Reading 2 (Bikey 32, 79)
Birmingham 1 (Zarate 64)

The Royals have taken three points from a crucial encounter with Birmingham City this afternoon, courtesy of two Andre Bikey headers!

The Cameroonian glanced home John Oster and Nicky Shorey deliveries to cancel out Mauro Zarate's equaliser and help Steve Coppell's side to a very valuable win.

You can read about how it all happened below in our minute-by-minute clockwatch.

Reading: Hahnemann; Rosenior, Shorey, Bikey, Ingimarsson (c); Harper, Matejovsky (Cisse 81), Oster (Long 76), Hunt; Doyle, Kitson
Subs: Federici, Sonko, Kebe.

Birmingham City: Taylor; Kelly, Murphy, Ridgewell (c), Jaidi; Muamba, Nafti, Larsson, McSheffrey (O'Connor 64), Zarate, Forssell (Jerome 80).
Subs: Doyle, Parnaby, Johnson.
Yellow: Ridgewell

Referee: M Riley
Att: 24,085

Live updates
2pm - Reading's team is in, and there's one change, Dave Kitson coming in for Shane Long. The Irishman takes up a place on the bench.

2.22pm - Birmingham have named their team too and Sebastian Larsson is fit to start on the right side of midfield. There is no place for the eligible again Martin Taylor nor strike threat James McFadden though. Mauro Zarate steps in alongside Forssell up front.

2.28pm - We've had a snow flurry and then bright sunshine here at Madejski Stadium so far, but now it's a bit cloudy, very windy and quite cold.

2:46pm - The two teams are out warming up. City's seems to be winding down first.

2:55pm - The teams are lining up in the tunnel now and preparing to come out in front of a packed house. The sun has begun to shine!

2:56pm - The teams stride out and shake hands in the part of the ground that remains in shade. Two centre backs Ivar Ingimarsson and Liam Ridgewell will be shaking hands in the centre circle now.

3 mins - Oster feeds Kitson who shows great feet to keep the ball despite being surrounded by Birmingham players. He finds Hunt on the left wing, who passes a low cross into the six yard box. Ridgewell misses it and Doyle agonisingly does too and the ball bobbles through for Maik Taylor. A good good chance.

6 mins - Matejovsky fouls Muamba 30 yards out and concedes a free kick. Larsson tries his luck early on and drives at goal but Hahnemann watches it well and collects it into his chest.

8 mins - A slip by Rosenior allows McSheffrey to collect it on the run. He races into the box and drives low towards the bottom right corner. It fizzes millimeters wide - that is a let off!

14 mins - A cross is swung in deep from the left and Oster arrives on it and scuffs it back across goal from a tight angle. It's behind Kitson, who seems to be dragged down and Doyle arrives to connect with it at the far post. Yards out he tries to scramble it home but a combination of Ridgewell and maybe the post somehow save it from creeping in.

17 mins - Rosenior picks a great pass to set Matejovsky into the box down the right. Oster peels off him but he slides it into the six yard box and Hunt is running onto it. He gets ahead of the defender but seems to miss his kick and City scramble it away.

19 mins - From a Birmingham corner Reading break as Matejovsky feeds Hunt on the charge. He has Oster to his right and Doyle to his left but he goes alone down the middle and lashes a 22-yard effort against a beaten Taylor's crossbar. A great shot. Reading should be in front but they haven't converted one of their chances.

21 mins - Larsson delivers a good inswinging corner and Jaidi rises highest to power a header six yards from goal just over the bar.

25 mins - Oster reads Kitson's dummy and collects the ball on the left. He spots Matejovsky running into the frame and tees him up. The Czech strikes it 22 yards out but Taylor is down well low to his left to save. A good effort from the Czech.

28 mins - Oster waits patiently to feed Rosenior on the overlap on the right. He crosses well to the far post and Matejovsky rises but under pressure his header just balloons up for Taylor to calmly catch.

32 mins - Hunt wins a free kick on the left for a high foot from Muamba. Oster delivers a beautiful ball and Andre Bikey runs with purpose towards it. He wins it and glances a free header inside the right upright. 1-0!

33 mins - Birmingham are straight back onto the attack. Zarate fins McSheffrey on the left, whose mishit cross needs to be tipped over by Hahnemann. The corner is nodded down inside the area to Forssell, who swivels and stabs a shot just wide of the left post.

41 mins - Rosenior is harshly penalised for a foul on the right. Larsson delivers and Kitson nods it behind. The corner is cleared and when they try to dink it back in Ridgewell chips it into Hahnemann's palms from 8 yards out.

45 mins - Hunt collects a great switch from Kitson and wins a corner off the ankle of Larsson. Oster delivers it far too deep for everyone.

HALF TIME - It's not been vintage but Reading have definitely been the better team. They lead but will need another one to be sure of the points.

47 mins - From a Rosenior clearance, Hunt brings it down and it drops nicely for Kitson. It's two on two here. Kitson checks a little perhaps not realising and he eventually finds Doyle on the left, whose cross is hacked away.

49 mins - Shorey's central free kick is taken off Kitson's head and out for a corner. The low near post corner is flicked on by Oster but Bikey can't win the header and City clear.

52 mins - Matejovsky slides a good pass into Doyle on the left, who reaches the byline and pulls it back brilliantly to Oster. He's 10 yards out and tries a sidefooted effort but it spoons up and over the bar. A good chance for the winger there.

60 mins - Oster gets to the byline on the right and crosses. It seems to hit Murphy's arm just inside the box as he blocks but nothing is given. The corner, this time taken by Hunt is cleared with ease.

63 mins - A long ball over the top sets Zarate away. Hahnemann is way outside his area to try to intercept and at full stretch he nods it away from the Argentine. That could have gone wrong.

64 mins - GOAL! It was coming. Forssell stays strong to keep the ball from Ingimarsson and he rolls the Icelander on the left of the box. He cuts it into the middle and Zarate is free to touch it home from close range. 1-1!

65 mins - City substituttion. O'Connor is on for McSheffrey.

72 mins - A free kick from deep is flicked on by O'Connor and then Ridgewell knocks it down. Forssell has it 10 yards out and with the whole goal to aim at but Hahnemann somehow scrambles it wide with his sprawled legs. Reading were almost punished.

75 mins - Oster cuts inside from the right and drives low towards the near post but Taylor is down well to calmly save.

76 mins - Reading substitution. Oster is replaced by Shane Long.

79 mins - GOAL! Ridgewell fouls Long and receives a yellow card. Shorey whips the free kick in and Bikey is there again to brilliantly glance past Taylor at his near post! Can Reading hold onto this now?

80 mins - City substitution. Cameron Jerome is on for Forssell.

81 mins - Reading substitution. Matejovsky is replaced by Kalifa Cisse.

83 mins - Jerome gets in between Ingimarsson and Bikey and he's in here. He nicks it past Hahnemann and it is bobbling towards goal but it is wide. That was a let off. Reading just need to hang on here.

86 mins - Long shows great pace to race down the right and breeze past Jaidi. The Tunisian forces him quite narrow but he still gets a shot in. Taylor saves at his near post and it bobbles behind.

88 mins - Ridgewell earns a free kick on the left and Reading deploy the non-league charge. It works and Hahnemann has the kick.

90 mins - Birmingham are throwing everything forward now. Jerome gets in down the right but Ingimarsson shepherds him over to the right.

FULL TIME - Reading have won. A hige sigh of relief rings around the stadium. Andre Bikey is the hero - not just for his brace but for some fabulous defending. Three valuable points!!