Preston 2 (Ingimarsson og 54, Elliott 81)
Reading 1 (S Hunt pen 27)

Reading threw away a half time lead to lose 2-1 at Preston in hugely disappointing fashion at Deepdale.

North End started strongly with Marcus Hahnemann forced into a solid save from Jon Parkin, but the Royals soon started to dominate and hit the bar through Noel Hunt.

Stephen Hunt's third penalty of the campaign gave Reading the lead after an unneccesary foul on his brother Noel, and the first half ended with Steve Coppell's team well on top.

Preston levelled in bizarre circumstances early in the second half when Hahnemann and Ivar Ingimarsson got mixed up as they tried to defend Chris Sedgwick's cross, and the ball dribbled off the defender and over the line.

Both teams had chances to win it but Preston sealed the points when Hahnemann came for a cross and didn't get it, the unmarked Stephen Elliott tapping home.

Noel Hunt then hit the post and sub Kalifa Cisse had a huge penalty shout turned down with time almost up. 

There was still time for Liam Rosenior's hooked shot to be amazingly cleared off the line by Youl Mawene, and the home team held on.

Preston: Lonergan, Jones, McEveley, Mawene, St Ledger, Nicholson,  McKenna (c), Sedgwick (Whaley 90), Wallace (Jarrett 84), Parkin, Elliott (Mellor 90).
Subs: Neal, Nolan
Yellow card: Wallace, Sedgwick

Reading: Hahnemann; Rosenior, Armstrong, Bikey, Ingimarsson (c); Gunnarsson (Harper 84), Karacan (Cisse 84), Kebe, S Hunt; Doyle (Long 69), N Hunt.
Subs: Andersen, Kelly

Ref: N S Miller

Att: 12,316

World TV: Coppell on PNE loss
 Clockwatch: Preston 2-1 Reading

Full report
The first chance fell to the hosts are five minutes, when striker Jon Parkin received possession on the edge of the box and turned to curl a left footed effort goalwards, but Marcus Hahnemann dived to his right to save with a fair degree of comfort.

Reading then came within a whisker of taking the lead when Brynjar Gunnarsson nodded on Kevin Doyle's right wing cross and Noel Hunt leapt superbly to head goalwards, only for the crossbar to rescue the home team.

Back down the other end, Chris Sedgwick drilled a dangerous low ball across the face of goal, and Hahnemann twice did well - firstly to parry the cross and then pounce on the loose ball when it rebounded off Ivar Ingimarsson.

After 18 minutes Sedgwick was lucky to escape a card when he scythed down Chris Armstrong, and from the resulting free kick Stephen Hunt's delivery was met by Doyle's looping header which seemed destined for the top corner until Andy Lonergan produced an athletic save.

Reading's two Hunts combined to give the Royals a 27th minute lead. Noel received possession on the right wing and skipped past Jay McEveley to race into the box, where he was felled by a clumsy challenge from Sean St Ledger. Referee Nigel Miller pointed straight to the spot, and Stephen Hunt sent Lonergan the wrong way with a low finish into the left corner.

The Royals were now controlling the game and Noel Hunt again threatened three minutes later, running onto his brother's wonderful pass and twisting away from challenges before shooting wide across the face of goal.

Preston were also posing an occasional threat, and Jem Karacan had to anticipate well to clear the danger after Parkin nodded down Barry Nicholson's cross after 36 minutes, but the Royals ended the half increasingly in the ascendancy.

Within two minutes of the restart Jimmy Kebe picked up a loose ball from a corner and turned to fire powerfully to the near post, but Lonergan was safely behind it, and the opening minutes of the second period were following the same pattern as the end of the first with Reading fully dominant.

Just as the visitors looked comfortable, Preston were gifted an equaliser in bizarre circumstances. Chris Sedgwick floated in a seemingly harmless cross from the left, but Ivar Ingimarsson and Marcus Hahnemann got themselves into a horrible muddle to see the ball trickle in off the defender.

The Royals nearly restored their advantage immediately as the dangerous Kebe cut infield from the right and found Noel Hunt, whose shot was blocked by Lonergan with the keeper then reacting quickly to scoop the loose ball away from the lurking Stephen Hunt.

The temperature of the game had risen considerably and North End were then extremely unlucky when Parkin fired a powerful long range drive which Hahnemann did superbly to palm onto the crossbar. St Ledger headed the resulting corner inches over the bar and Preston were most definitely back in the game.

It was end to end now, and after 65 minutes Noel Hunt and Kebe combined to tee up Kevin Doyle on the edge of the box, and the Irish striker's first time left footed drive was deflected narrowly wide.

Midway through the period Preston went close with a downward header from Parkin from a left wing corner, although it appeared Hahnemann had been impeded as he tried to scramble across his goal.

Doyle was perhaps fatigued by his midweek exertions with Ireland, and he was replaced by fellow Republic international Shane Long.

Referee Miller waved away a penalty appeal for the home team with 20 minutes remaining as Stuart Elliott ran onto a throughball down the middle and tangled with Hahnemann as they both flew in for the ball.

It really was anyone's game at this point, and after 78 minutes Noel Hunt's stinging volley on the turn drew a good parry from Lonergan.

Hahnemann was the busier of the two keepers though, and made a brilliant diving save to keep out Billy Jones' powerful long range drive. But the USA stopper misjudged Ross Wallace's resulting corner, seeing the ball to drift over his head and land at Elliott's feet for a simple tap in.

The home team were now hanging on in a frantic finale and Noel Hunt was again denied by the crossbar with a stretching header from his brother Stephen's free kick.

We then had a massive penalty shout when sub Kalifa Cisse went over in the area, and it looked for all the world to be a spot kick. The ball run to Kebe, who shot into the sidenetting from an acute angle. With time almost up the Malian then fired narrowly too high after cutting in from the right.

Youl Mawene then produced the clearance of the season, somehow heading Liam Rosenior's shot off his line from an Andre Bikey long throw.

But the home team had done enough and held on to turn around a game that seemed to be heading for a certain away win early in the second half.