Martin Paterson felt the nerves during the end of Burton’s 3-2 win over Reading which kept their League One survival hopes alive.

Mason Bennett and Mustapha Carayol put Albion 2-0 ahead inside 11 minutes before Lewis Wing halved the deficit for Reading.

Bobby Kamwa ensured Burton entered half-time 3-1 up, with Sam Smith’s penalty on the hour mark setting up a nervy finish that the hosts survived.

Burton’s first home win in nine attempts left them five points clear of Cheltenham, who occupy the final relegation place and have a game in hand.

“First half we were good,” Paterson said.

“I knew how I wanted to address this game at home with two wingers and change to a 4-3-3 in possession and I like it, it suited us.

“We made life hard for ourselves defensively, in moments and in our decision making and I honestly think it was down to nerves because it was such a big game. The players knew that we needed points on the board.

“We looked good in the first part of the game but then second half I had to look at the position we were in and not necessarily what I wanted to do, or how I would like to play.

“I changed shape out of necessity to see out the game. It was nerve-racking at the end if I am being completely honest.”

Carayol and Kamwa have been mainly used as substitutes, but Paterson was delighted with the impact his two wingers had.

“Muzzy was fantastic today,” he enthused.

“I was nervous for him today carrying a knock and Bobby Kamwa was good for us too and just needs that match fitness.”

With Reading already safe at the end of a tumultuous season, Ruben Selles was left frustrated by a poor opening to the game that ultimately cost his team anything from the game.

“It was a poor first half from us,” he admitted.

“The opponent hit us with some direct balls, and we had a couple of mistakes when we conceded the first two goals

“When we score at 2-1, we thought it could give us some energy for the game and some momentum back and then the third goal was a disappointing moment for us.

“I think in the second half we came out to win the game. We scored the second one and then we kept them in the box, but they managed to keep the score and it was disappointing to not get anything more.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game with them battling to survive and they did their job. We had a couple of moments of losing our application and conceding goals.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins praised the resilience of his side as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Reading.

Sam Smith and Lewis Wing netted for the visitors, with Adam Phillips and Fabio Jalo providing equalisers.

Collins said: “Ultimately, we gave ourselves a chance to win the game. But equally, we didn’t give ourselves enough of a chance with some of the mistakes we made.

“I thought the players’ effort, attitude, resilience was fantastic and they gave everything right to the last minute.

“I think in the last 10-15 minutes we were the team that looked most like winning.”

On his side’s start to the game, Collins said: “I think we started the game really well. We created opportunities, but then a little bit of nervousness crept in. There were moments in the first half that were poor.

“But there was equally good play at the other end. There were aspects of it I was disappointed with, but it wasn’t a really poor first-half performance.

“It was just moments where poor decision-making and poor execution led to chances.

“We caused them equal amount of problems going the other way and it was just one of those games in terms of the open nature of it.”

On his side coming back from behind twice, Collins said: “To score quick helped us a lot. I think it got the stadium up and then Fabio (Jalo) nearly just took the roof off two minutes later with his shot that blasted off the post.”

Reading head coach Ruben felt his side should have won. He said: “I don’t consider it a very good point. I think we deserved the three points.

“I think we had chances to go and win the game. We didn’t take our chances to do it and in the end, we suffer a little bit.

“I don’t like the point; I prefer to take three. I think we deserve more.

“I think it’s a signal of where we are moving and how we are moving as a team. We can come here, we can compete, we can use our principles and now we need to make one more step and finish the chances when we have them.

“Today I think we should make it and get at least one more goal. I want to believe it’s part of the process.

“There’s still a couple of games to go and we need to continue growing.”

On the amount of chances his side were creating, Selles said: “I’m pleased with the way that we play, the personality we have.

“We have ambitions to be better and the team needs to be better and I need to push them to the limits. I think we are still in process.”

Barnsley had to come from behind twice to draw 2-2 draw with Reading.

The Reds are yet to confirm a play-off spot, whilst Reading have all-but ensured Sky Bet League One safety.

Sam Smith and Lewis Wing netted for the visitors, with Adam Phillips and Fabio Jalo providing equalisers.

The Royals opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Smith nodded home from Femi Azeez’s corner.

