Derby County 1-0 Reading: Craig Forsyth winner puts Rams back into positive points
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Derby's Craig Forsyth scored for the first time in more than five years
Craig Forsyth's first-half winner sank in-form Reading and sent Derby County's points tally back into positive numbers after their 12-point deduction.
Jason Knight whipped in a cross to the back post where left-back Forsyth floated a header which dropped into the far corner.
Debutant Rams goalkeeper Ryan Allsop made a super stop to turn John Swift's powerful strike over the bar and deny the Royals an equaliser after the break.
The hosts, who are still five points adrift at the bottom of the Championship, wasted a raft of chances to wrap up the game and almost paid for it late on when Reading's Josh Laurent sent a free header inches wide.
The visitors arrived on the back of three straight wins, but Derby deserved their third victory of the season after another spirited display. They move to within seven points of safety following the double blow of administration and a hefty points deduction a week ago.
They edged the first half, Tom Lawrence forcing Luke Southwood to save at full stretch early on, while Knight made the most of his recall, one of manager Wayne Rooney's four changes.
His cross set up Forsyth's first goal since August 2016, before his surging run late in the half gave Lawrence a good chance to double the lead which was spurned.
Allsop also impressed, palming away a powerful shot from Royals full-back Baba Rahman and then making a double save just before the break from Tom Dele-Bashiru and leading scorer Swift.
Knight's teasing ball across the six-yard box was cleared as Derby continued to see chances go begging in the second half, but they held on against a disappointing Reading.
Rooney's side remain unbeaten at home this season, but Reading dropped a place to 11th after their fourth defeat in five matches on the road.
Derby manager Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Derby:
"Obviously with some staff members losing their jobs yesterday it was a very tough day for everyone, but full credit goes to the players.
"I thought their performance in the first half was very good, and we created chances.
"The second half was a different type of performance, but a very good performance in terms of how we defended the box. They had one good chance late on, so I think we deserved to win."
Reading manager Veljko Paunovic:
"Overall, we put in a solid performance, except on one occasion when we conceded the goal.
"We played with a lot of confidence and creation in the final third but, unfortunately, all the shots that we had on goal did not end up in the net.
"But we did put all our energy, resources and strength into the game and there were a lot of positives except for the result.
"We now have the chance to turn things around on Saturday before the international break will give us a chance to rest and recover."