Reading 0-3 Preston North End: Championship leaders suffer second straight defeat
- Published
Preston forward Scott Sinclair's goal was his fifth of the season
Reading suffered a second consecutive defeat as Preston North End inflicted a first home league loss of the campaign on the Championship's early-season leaders.
The Royals remain three points clear at the top of the second tier, but lacked the clinical quality in the final third against North End that had seen them win seven of their first eight games.
Scott Sinclair poked home the opening goal after half-time and Emil Riis Jakobsen raced on to a long ball to double the lead.
Brad Potts added a late third for Preston after a quick counter-attack and an unselfish square ball from Tom Barkhuizen.
Preston's impressive win followed two consecutive home losses, but extended their superb away form.
North End have now won four straight games on their travels, in stark contrast to their dismal record at Deepdale, where they have lost every match so far this term.
The Lancashire club produced another textbook away performance, looking well-organised in defence and breaking with great impetus on the counter.
The Royals struggled to cause major problems for the visitors' keeper Declan Rudd, as Veljko Paunovic's side fired a blank after scoring nine times in their previous three matches.
Reading head coach Veljko Paunovic:
"I'm not disappointed but I feel the pain. When you lose a game, you have to absorb it. That's what I told the players.
"You have to quickly bounce back and convert the pain into a positive energy for the next game.
"The next game is all we have. If we lose or we win, we say - next day, next game.
"We have to acknowledge that we weren't at our best today.
Preston boss Alex Neil:
"This seems to be quite common for us on the road. We've been excellent on the road.
"First of all, I'm delighted with the win. But I'm still a bit perplexed at how poor we've been at home in comparison to being away.
"But we'll enjoy tonight. We needed a good response from the players after the last two games, which have been tough for us at home.
"The one thing that we have never lacked is spirit, endeavour and effort. And tonight I thought that we added a bit of quality to that."
Watch 13 first-round ties on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app this weekend. Find out more here.