Barnsley levelled in the 29th minute when John McAtee dinked a cross from the left for Phillips to head in for his 10th goal of the season.

Smith wasted a guilt-edge chance to give Reading the lead in the 69th minute when he rolled an effort wide inside the six yard box from Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s cut back.

Ruben Selles’ side regained the lead with nine minutes to play when Wing smashed one home from 25 yards out.

Barnsley responded well though and equalised two minutes later through 18-year-old Jalo, who headed beyond substitute goalkeeper David Button.

Jalo almost won it for the hosts two minutes later when he broke free inside the box, but his laced effort struck the left-hand post.

Ruben Selles praised Reading’s character after they moved nine points clear of the League One relegation zone thanks to a comfortable 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

Selles was all smiles after striker Sam Smith put the visitors in command after eight minutes with a close-range header before Lewis Wing doubled the lead just before half-time with a stunning 25-yard free-kick.

“It takes a lot of character to win in the circumstances where we are fighting against relegation,” Selles said.

“We did a really good job to get the three points and we hope that with this result and the coming performances we will have done enough to stay in the league.

“But I think this season for Reading is never done until the final whistle – and maybe after that – but we can only control what happens on the pitch until then.

“We are just thinking about getting as many points as possible because we never know what might happen, but hopefully nothing else will happen with processes.”

Selles added: “We have been talking about how the team has been growing and maturing and today we did the job in the first half and then you could not expect us to dominate for the 100 minutes.

“They had good players to send on at half-time and they made it difficult for us over a period of 15-20 minutes but after that we regained control and we finished strongly.

“We enjoyed the victory and we enjoyed celebrating with our fans because we go all in and they enjoy that.

“Sometimes we don’t get what we want and sometimes we do but there is no doubt we go all in every single time we play.

“The way we do things is exciting for the fans and the way we play is good for the fans and the way we have connected is great.”

While Reading fans celebrated victory, Rovers fans booed their side at the final whistle following a record-extending seventh game without a goal

Manager Matt Taylor said he understood their frustration but asked for the poor run to be seen in context.

“It is understandable because they don’t like what they see at the moment but they are not alone in that,” Taylor said.

“As the manager I have to find a way to make the team function better than we did tonight.

“Moments in the game just dictate everything and certainly the weakness within us to concede that first goal in the manner we did is so frustrating.

“And then they were on top of us because they understand the situation and they don’t like what they see.

“But there is a deeper story. We all know the elephant in the room as regards where players are going to be towards next season.

“But there are still four games left this season so there is enough to play for to show their pride because the supporters want to see fight and endeavour.

“They probably saw that at the start of the second half, which is close to what I want to see out on the pitch, but they didn’t like the way it derailed towards the end.”

Bristol Rovers were booed off by their own fans as Reading eased their own relegation worries with a 2-0 win at the Memorial Stadium.

First-half goals from Sam Smith and Lewis Wing were enough to secure victory as Rovers stretched their record-breaking run of games without a goal to seven.

Smith put Reading on course for an ultimately comfortable victory in the eighth minute with his 13th goal of the season.

His close-range header beat Jed Ward’s despairing dive after Tyler Bindon flicked on Amadou Mbengue’s long throw.

Ward denied Harvey Knibbs with a fine save before Wing doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time when his 25-yard free-kick found the top left-hand corner.

Rovers boss Matt Taylor saw his team raise their game after the break as veteran striker Chris Martin and winger Scott Sinclair joined the fray.

Substitute Brandon Aguilera went close for the hosts but was denied by goalkeeper Joel Pereira as Reading banished any lingering relegation worries.

Lincoln head coach Michael Skubala expects there to be many more “twists and turns” in the League One play-off race after his side let slip a 1-0 lead late on to draw 1-1 at lowly Reading.

Lincoln, now unbeaten in 16 matches, went ahead much against the run of play in the 72nd minute, when substitute Freddie Draper nodded in a cross from Sean Roughan.

But Reading deservedly levelled seven minutes from the end, with defender Tyler Bindon heading in a corner from Lewis Wing from close range.

“All in all, it was a fair point,” Skubala said. “But I keep saying it, there are many more twists and turns to come.

