A debut goal from Jason Pearce has given Wigan Athletic's Championship survival hopes a real shot in the arm, as his side take a 1-0 lead into half time against Reading.

The home side have experienced a decent run of form under new manager Steve Clarke in recent weeks, and they almost got things off to the perfect start when Garath McCleary forced Ali Al-Habsi into making a big save with four minutes played.

First blood was to go the visitors' way, though, as Pearce capitalised on a loose ball inside the box following a corner to prod home from close range.

In a first half which struggled to truly get going, chances proved to be few and far between with a scuffed clearance from Wigan almost proving their downfall, only for Hal Robson-Kanu's shot to be blocked away.

Nathaniel Chalobah came close to levelling things up with his headed attempt shortly before the interval which was well kept out by Al-Habsi once more, just moments after the Oman international had raced out to deny Simon Cox a shooting chance.