Reading fell to a dismal 2-1 Sky Bet Championship defeat at home to lowly Burton Albion, whose battling victory boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation.

Burton went in front five minutes before the break when defender Tom Flanagan jabbed home for a rare goal.

Reading equalised in the 76th minute through leading scorer Mo Barrow's seventh goal of the season but Burton regained the lead five minutes later when Liam Moore's intended clearance cannoned off Albion's Tom Naylor and into the net.

Burton forced the early pace, with Lucas Akins misdirecting an intended deep cross from the right when well positioned.

Reading replied through the pace of Barrow on the left flank but he failed to trouble the Burton defence despite a number of promising runs.

Full-back Leandro Bacuna did better on the right, with a firm, low cross that had Burton goalkeeper Stephen Bywater in two minds. However, after Bywater decided not to come for the ball, Reading had no one on hand to supply the vital touch.

Having survived the scare, Burton twice ventured forward to try to test home keeper Vito Mannone. Akins' shot carried little power and Mannone saved easily. Flanagan then sent a 20-yard effort high over the crossbar.

Another good cross from Bacuna was eventually cleared to safety before Reading fashioned their first goal attempt - on the half-hour mark.

Sone Aluko struck his effort well from outside the Burton area but Bywater gathered it without too much trouble.

Burton went ahead in the 40th minute when Akins hurled in a long throw from the right. The Reading defence failed to deal with it and Flanagan was allowed to steal in for his first goal in five years.

Reading were jeered off at half-time and the mood of their fans did not improve as Burton threatened early in the second half. Lloyd Dyer glanced a header off target from an Akins cross and Will Miller miscued an attempt from the edge of the home area.

Burton defended deeper as the game wore on but were breached 14 minutes from the end when Barrow guided in Liam Kelly's precise pass.

However, a comedy of errors in the Reading defence gifted Burton their winner. Moore's attempted clearance thumped against Naylor, with the ball ricocheting back inside the home area and past a startled Mannone.

The managers

Jaap Stam: "After conceding two goals like that, it's frustrating. The first one was from a throw-in that got all the way through. We didn't defend well enough in front of goal. The second one as well.

"But to be honest, in how we played today, that's one of our worst games since I've been here. Quality on the ball, touches on the ball, choices - all basically wrong."

Nigel Clough: "We felt a little bit hard done by as we thought we had situations to get a second goal. When you concede an equaliser and Reading are pushing for the winner, that's when your character shows up.

"Although the winning goal was a bit fortunate, I think that we deserved it over the course of the game. We would have been happy with a point before the match but the way the game went, we'd have been disappointed with that. That's the next stage for us. We've got to be a bit more clinical."

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