluko.
Subs not used: Bettinelli, Odoi, Sigurdsson, Smith.
Yellow card: Martin (72)
Referee: Stephen Martin
Attendance: 16,012 (inc. 2,452 away)
