Reading 3-0 Fulham
- Published
Glenn Murray scored 30 Championship goals for Crystal Palace in 2012/13
Glenn Murray scored two goals on his debut as Reading comfortably beat 10-man Fulham to pile more pressure on manager Felix Magath.
The striker, on loan from Crystal Palace, headed in Jordan Obita's cross before Fulham debutant Matt Smith was sent off for a lunge on Hope Akpan.
Murray doubled the lead when he nodded home Obita's corner from close range.
Substitute Nick Blackman sealed the win late on to leave Magath's men with a fifth loss in six league games.
The Cottagers have now slipped to the bottom of the Championship and sections of the travelling support made their feelings clear with calls for the German to be sacked at the end of the match.
Any hopes of Fulham claiming their first league win of the season were rendered almost impossible inside the first 20 minutes at the Madejski Stadium as they found themselves a goal and a man down before having the chance to settle into the game.
Felix Magath's difficult start to life at Fulham |
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Since joining The Cottagers on 14 February, Magath has only won four of his 20 games in charge |
Fulham began brightly, with Ross McCormack volleying over from close range, but Murray showed the form which had seen him top the Championship scoring charts with 30 goals for Palace in 2012-13 as he netted with a diving header on the quarter-hour mark.
Three minutes later, it got worse for Fulham as former Leeds striker Smith went in late and high on Akpan and referee Mike Jones issued the red card immediately.
Fulham responded well as Tim Hoogland was denied by a last-ditch tackle from Chris Gunter and Adam Federici pulled off a fine save from Chris David's shot.
However, the home side made their extra man count after the break as Jake Taylor's powerful shot was kept out by Gabor Kiraly, before Murray headed in Obita's precise set-piece.
Kiraly, another man on his debut, kept the score down with a string of classy saves before Blackman rounded him and slid home five minutes from time.
The final whistle sparked some angry scenes among the 2,745 Fulham fans who had made the trip along the M4 motorway, with chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" followed by cries of "Felix out".