Jamie Mackie’s 14th minute goal was the difference between the sides as Reading defeated the Blues 1-0 at Portman Road. The Scotland international was given time to shoot from 25 yards and his effort just crept inside the post, while the Blues never really looked like getting back on terms.

Town boss Mick McCarthy named an unchanged side with new signings Richard Chaplow and Luke Varney on the bench.

Teddy Bishop, who signed a new contract until 2018 yesterday, was on the right of midfield with Daryl Murphy up front wearing a mask to protect his nose, which he broke at Fulham last week.

The 21-goal Irishman was the first player to threaten when he brought the ball forward from halfway having been found by strike partner Freddie Sears in the sixth minute.

Murphy looked to return the ball to the ex-Colchester man but it ricocheted back into his path off a defender and he took it on into the the box before hitting a right-foot shot which failed to test Adam Federici in the Reading goal.

Three minutes later Kevin Bru unleashed a well-struck 25-yard effort which Federici saved down to his left with the Blues starting the stronger of the two sides.

On 13 Murphy broke away down the left and held off Alex Pearce before crossing to Sears, who flicked his header well wide. Moments later, after good work from Bru and Tabb, the ex-West Ham youngster hit a shot straight at Federici from the edge of the box.

Despite the Blues having had the better of the early stages, the Royals went in front in the 14th minute via their first shot of the game.

Tyrone Mings stood off Mackie and allowed him to shoot from 25 yards, the ball creeping into the corner of Bartosz Bialkowski’s net with the keeper likely to feel he might have done better.

Two minutes after going behind the Blues felt they ought to have been awarded a penalty when Murphy’s cross from the right struck Pearce on the arm. Spot-kicks have certainly been awarded for similar incidents in the past.

The Royals went close to going two up when Mackie beat Mings down the Reading right before cutting the ball across to Hal Robson-Kanu, who shot well over when he should have done better.

Town weren’t too far away from an equaliser in the 21st minute when Sears sent over a deep cross from the right and Tabb, facing his old club on his 31st birthday, headed wide from a tight angle.

There was another scare for the Blues in the 29th minute when Robson-Kanu played a chipped pass over the top for Mackie, whose first touch on what was a difficult dropping ball took it through to the advancing Bialkowski.

The Town players claimed another penalty in the 36th minute when Bishop fed in Mings on the left and the full-back sent over a cross to the far post from where skipper Luke Chambers nodded down to Sears, who turned his shot against Pearce. Referee Eddie Ilderton indicated that he felt the ball had struck the ex-Norwich loanee’s thigh.

Three minutes later Pavel Pogrebnyak sent Robson-Kanu away on the left but the Wales international failed to find Mackie with his cross with the former QPR man in acres of space breaking into the Town box.

On 40 Simon Cox hit a shot on the turn which scruffed through to Bialkowski, then at the other end a Sears effort from inside the box was blocked.

In the penultimate minute of scheduled time Sears again failed to get enough on a cross from the left, then Bishop skipped his way into space in the area but failed to trouble Federici with his shot. Neither side threatened again before referee Ilderton brought the half to a close.

Town had started brightly and had created a couple of openings before Mackie’s against-the-run-of-play goal. From there the Blues’ performance had deteriorated somewhat and with the Royals having carved out a couple of openings from which they might have increased their lead.

Three minutes after the restart Mings played a ball into Sears’s path on the left of the area, but the striker hit his shot wide.

On 50 Nathaniel Chalobah forced Bialkowski to save down to his left from a 25-yard freekick.

Town should have made more of a 53rd minute break after Sears had sent Murphy away down the centre. The striker cut back inside but couldn’t find space to shoot. Tabb eventually moved the ball on to Bru, whose effort from distance was straight at Federici.

Tabb had another chance to score against his old club - as he did on the opening day of last season - in the 54th minute after Sears had flicked on a long diagonal ball from the right to the left of the area. The midfielder slid in but cut the ball between the far post and his on-rushing team-mates.

Town were beginning to create chances with greater regularity and on 58 Bishop saw a strike from the edge of the box deflect wide. A minute later, after a Tabb freekick from the left had been half-cleared to the edge of the box, the 18-year-old screwed another effort well past the post.

With 25 minutes remaining Blues boss McCarthy switched Tabb and Bishop for Paul Anderson and Jonny Parr, the Norwegian going to left midfield. Two minutes later, Bru was booked for a foul on Danny Williams.

Cox shot through to Bialkowski, then at the other end Murphy fed Anderson, who failed to significantly test Federici with a low shot. The Australian keeper’s time-wasting was increasingly frustrating the home crowd but not yet leading referee Ilderton to take action.

