Forster Powers Ten-Man Royals To Victory

The Royals had much of the better play in the opening stages, and Tyson and Forster both blazed over the bar in the opening twenty minutes, from six yards and twenty yards respectively.

Tyson was then fairly booked for a foul on Atherton after eighteen minutes, before both sides powered in more efforts at goal, Nicky Forster should have done better than hit the Bradford post from six yards out.

The red card was then produced by Mathieson in first-half stoppage time as Tyson was adjudged to have brought down Gus Uhlenbeek. Both players were running side by side for a loose ball, when their legs seemingly tangled together and down they went.

After what appeared to be an innocuous incident, the referee had a rush of blood to the head and booked Tyson for a second time, a decision that provoked fury from the away end, and embarrassment and laughter from the home supporters.

A seemingly tearful Nathan Tyson trudged off having received the first sending off of his professional career. However, it later emerged that they were little more than crocodile tears

In the face of this adversity Alan Pardew's men came out of the dressing rooms the sharper at the start of the second-half. Marcus Hahnemann had to make a smart save from Andy Gray, but the travelling Royals supporters need never have really worried about their goal being perished.

In the sixty-sixth minute a terrible mix-up in the Bantam's defence saw Forster collect Davison's weak clearance from a back pass to finish neatly into the bottom corner.

Sammy Igoe came on for John Salako shortly after as Pards looked to inject a bit of the former-Portsmouth man's enthusiasm and zest into the game.

Although Bradford pressed forward slightly more than before, it was not enough for them to carve out any clear-cut chances, and the game slowly petered out. The perseverance of the Royals finally paid off as the final whistle blew, and a deserved three valuable points were gained.

The win leaves Reading in fourth place on sixty-seven points. Meanwhile, a Tony Rougier-inspired Brighton battled to a 2-2 draw with Ipswich, meaning a Play-Off place is within touching distance. Just thirteen points from the remaining seven games are required to be guaranteed of a top six finish. You've come this far, don't throw it away now boys.