MX23RW : Thursday, January 9 22:31:19| >> :600:419514:419514:

Reading squeeze past West Ham United

Reading move off the bottom of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over West Ham.

Reading have increased the gap between themselves and bottom-of-the-table Queens Park Rangers with a narrow 1-0 win over West Ham United this afternoon.

Pavel Pogrebnyak scores the opener against West Ham on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

The hosts made a perfect start to the match when Pavel Pogrebnyak gave them the lead after just five minutes. The former Fulham striker latched onto James Collins's poor backpass before slotting the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

West Ham came close to levelling the sides halfway through the first period when Winston Reid got on the end of Kevin Nolan's cross, only to see Adam Federici tip his effort over the bar.

James Collins holds his head in his hands after gifting the ball to Pavel Pogrebnyak to score the opener on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

Nolan had a chance of his own just before the break, firing in a shot on the turn which Federici was once again equal to.

The Hammers continued to knock on the door in the second half, with Carlton Cole going close eight minutes after the restart having been found by Matt Jarvis.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce on the touchline on December 29, 2012© PA Photos

The Royals came within inches of making it 2-0 just past the hour mark when Jem Karacan fired in an effort from outside the box, but it came back off the crossbar and Jimmy Kebe fired the rebound over the top.

Ricardo Vaz Te then squandered a fine opportunity to grab an equaliser with less than 10 minutes left, but he somehow missed the ball with his head from just six yards out.

Reading managed to hold out, however, to claim just their second win of the season and lift themselves off the foot of the table.

ID:61527: cacheID:61527:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4723:
Written by
Barney Corkhill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Pavel Pogrebnyak scores the opener against West Ham on December 29, 2012
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Reading 1-0 West Ham - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Birmingham CityBirmingham23165241172453
2Wycombe WanderersWycombe25156450272351
3Wrexham25156437181951
4Huddersfield TownHuddersfield24145537191847
5Barnsley2512673933642
6Reading2412573933641
7Stockport CountyStockport25108737271038
8Leyton Orient24114932221037
9Mansfield TownMansfield2311483126537
10Bolton WanderersBolton2311483534137
11Charlton AthleticCharlton239772721634
12Lincoln CityLincoln258892830-232
13Stevenage238781820-231
14Exeter CityExeter2494112831-331
15Blackpool247983235-330
16Rotherham UnitedRotherham237792123-228
17Wigan AthleticWigan2376102123-227
18Northampton TownNorthampton2568112439-1526
19Peterborough UnitedPeterborough2474134146-525
20Bristol Rovers2474132238-1625
21Crawley TownCrawley2355132443-1920
22Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury2445152444-2017
23Cambridge UnitedCambridge2445152243-2117
24Burton Albion2428142038-1814


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!