The Blues continued to press and on 73 Anderson cut the ball back from the right to Sears but the striker turned the ball straight at Federici.

On 79, after the Royals had switched Garath McCleary for Robson-Kanu and Hope Akpan for Cox, Varney was handed his Town debut in place of Sears.

With seven minutes left on the clock Varney was fouled by Michael Hector just outside the area but Anderson curled his freekick just over.

Mackie missed a good chance to seal the win for his side in the 83rd minute when he scuffed wide at the far post after McCleary found him following a Reading break.

As the game entered four minutes of injury time Anderson sent over a freekick from the left but Murphy’s flicked header bounced just wide of Federici’s left post.

Federici blocked Murphy’s shot, Reading sub Jake Cooper doing well to get to the loose ball to nod it behind.

From the resultant corner, Chambers headed it back into the danger area, Varney nodded it down and Murphy shot against a defender, the Town players again appealing for a penalty, although perhaps more out of frustration on this occasion.

Soon after, referee Ilderton’s whistle went to confirm the Blues’ second home league defeat of 2015.

Having started on top, the visitors’ goal against the run of play rather knocked the wind out of Town’s sails.

In the second half the Blues huffed and puffed against a Reading side happy to sit back on their lead, but were never really convincing. Reading keeper Federici saw a lot of the ball but without having to make any over-taxing saves.

The defeat and results elsewhere see Town stay in fourth but now five points behind new leaders Derby, who beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-2.

Second-placed Middlesbrough were defeated 1-0 at home by Leeds and Bournemouth in third lost 3-1 to seventh-placed Brentford, who are now only two points behind the Blues, while Norwich, who Town face in the East Anglian derby at Norwich next Sunday, are now fifth just a point behind McCarthy's men.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Bru, Bishop (Parr 65), Tabb (Anderson 65), Murphy, Sears (Varney 79). Unused: Gerken, Stewart, Chaplow, Clarke.

Reading: Federici, Kelly, Obita, Pearce (c), Hector, Chalobah, Williams, Mackie (Cooper 90), Robson-Kanu (Akpan 77), Cox (McCleary 77), Pogrebnyak. Unused: Andersen, Norwood, Blackman. Referee: Eddie Ilderton (Tyne and Wear). Attendance: 21,298 (Reading: 433).

Photo: Action Images

phillo added 19:01 - Feb 21 Sorry billlllm my error ..... obviously meant right back ..... but you get the gist of what I say about that I hope ? ...... & "obviously WAS at game" I am afraid :)
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ChrisR added 19:04 - Feb 21 Well that's not going to inspire the next generation of young supporters who were at the game today ...almost as bad as the dire TV games v Southampton and Wigan , we just don't have the goal threat other than D M , will take a miracle for our midfield to score before seasons end .
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Cloddyseedbed added 19:08 - Feb 21 I would prefer if we were not on TV anymore this season. This type of football is not good entertainment and gets the club a bad name amongst the viewers, many of who have an open mind and just look at our league position.
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essextractorboy93 added 19:10 - Feb 21 No point having a knee jerk reaction after every game. If we win we all think we will get top 2, lose and its the end of the world and we won't get playoffs. We are a good championship team only a few points off top and currently 4th. Everyone is disappointed after a defeat but I still fancy us for playoffs at least. COYB!
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BillBlue added 19:11 - Feb 21 warktheline - Truly sorry to hear you are not up to it. That possibly happened when you ran through a brick wall in a non just cause, please get well soon. Essexboy - You ask if this club is just a plaything for ME, well, have you considered,he might even be paying MM not to get us promoted so we can be retained as a tax loss? The reason I ask this is why, when he knows we can play better, does MM insist on playing his mates rather than the better players and playing so many of them out of position and continuously make the wrong substitutions? I have not a high opinion of MM's IQ but surely nobody could be that stupid without a reason and in today's climate money is usually a good reason! You also say MM is 'doing his best' how can this be when he is continuously making the mistakes I have mentioned? last week I said that I had made a bet that Tabb and Anderson would feature at some stage in the next three games (after being dropped) but I certainly did not expect Tabb to start the next two games and Anderson be brought on in the second game! When I saw 'unchanged team' I knew we had lost! IMO pointless adding COYB! ps. Where is Ambrose, injured?

