Reading striker Shane Long struck a stoppage-time penalty to earn them a crucial win over Plymouth and boost their Championship survival hopes.
Simon Church missed two chances for the Royals while Jamie Mackie forced Adam Federici to make a good save.
Reading went ahead when Long sped through and slotted home, but Argyle levelled when Carl Fletcher tapped in after Kenny Cooper's shot was blocked.
The hosts won it when Long converted after Clark fouled Hal Robson-Kanu.
Reading boss Brian McDermott:
"Shane has got really fit, he's looking after himself and we are now seeing the player we always knew we had.
"His confidence is sky high, he is winning headers and there was only one guy who was going to take that penalty.
"He has been brilliant for us but we need to start spreading the goals around the team.
"We have taken nine points from the last nine and that is going to be massively important."
Plymouth manager Paul Mariner:
"We didn't play well in the first half but we got back into the game and felt we had done enough to earn a point so it's very tough.
"The changes made a difference but when you are fighting at this end of the table you rely on a bit of luck and I don't feel we got that.
"It was a soft penalty and I'm not sure that we would have been given it at the other end but the referee had a good view of it and he gave it so that is that."
Live text and stats
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Championship
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Reading
2-1
Plymouth
FT
(HT 0-0)
Long 51
Long (pen) 90+4
Fletcher 68
Reading
01 Federici
16 Ingimarsson
24 Bertrand
40 Griffin
44 Khizanishvili
06 Gunnarsson
11 McAnuff
20 Karacan (Kebe 61)
34 Howard
09 Long
18 Church (Robson-Kanu 73)
Substitutes
21 Hamer,
26 Pearce,
04 Cisse,
14 Kebe,
19 Robson-Kanu,
23 Rasiak,
36 Thorvaldsson
Plymouth
21 Stockdale
16 McNamee (Mason 69)
18 Sawyer
22 Rede Johnson
04 Fletcher
06 Clark yellow card
07 Johnson
11 Kari Arnason
25 Judge (Noone 61 yellow card)
08 Mackie
14 Fallon (Cooper 45)
Substitutes
01 Larrieu,
15 Barker,
17 Noone,
20 Summerfield,
10 Wright-Phillips,
32 Mason,
33 Cooper
Ref: LangfordAtt: 15,484
READING
PLYMOUTH
Possession
Reading58%
Plymouth42%
Attempts on target
Reading7
Plymouth2
Attempts off target
Reading6
Plymouth5
Corners
Reading9
Plymouth4
Fouls
Reading8
Plymouth20
Final Result
90:00+5:06 Kari Arnason sends in a cross, clearance by Zurab Khizanishvili.
Full Time
90:00+4:45 The referee blows for the end of the match.
90:00+3:03 GOAL - Shane Long:Reading 2 - 1 Plymouth Shane Long scores a placed penalty. Reading 2-1 Plymouth.
90:00+1:48 Booking The referee books Chris Clark for unsporting behaviour.
90:00+1:33 Hal Robson-Kanu fouled by Chris Clark, the ref awards a Penalty.
86:09 Shane Long challenges Carl Fletcher unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Kari Arnason.
85:21 Shane Long has an effort at goal from close range which goes wide right of the target.
84:04 Kari Arnason challenges Hal Robson-Kanu unfairly and gives away a free kick. Strike comes in from Brian Howard from the free kick, save by David Stockdale.
83:29 Kenny Cooper handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Ryan Bertrand takes the free kick.
82:45 Jamie Mackie challenges Brynjar Gunnarsson unfairly and gives away a free kick. Ivar Ingimarsson takes the direct free kick.
81:36 The ball is delivered by Jobi McAnuff, clearance made by Gary Sawyer.
76:35 Corner taken by Jobi McAnuff from the left by-line played to the near post, Kari Arnason makes a clearance.
74:54 The ball is delivered by Ryan Bertrand, Ivar Ingimarsson takes a shot. Save by David Stockdale.
74:54 Booking The referee cautions Craig Noone for unsporting behaviour.
74:51 Free kick awarded for a foul by Craig Noone on Jobi McAnuff.
74:05 Free kick awarded for a foul by Kenny Cooper on Zurab Khizanishvili. Free kick taken by Ryan Bertrand.
73:01 Corner taken right-footed by Jobi McAnuff from the left by-line, save by David Stockdale.
72:23 Substitution Hal Robson-Kanu is brought on as a substitute for Simon Church.
72:03 Shot by Carl Fletcher from outside the box goes high over the target.
70:41 Unfair challenge on Brian Howard by Jamie Mackie results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Adam Federici.
69:39 Craig Noone challenges Jobi McAnuff unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Andy Griffin.
69:05 The referee blows for offside. Indirect free kick taken by Adam Federici.
68:36 Substitution Joe Mason is brought on as a substitute for David McNamee.
67:35 The assist for the goal came from Jamie Mackie.
67:35 GOAL - Carl Fletcher:Reading 1 - 1 Plymouth Carl Fletcher scores a goal from close range low into the middle of the goal. Reading 1-1 Plymouth.
67:17 Jamie Mackie sends in a cross,
65:19 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Carl Fletcher by Brynjar Gunnarsson. David McNamee takes the free kick.
64:40 Jobi McAnuff takes the inswinging corner, Carl Fletcher makes a clearance.