“Reading have been great at home so, to come here and get a point, I’m pleased with that.

“I think it is probably a fair scoreline, when you look at it over the 90 minutes, though maybe a little bit disappointing for us after being 1-0 up.

“We wanted to see it out and we’ve been good recently with set-pieces [at defending them]. So that’s a bit disappointing as well.

“We have high standards, we want to win games and we came here to win.

“We started the game fast and had a couple of chances but then it settled for Reading. We were getting pulled about a little bit in the press.

“But in the second half, when we tidied things up, we looked the better team. And when we went 1-0 up, it felt calm.

“Okay, a set-piece has done us. But we go again, we keep fighting. I always say to the lads: ‘If you can’t win it, don’t lose it’.”

Reading remain six points clear of the relegation zone.

“That was one of our best performances of the season,” Reading manager Ruben Selles said.

“We dominated the action, we dominated the possession.

“Maybe we made a few mistakes in the build-ups but we were aggressive and always tried to play our game.

“We found ourselves behind, in just one action, but we showed character.

“We need to continue working and be more ruthless with the finishing in the final third because I think that we should have been in front before they scored.

“It is only a matter of time before we learn how to do that, to be ruthless, so that we can move on to the next level.

“We created situations and I think that we now have a pure identity. We just need to continue evolving that.

“I think we did enough to win and I thought we controlled every part of the game today. Overall, it was a good performance.”

Reading manager Ruben Selles praised the strong character of his players for brushing aside the club’s off-field worries to secure a vital 4-0 League One victory over Cambridge.

Goals from Sam Smith and Femi Azeez gave Reading, who are still beset by constant cash-flow problems, a commanding half-time lead and they cruised past Cambridge after the break with further efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.

“It was really important for me to see the character of the team as the week has been another difficult one for us,” Selles said.

“The boys have been working really hard to get that kind of performance and to get those goals.

“We focused on the task in hand and it is good to find a group of players who want to compete for each other in that way.

“I’m very proud of what they did today.

“We were very ruthless in the final third, very ruthless in what we did. I would like to see that more often.

“It’s not myself who kept the players focused. I think they learnt themselves to keep focused as individuals and as a team.

“It was a great expression of the character of the dressing room. The team is alive, it means that it has that life inside.

“It makes them really difficult to beat and they showed that. So it’s not down to me, it’s absolutely them.”

Struggling Cambridge, with new head coach Garry Monk three matches into his reign, lost heavily to Reading after a previous 6-0 defeat at Lincoln on Tuesday.

“It’s been a difficult week,” said Monk. “But I’m not going to lose any belief in the squad.

“It’s been a difficult two games that we’ve had but I’ve seen enough in the players, the ability is there.

“But it’s been a symptom of these two games. We started this one well enough and with a bit of momentum.

“But it seems that every time we get that bit of momentum, we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.

“The first two goals were similar to Tuesday (against Lincoln). They were just poor goals, just individual errors, whether that’s down to concentration or decision-making.

“And it leads straight to a goal. Unfortunately, that’s what happened on Tuesday and that’s what happened today.

“There were quite a few large spells in the game overall when we were quite competent with the ball and were doing OK.

“But we come out in the second half, again gain momentum, but not taking our opportunities is then compounded by Reading’s last two goals.

“And then you’re out of the game.”

Financially-troubled Reading put aside their off-field worries with a 4-0 home win over fellow League One strugglers Cambridge.

In a scrappy first half, Reading opened up a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from striker Sam Smith – his 12th of the season – and winger Femi Azeez.

Well-struck second-half efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan secured the comprehensive victory.

Reading, still beset by constant cash-flow problems under owner Dai Yongge, began slowly against Cambridge.

United defender Michael Morrison found space and nodded narrowly wide early on from a Liam Bennett cross.

But Royals went ahead when Cambridge’s James Gibbons made a hash of an intended clearance from a Harvey Knibbs cross and Smith pounced for his fifth goal in as many games.

Reading increased their advantage in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Azeez ran through unchallenged on a quick break and beat keeper Jack Stevens with a fierce near-post shot.

Cambridge could have halved the gap soon after the interval, with home keeper Joel Pereira making a superb double save to deny Elias Kachunga from close range.

