Wigan 1 (Heskey 38)
Reading 0
The Royals lost 1-0 at Wigan this afternoon, with Emile Heskey's strike proving decisive.
Reading started well, but Heskey finished off a tidy move in the 38th minute, hitting home first time as Lee McCulloch's neat ball went inches over Sam Sodje's head.
Heskey had earlier hit the bar, and Wigan were relatively comfortable until the last 15 minutes when the Royals upped the pressure.
Leroy Lita had a great chance to nick a point in the final seconds, but Chris Kirkland was out to smother.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Murty (c), Shorey, Sodje, Ingimarsson; Harper (Long 87), Sidwell, Seol (Hunt 69), Convey (Oster 64); Doyle, Lita
Subs: Stack, Gunnarsson
Booked: Seol, Sodje
Wigan (4-4-2): Kirkland; Boyce, Baines, De Zeeuw (c), Hall; Landzaat (Kavanagh 78), Scharner, Valencia, McCulloch; Camara (Connolly 20), Heskey (Chimbonda 77)
Subs: Pollitt, Jackson
Booked: Heskey, Scharner
Ref: Mike Riley
Attendance: 14,636
Full report
With five minutes gone Reading very nearly carved out a goal. Bobby Convey took an excellent touch inside the Wigan half, then played Leroy Lita in.
It was a tough chance from the edge of the area, but he managed to force Chris Kirkland into a save, and if a Royal had been following in then it would surely have been a goal, but Wigan cleared.
Henri Camara was causing problems with his pace, but Steve Sidwell tracked back well to stop his run.
Reading constructed a nice move in the ninth minute, and Lita turned Arjan De Zeeuw well but Kirkland dived down to save. Down the other end Antonio Valencia shot wide on the turn but he was offside anyway.
Wigan were good in possession, but Reading were more than holding their own. Nicky Shorey's quick free kick found Sidwell in the box, but his cross-shot evaded everyone in the area.
The Latics were quick on the counter though, and Emile Heskey was just offside from Valencia's pass, although the former Liverpool man had taken a loose touch in an any event.
Heskey went very close on 18 minutes, getting in a towering header to nod Valencia's corner onto the angle of post and bar with Marcus Hahnemann stranded.
The dangerous Camara went off injured two minutes later, and Convey dragged a right-footed shot six feet wide from 20 yards.
Wigan soon went close again, winning the ball well in midfield before sub David Connolly picked up the ball on the edge of the box. He unselfishly found Valencia outside him, and Hahnemann had to make a smart save to his left to prevent the goal.
The game then entered something of a quiet phase, with neither side able to get a sight of goal. That all changed in the 38th minute though.
Paul Scharner received the ball deep in Reading territory, and played it into the feet of Lee McCulloch. The impressive Scot dinked a nice cushioned ball inches above Sodje's head, and Heskey smacked home first time, narrowly to the left of the onrushing Hahnemann.
The American was then out to smother a chance for Connolly as the Latics ended the half on top.
The home side continued to play well after the break, with Valencia firing a couple of long-range efforts at goal.
Convey did well to win a corner for Reading on 54 minutes, and for the first time in the game the Royals elected to deliver the set piece first time rather than play it short. Shorey found the onrushing Ivar Ingimarsson, but the Icelander headed a relatively tough chance wide.
McCulloch shot into the side netting just before the hour, and Heskey had a golden chance to make it two but chipped over when clean through on goal after a nice move.
Reading were finding it tough to get out of their own half, and Valencia had a shot as Paul Jewell's side increased the pressure.
Steve Coppell's side stepped things up a little though, and replaced both wingers as they tried to get a foothold in a game that was low on chances.
With 15 minutes left John Oster did well down the right, and hung up a cross that was inches above Lita's head. Wigan broke immediately, and forced a corner that came to nothing.
The game opened up a little as it entered the last 10 minutes, and Wigan were perhaps unfortunate not to have a penalty as Sodje went in on sub Graham Kavanagh.
Irishman Kavanagh went through on goal with six minutes after lovely interplay between Connolly and McCulloch. The midfielder had the whole goal to shoot at, but could only fire at Hahnemann's outstreched foot as the American dived.
With five minutes left, Harper found sub Stephen Hunt in the area with a good ball. The winger stepped inside and prepared to shoot, only to find Valencia back making a good challenge.
With two minutes left, Lita had a great chance to earn a point. The impressive Oster played a brilliant ball to his feet, and he was in with a clear sight of goal. Kirkland was out quickly, and the former Bristol City man could only shoot straight at him as the chance went begging.
Reading continued to press, but even though they threw everything forward they were beaten by the clock and Wigan took all three points.