61:48 Carl Fletcher challenges Brynjar Gunnarsson unfairly and gives away a free kick. Strike comes in from Simon Church from the free kick, comfortable save by David Stockdale.
60:59 Effort on goal by Shane Long from inside the box misses to the right of the target.
60:38 Substitution Jimmy Kebe replaces Jem Karacan.
59:19 Free kick taken by Adam Federici.
59:19 Substitution Craig Noone on for Alan Judge.
59:19 Corner taken right-footed by Alan Judge, free kick awarded for a foul by Jamie Mackie on Adam Federici.
58:07 Inswinging corner taken by Ryan Bertrand from the right by-line.
57:33 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Shane Long by Reda Johnson. Strike on goal comes in from Brian Howard from the free kick, save made by David Stockdale.
Correction - 55:06 Kenny Cooper concedes a free kick for a foul on Jem Karacan. Free kick taken by Jem Karacan.
55:06 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Jem Karacan by Rory Fallon. Free kick taken by Jem Karacan.
54:24 Free kick awarded for a foul by Chris Clark on Ryan Bertrand. Ryan Bertrand takes the free kick.
54:02 Shane Long is flagged offside by the assistant referee. David Stockdale takes the free kick.
53:02 Reda Johnson fouled by Brynjar Gunnarsson, the ref awards a free kick. Reda Johnson takes the free kick.
50:43 Brian Howard provided the assist for the goal.
50:43 GOAL - Shane Long:Reading 1 - 0 Plymouth Shane Long finds the net with a goal from inside the penalty box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Reading 1-0 Plymouth.
49:34 Outswinging corner taken by Chris Clark from the left by-line, Gary Sawyer takes a shot. Save made by Adam Federici.
49:14 Jamie Mackie takes a shot. Adam Federici makes a save.
48:41 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Damien Johnson by Brynjar Gunnarsson. David Stockdale takes the direct free kick.
45:01 The referee gets the second half started.
Half Time
45:00+1:09 The ref blows to end the first period.
45:00 Substitution (Plymouth) makes a substitution, with Kenny Cooper coming on for Rory Fallon.
44:34 Rory Fallon challenges Zurab Khizanishvili unfairly and gives away a free kick. Adam Federici takes the free kick.
44:06 Effort on goal by Alan Judge from just outside the area goes harmlessly over the target.
41:42 Rory Fallon gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jem Karacan. Free kick taken by Adam Federici.
39:09 Corner from the right by-line taken by Alan Judge, Header from deep inside the area by Rory Fallon goes over the bar.
37:58 Jamie Mackie produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the net.
36:00 David McNamee concedes a free kick for a foul on Brynjar Gunnarsson. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Ryan Bertrand from left wing, save made by David Stockdale.
31:43 Gary Sawyer fouled by Jobi McAnuff, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by David Stockdale.
29:40 Shot from inside the area by Simon Church clears the bar.
27:35 Jobi McAnuff delivers the ball, save made by David Stockdale.
26:46 Foul by Damien Johnson on Shane Long, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Jobi McAnuff.
25:48 Foul by Brynjar Gunnarsson on Damien Johnson, free kick awarded. Kari Arnason delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from left channel, clearance by Chris Clark.
23:27 Unfair challenge on Simon Church by Reda Johnson results in a free kick. Andy Griffin produces a cross, Header by Ivar Ingimarsson from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the target.
19:51 Jobi McAnuff takes the inswinging corner, Headed effort from inside the box by Ivar Ingimarsson misses to the right of the target.
19:39 Ryan Bertrand sends in a cross, clearance made by Carl Fletcher.
18:09 Shane Long fouled by David McNamee, the ref awards a free kick. Ryan Bertrand takes the direct free kick.
16:28 The official flags Simon Church offside. Free kick taken by David Stockdale.
15:41 Simon Church takes a shot. Blocked by Kari Arnason.
14:19 Shane Long challenges David McNamee unfairly and gives away a free kick. Reda Johnson takes the free kick.
13:26 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Ryan Bertrand from the right by-line to the near post, Ivar Ingimarsson has a headed effort at goal from close range which goes wide of the left-hand post.
12:50 Inswinging corner taken by Ryan Bertrand from the right by-line played to the near post, David McNamee manages to make a clearance.
10:07 Unfair challenge on Ryan Bertrand by Chris Clark results in a free kick. Ryan Bertrand delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from left wing, save made by David Stockdale.
8:50 Unfair challenge on Alan Judge by Andy Griffin results in a free kick. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Alan Judge, Jem Karacan makes a clearance.
6:11 The ball is swung over by Shane Long, clearance made by Chris Clark.
5:41 Corner taken by Jobi McAnuff.
5:30 The ball is sent over by Ryan Bertrand, David McNamee gets a block in.
2:51 Ivar Ingimarsson fouled by Rory Fallon, the ref awards a free kick. Adam Federici restarts play with the free kick.
2:01 Corner taken by Jobi McAnuff.
1:45 Jobi McAnuff crosses the ball, Shane Long takes a shot. David McNamee gets a block in.
0:34 Corner taken right-footed by Alan Judge from the right by-line, Ivar Ingimarsson manages to make a clearance.
0:00 The game kicks-off.
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