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blueboy1981 added 19:14 - Feb 21 ........ still trying to absorb how bad we were - couldn't pass the ball to a team mate (lost count many times of how many went astray}, started with square pegs in round holes, and progressed that even more, baffling substitutions .......... where do we stop ? We made it so,so easy for Reading - they will be laughing all the way back I'm sure. Not wishing to tempt fate - but our season could be well and truly over by next Sunday evening - WE MUST HAVE 6 POINTS FROM THE NEXT TWO GAMES - otherwise the towel is undoubtedly surrendered. Hard facts - unfortunately.

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cornishblu added 19:16 - Feb 21 ...only positive today was that the Cornish contingent wasn't there ..thus breaking our jinx of seeing all the league defeats ......let's hope a lack of funds in order to bring in a certain Darren bent prevents us from having enough to get that pot of gold......the very fact that we are up there is making this season so much better ...but with improved results come bigger expectations...have we got the players to deliver???? COYB

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blueboy1981 added 19:21 - Feb 21 essextractorboy93 .......... Would like a truthful answer - Were you at Portman Road today ???
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essexboy added 19:24 - Feb 21 Bill blue,your thoughts,not mine sorry,we all see the game different,that's why we care.
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BillBlue added 19:24 - Feb 21 Sorry Blueboy, I am sure I hit the right button but two negs came up. I checked again and then there. Were 2 negs plus 1 pos, I don't know what happened but the correct score is 2-1!
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tobymeadz added 19:25 - Feb 21 I thought it was a much improved performance to the Wigan game however, Chambers - great captain - needs to be CB not a RB Smith - Needs to be dropped for a while Mings - Seems uninterested to me Bishop - One for the future - not strong enough at present Sears - Doesnt have the class of Didz or Murphy I dont blame MM at all for our performances I think everyone knows he's on a shoe string budget .. It's such a shame Marcus Evans doesn't have the ambition like Derby to bring in two class players .. The league is for the taking unfortunately we don't have the squad size to compete ... Saying all this we will probably beat Birmingham on Tuesday and we will all love them all again

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groundhog added 19:31 - Feb 21 The whole problem with this team is the lack goals from midfield. No midfielder has scored more than one goal this season. Does TC not do shooting practice with his midfielders. A team serious on promotion would have one midfielder capable of reaching double figures. Not since David Norris have we had one. Imagine if one of our midfielders had scored 6 goals this season and converted a couple draws to wins and a couple losses to draws (as today) we would be top. This should have been blindingly obvious in this transfer window but nothing happens. Not even taking a gamble on an out of favour loan or a premiership youngster or a signing from the lower leagues of a player coming to the end of his contract but banging in the goals. (Like the sears deal)

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jas0999 added 19:31 - Feb 21 Terrible result. Below average performance. Simply don't understand all this passing backwards and/or hoofing the ball aimlessly forward from the back. That said the midfield was yet again poor. No quality, skill, creativity or goals. Lots of hard work, but no end product. When a midfielder got a chance, it was a Sunday league finish by Tabb at best. The other teams in the top seven all have midfield players who score goals. That could be our downfall. I remain doubtful whether Chaplow will improve the situation, whilst Varney is unlikely to be the answer if Murphy has a poor game or doesn't score. For me, we needed to strengthen in January with better quality players e.g. Like Derby. Now we have injuries and below average players brought in. Neither are impact players, which we still lack as options on our bench. It's still all to play for, so not all downbeat, but we can't afford another showing like today. I still think we lack a creative goal scoring midfield player and a natural winger. Very disappointing.

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groundhog added 19:34 - Feb 21 Andy32cracknell. To be fair parr Is probably our most prolific goal scoring midfielder even though he's a defender
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blueboy1981 added 19:41 - Feb 21 ........ the coming week could very well be the most important week of the season for us now - jason0999 can you really see the level of required improvement being a reality, after today's further abject display ?? Not at all sure we have a midfielder who know's where the Goal is.
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dannyrr added 19:42 - Feb 21 It isn't about the fact that we lost today it was the manner in which it happened. I saw that when Middlesbrough had lost points and a win today would help our promotion push I knew we wouldn't get a win today. When we are in a position of being able to go forward in the league it seems like we bottle it every time. Mings looked so lethargic and tired today as if he didn't care if he won the ball. Many times he could've won the ball he made no attempt to go for it. I think MM got the team selection wrong today and his substitutions made no effect. We pressed for the first 15 minutes and Reading hadn't even had a sniff until they had a long shot which should never have been a goal. This acted like a sucker punch which we didn't reco from and at times looked like getting three points was too much of an effort and was never going to happen. What does Parr have to do to get a start in preference to Tabb. Why do we take off the two players who are proving the most threat. The answer is definitely not to bring Anderson on. When is Cameron Stewart going to get a game or is he just on the bench as a teaser? Why can't we play the players in the position they play well in instead of having half the team being uncomfortable in the position they play in. Tommy Smith is clearly uncomfortable and would prefer to pass back from the halfway line to the keeper than any of them other 8 players in the opponents half. Why can't we work it out that hoofing the ball up the park isn't working? We only managed to get two corners in the whole match. It feels like we are scared to go for that automatic promotion place and would rather scrap it out trying for the play offs. Again another team struggling for form is given the opportunity to do us over. Another loss which on our present form will be against Norwich which will see us drop out of the top six and see them leapfrog us into the top six. Once out of the top six we will struggle to get back up there. I not being negative but that was a negative performance which seems to happen every time results could help our cause. I think MM got it wrong today and would like to be proved wrong. I read an article today by Les Ferdinand who spoke about the need to give the upcoming players a chance and having the conviction to try them out rather than bringing in expensive foreign imports. I am supporting the academy this season and fail to see how we can improve if we don't give the fringe players a chance instead of playing the same favourites week in week out.