Pereira’s heroics proved crucial, with Wing effectively making the game safe for Royals when firing over United’s substitute keeper Will Mannion in the 62nd minute.

Ehibhatiomhan struck with five minutes left, lashing past Mannion from the edge of the area for his 10th goal of the campaign.

New Port Vale manager Darren Moore suffered his second successive defeat since taking charge when his relegation-threatened side lost 2-0 in their rescheduled League One match at Reading.

In a scrappy first period, Reading produced the best attempt when Vale keeper Connor Ripley had to make a fine save from Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.

The home side’s constant second-half pressure eventually paid off with late goals from Lewis Wing and Harvey Knibbs.

Vale’s original fixture at the SCL Stadium on January 13 was abandoned after only 16 minutes, with the score at 0-0, when around 1,000 home fans invaded the pitch in protest at Reading owner Dai Yongge.

Andy Crosby, at the helm for the abandoned game, was sacked earlier this month and replaced by former Huddersfield boss Moore, whose first match ended in a 3-2 defeat at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Vale, without a win in their seven previous outings, produced little in the opening half and Reading should have gone in front when a free header from Ehibhatiomhan forced Ripley into an agile close-range stop.

Reading pushed for the winner in the second half, with Vale hanging on grimly, and the ever-alert Ripley was finally beaten when, following a goalmouth scramble in the Vale area, Wing powered home a fierce low drive in the 76th minute.

Seven minutes later, Knibbs pounced after another chaotic scramble for his 13th goal of the season.

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho had mixed emotions after his side beat Reading 4-1 at Fratton Park.

Colby Bishop scored his 16th goal of the season to help Pompey maintain their six-point lead at the top of League One.

Mousinho said: “I am very pleased with the win, but obviously disappointed to concede as well.

“I thought Reading were excellent in the early stages and were causing us problems, and we were fortunate not to have conceded during that spell. They showed a lot of energy and a lot of purpose.

“We changed a couple of things after the first half-hour, which seemed to make them more open and direct. That helped us obviously as we have hit the back of the net four times.

“We weren’t organised behind the ball enough and lost too many challenges and second balls in the first half, but I thought we were excellent in the second half.”

The Royals dominated the first 25 minutes and had several chances of opening the scoring with efforts from Andy Yiadom on 11 minutes and Lewis Wing a minute later.

Paul Mukairu put the simplest chance over the bar from inside the six-yard box and the league leaders instead took the lead on 36 minutes as Abu Kamara broke down the middle and passed to Paddy Lane, who rifled the ball home off David Button’s body.

Marlon Pack and Callum Lang drove home and Pompey made it four thanks to Bishop’s strike, but the Royals got a consolation late on from Charlie Savage.

Reading manager Ruben Selles said: “I think we dominated the first half, and I think they were lucky not to be 2-0 down.

“We came here to defend higher up the pitch and to play well, and I think we did that very well.

“I think we continued to do well even after going a goal down, but the second knocked us back a bit and we lost our composure.

“There are areas we could do better but overall, I was very pleased with the performance, and showed we can compete with the top teams.

“It is hard to take that we have played that well but conceded four goals.

“There is nothing major in terms of injuries. Sam Smith was able to travel and got some valuable minutes under his belt.

“We have two home games now on Tuesday and Saturday and we need to build on how we’ve performed today.”

Charlie Adam felt Fleetwood deserved their point after Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu’s late finish earned a dramatic 1-1 draw at home to Reading.

Deep in added time, the Fleetwood skipper popped up at the back stick to cancel out Lewis Wing’s stunning opener.

The home side may have felt aggrieved earlier when Promise Omochere’s chance seemed to have crossed the line, but neither the referee nor the assistant indicated it should be a goal.

Fleetwood manager Adam said: “A fully deserved point tonight. On the best chances of the game, I felt we had enough to win the match.

“We felt the goal was over the line. But we didn’t let our heads drop. We obviously conceded the goal, but we battled on and fully deserved that 90th-minute equaliser.

“I thought we dominated the game, I thought we had the best chances, I thought we passed the ball well but when we got in the final third in the first half, we never, our opportunities and selections were not what we wanted.

