Reading 5-1 Ipswich Town

Orlando Sa headed the first goal in a league game at Reading's Madejski Stadium this season

Orlando Sa's hat-trick gave Reading an emphatic first home win of the season against Ipswich Town.

The Portuguese striker scored with a header and low shot inside the opening 15 minutes, either side of a Freddie Sears equaliser for Ipswich.

Nick Blackman fired into the roof of the net for the third just after half-time as the visitors failed to clear.

Sa's third from close range put Reading 4-1 up before Oliver Norwood struck a stunning 30-yard effort late on.

The win stretches Reading's unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions, but this was their first home success in eight, a run stretching back to March.

When Sa headed in the opening goal from Blackman's right-wing cross, it was the first time the Royals had found the back of the net in front of their own fans since 4 April.

Ipswich responded within four minutes as Sears bundled in a close-range rebound after Jonathan Bond saved Ryan Fraser's initial shot, but Sa restored the lead almost immediately as he drilled a shot from outside the box past Dean Gerken and in off the post.

Nick Blackman has scored four goals in his last three appearances for Reading

Blackman extended Reading's lead after the break, thundering in a left-foot shot from a tight angle after Cole Skuse failed to clear inside the penalty area.

Ipswich, who made a promising start to the season, have now lost successive league games and conceded eight goals in the process.

At 3-1 down, Brett Pitman watched his header bounce back off the bar as they looked for a way back into the match.

But Blackman and Sa combined once more to complete the former Fulham man's hat-trick and then midfielder Norwood's unstoppable shot found the top corner.

Orlando Sa became the first player to score a hat-trick in this season's Championship

Reading manager Steve Clarke:

"I think the start to the season has been decent. The team's been solid, performances have been very good, but the goals weren't coming.

"Tonight was very different, we had to show a lot of resolve in defence as Ipswich gave us a tough game.

"It came together tonight and was a good performance, but nine points from six games is not something to get carried away about."

On Orlando Sa: "He's a player who needs a dynamic around him. Matej Vydra and Nick Blackman supported him very well tonight.

"He's a goalscorer who had the ambition to come here and be successful when I signed him. He wants to play in the Premier League again and he thinks Reading can give him that platform."

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy:

"We contrived to give five goals away. They played well, but I thought we had plenty of chances in the game too.

"Brett Pitman had a couple of chances to score in the second half and they punished us within minutes.

"It hurts me a lot to see us give five goals away. That's the worst it's been since the dark days of when I took over almost three years ago.

"I will have to look at my own part that we played in being too open to let them score that many. It was a real sobering defeat, that one."