Reading 3-1 Norwich City
- Published
Yann Kermorgant's first-half header was his fifth goal in 22 appearances this season
Third-placed Reading inflicted an eighth defeat in 10 Championship games on struggling Norwich to keep up the pressure on the top two.
Yann Kermorgant headed Reading ahead but the Canaries equalised after the break through Nelson Oliveira's strike.
With Norwich then on top, Jonny Howson handled on the line and was sent off.
Kermorgant's dinked penalty hit the bar but Garath McCleary scored on the rebound and Callum Harriott's shot sealed victory in injury time.
Under-pressure Norwich boss Alex Neil saw his side have the better of the first half.
But City's failure to deal with set-pieces ultimately cost them and enabled Reading to claim a seventh win in nine matches and move them up to within five points of second-placed Brighton.
Liam Kelly's inviting cross for Kermorgant's goal nine minutes before the break seemed to settle a nervy home side.
Kermorgant missed a glorious chance to make it 2-0 but the Canaries regrouped and Oliveira turned in Jacob Murphy's pull-back for his fourth goal in five games.
However, when Howson saw red for clearing off the line with his arm following a goalmouth scramble, the Royals took control.
McCleary spared Kermorgant's embarrassment to make it 2-1 and a sweet strike from Harriott put the result beyond doubt.
Reading manager Jaap Stam:
"I like to have patience when we have the ball a lot. You don't want to rush things in terms of creating chances.
"Norwich started the game aggressively in going forward, sometimes pressing us one-versus-one all over the pitch.
"We didn't create a lot of chances in the first half and we knew Norwich would press us even more in the second half.
"But after the sending-off and the penalty, it meant that the spaces would open up even more and they did when scored the third."
Norwich City manager Alex Neil:
"My focus is on just trying to win the next game. We need to keep our heads down and keep going.
"There's no relevance to the players having given up and all the rest of this sort of nonsense that comes with the end of a tenure anywhere.
"The fight in me will never go away. I've been a competitor since I started playing and that'll never change. Because it gets a bit tough and you get a couple of kicks in the gut, that doesn't change.
"At times as a manager, you're the best thing since sliced bread. At other times, you're the pantomime villain. That's the simple fact of the matter."
Nelson Oliveira's fourth goal in five games gave Norwich hope