“The lads have given me everything since I’ve come in and they’ve given me everything tonight.

“We deserved that. We deserved that draw, but there are still areas we need to work on. Areas we need to get better on, and I’ll take that, the endeavour we had and the hunger we had for 96 minutes.”

Reading had chances in the first half to open the scoring. Femi Azeez was sent down the right flank after 30 minutes but the winger’s cross was too vicious for Harvey Knibbs who headed over from underneath the crossbar.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan also wasted a great one-on-one opportunity when he was snuffed out by Fleetwood’s Jay Lynch.

Reading boss Ruben Selles said: “We didn’t start well – the first 35 minutes we didn’t control the game the way that we wanted. They were on top of the game.

“After half-time, we controlled the game and had chances, two one-versus-ones with the goalkeeper where we needed to put the ball in the net. At the end, we concede a goal we should never concede. Frustrated at the end and we need to perform better.

“We need to know that it is difficult to go away from home and win points – we know it. Today we had it. A lot happened in the second action, a bad clearance and a bad recovery.

“They are disappointed because I think we have more to offer and for more minutes. We need to be more robust. We come from a very dark place and have some good performances; we don’t need to forget that, and we need to keep pushing. Games are close until you get the second one, so we need to keep growing.”

Fleetwood scored a last-gasp equaliser to earn a 1-1 home draw with Reading.

Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu tapped home on the goal line deep in added time after the Royals had taken the lead through Lewis Wing’s stunning opener.

After 15 minutes, a Fleetwood ball into the box was nodded on by Jayden Stockley to Promise Omochere whose header was tipped over by Royals goalkeeper David Button.

Reading’s Femi Azeez was sent down the right flank after 30 minutes. The winger’s cross was too vicious for Harvey Knibbs who headed over from underneath the crossbar.

Fleetwood felt aggrieved after a deep ball to the back post was scrambled goalwards by Omochere. Button lifted the ball from under his body with Town claiming it had crossed the line. Neither the referee nor the assistant thought it was a goal.

Reading opened the scoring when Wing was set up 25 yards out, before curling into the top right corner.

With one more throw of the dice, Sarpong-Wiredu tapped home unmarked at the far post to nick a point for Fleetwood.

New Charlton manager Nathan Jones admitted he “learnt a lot” about his team as his first match in charge ended in a 2-0 defeat at fellow-strugglers Reading.

The Addicks were grateful to goalkeeper Harry Isted for keeping them in the game in the first half with fine saves to deny Lewis Wing and Sam Smith twice.

But Isted was finally beaten by Femi Azeez from close range in the 66th minute, with the same player then thundering home a volley 10 minutes later to secure the points. Both finishes followed Amadou Mbengue long throws.

Charlton have now failed to win in 13 league matches and Jones knows his players must do better on the pitch.

“Look, I learnt a lot,” said Jones, who had not managed since being sacked by Southampton last February.

“We didn’t do the basics well enough on a few occasions. The players gave me everything but we’ll take something from it and make sure that we improve in the future.

“On the pitch, it’s the only place that you get to learn. On the training ground, it’s a bit of a controlled environment. That’s when they train with each other, they’re not out of their comfort zone.

“When we take them out of their comfort zone, you learn quite a lot and we have today. But we have to be better in terms of what we did and we can take it from there.

“If you can do the basics well, you will win football games. But we’re not doing the basics well enough, so that has to improve.

“We were undone today from two long throws. We can’t keep not winning a game, that’s the frustrating thing.”

Reading have lost only two of their last 15 league games and now sit three places above the bottom three.

“It’s always a difficult game when the other team has just changed its manager during the week,” Reading boss Ruben Seles, who worked with Jones at Southampton, said.

“We knew the characteristics of Nathan but you’re never sure whether it’s going to go that way or he will change it a little bit.

“We expected a 5-3-2 from Charlton and maybe to be aggressive on the front foot and put the right balls into space.

“It took us a long time to set up the game, to get the ball down and play in possession. But after that, I think that the team was powerful. We knew what we wanted to do and then in the entire game, we were on top.

“With Amadou’s long throws, we have added another weapon to our game. That is why we are using it. If we cannot score in open play or in the other situations, then we have the long throws.

“We also had a couple of good corners and free-kicks when we were dangerous as well. Our team is growing and developing at set-plays.”

Ruben Selles saluted the loyal Royals who stuck by his side after Reading ended a 378-day wait for an away league win with a 2-1 triumph at Wycombe.

Former Chairboy Lewis Wing scored the winning goal four minutes before half-time after Killian Phillips had cancelled out Sam Smith’s opener.

The under-fire boss believes his side were deserving of the three points and looked forward to brighter days after cutting the gap to League One safety.

“I know the fans have been suffering during the entire season for a lot of different reasons, one of them being us not being able to win as much away,” said Selles.

“I’m happy for them. They have always been supportive of the boys. It’s always a pleasure to have that amount of fans away from home, get a victory away from home and for the boys to celebrate together.

“We were the best team on the pitch for 100 minutes. The team is growing and I’m very proud of the players and how they played the game.”

The league’s bottom side fielded Nelson Abbey, 20, and Tyler Bindon, 18, at the heart of their defence, with full-back Andy Yiadom the only outfield player over the age of 30.

But they acquitted themselves well and saw out a victory which will have banished memories of their last away league fixture – a gut-wrenching late 3-2 defeat against Shrewsbury.

“We have a couple of young centre-backs growing with the games, getting experience with the league and we had a plan from the very beginning,” said Selles.

“We knew after the second goal, if we started to go lower and lower, we would get in trouble. But the team continued applying the pressure with the high-line.

“We were not defending for 50 minutes. It was a pleasure we could keep a good team like our opponent today away from our goal in the second half.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield was left to bemoan a growing injury list as his side’s winless league run stretched to six matches.

“It isn’t easy,” said Bloomfield. “We’ve got nine to 10 injuries and some big players are missing.

“It feels like we’re making at least one or two changes regularly due to injury, which is tough, but ultimately we have to be better than what we were.

“Competing for the second balls, running, heading, tackling, those little bits that go into a performance that are actually massive.

“I’ve said many times this season how proud I am of the performance but today wasn’t one of those days.

“We were poor and we have to make sure we’re ready to bounce back on Tuesday evening against Barnsley.”

Reading manager Ruben Selles admitted that he was pleased that his struggling side avoided an upset against lower-division opposition after their 3-2 FA Cup first-round win over MK Dons.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan gave Reading a third-minute lead with his sixth goal of the season, but Alex Gilbey levelled before the break.

Second-half efforts from Harvey Knibbs and Lewis Wing eased Reading into a two-goal cushion, with Max Dean halving the deficit with a late consolation for the Sky Bet League Two outfit.

Selles, whose side sit bottom of League One after losing their last five games, said: “The FA Cup is always difficult.

“Whoever is your opponent, we have often seen teams from higher categories falling to teams in the categories below. So, we put in a good performance.

“Perhaps we should have finished the game a little bit earlier. We just made it complicated in the last minutes.

“But I’m happy with the performance and keeping the team together, no injuries and we go into the next round. It was a good day.

“We got a little bit caught out in the first half, especially with their first goal. It was just that pass in between, we should have defended it much better.

“We were missing a few things in the first half, which is why we changed at half time. We were missing with the wingers, the one-against-one situations and the pressure.

“It was a matter of changing the dynamic of the game. We had to be much more on the front foot, much more aggressive with the pressure. We were much better in that way in the second half.”

New MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson, who succeeded Graham Alexander last month, said: “The halves were contrasting and, from our point of view, that was disappointing.

“That’s been a bit of a theme, our starts to the second half, and that’s something that we need to address.

“But I think that you can see the detail that we’re putting in and it’s evident what the boys are taking on.

“We’ve just got to find a way of wrestling the momentum back when we do go behind.

“We have to accept that we are going to suffer in periods of games. It’s how we get back into it and get back on the ball.

“In the first half, you could see what we were trying to achieve. But there was still an element of frustration getting the better of us.

“When other teams do step on and step up, we haven’t quite got to grips with that yet.

“Again, though, the boys fought all the way to the end. Even though we were running out of time, we never gave up. So there was still so many positives to take.”