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SickParrot added 19:52 - Feb 21 Just not good enough quality to get promoted. I can understand why ME might be reluctant to spend more money, given that previous managers have wasted his money, but you cannot get into the premier league on the cheap. We over achieved in the first half of the season and had a genuine chance to get promoted, if we added some more quality to the squad, but the failure to spend money to bring in the quality required for the final push will be decisive . Excusing this by hiding behind the financial fair play rules is a smoke screen, given that the any penalties for breaking the rules are outweighed by the financial rewards of promotion to the premiership. I can only conclude that MM, in a stubborn and misguided determination to prove that it is possible to get into the premier league without spending money, has failed to make ME aware that he is unlikely to have a better opportunity to get into the premier league.

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jas0999 added 19:54 - Feb 21 Blueboy - no I can't. Just hanging on to the fact that there are still 14 games to play. I am very very disappointed by the lack of January activity. Have made that point for a while, but shot down by many. We have no impact players and are now relying on journey men in the hope they can get us promoted. Signings thus week are not good enough for top two. Debate able top six. We should have added quality in Jan. Evans and McCarthy to blame. We don't gave anything in midfield!!!!

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KiwiTractor added 19:58 - Feb 21 Bugger
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prebbs007 added 20:00 - Feb 21 AGAIN Mick!!! We blow our chance due to your poor selection of players out of position. Have been saying for weeks Smith is weak link. His right foot is so bad he has no option but to turn round and pass to Bart. He completed 9 passes today and 8 of them were to the keeper. Any forward against him just has to offer him the touch line and on his right foot all he can do is hoof it. MM this is your fault. For God sake play our best full back at full back. Play chambers in his position. Play Bish in his position. We got away with it at Fulham. But before we fall out of the top 6 next Sunday pick the right players in their right positions. We had a winger on the bench and 2 central midfielders on the wings. Pathetic. Smith must be dropped he is a liability. Parr must play. Tabb should not be anywhere near the 18 let alone the 11. You told him in the off season Mick that he could go, oh how we wish he had. Mings had his worst game in a blue shirt by a distance. He was shocking today. How he let Mackie shoot was dreadful. He gave him so much space all day and was shown up big time. Was Murph's mask over his nose or his eyes as he was very poor today. Skuse was probably the only guy who could come off that pitch and say he performed. That was nowhere near good enough. Hoof ball boring predictable easy to beat rubbish. Very very afraid for next Sunday. The scumm€rs will destroy us !!!!!!

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StowTractorBoy added 20:01 - Feb 21 I am gutted as much as any real fan on here tonight but football is all about fine margins and had we taken the early chance Murphy fluffed then it would obviously have been different. The Reading goal was so easy as well and question marks must be against Barts name as you should not score from 20 yards out with a shot all along the ground. Reading did a similar job to Wigan on us although in the early stages their defence looked very shaky. Murphy was not on his game today and hardly won a header so his broken nose was obviously a worry to him. The balance of the team is clearly not right and I am very surprised that MM did not switch Smith for Chambers from the start allowing Parr to come in. Bishop is probably the best creative player we have and he is played on the flank which to me is also baffling. I am not going to knock MM but he did not help himself today and I am afraid that it is going to be a really difficult task to finish in the top six now. If we do then MM will have worked a miracle with these players but I am worried now and dread next Sunday as the budgies look at last to have found a manager who can pick a team. The players have always been there but needed to be managed. Tuesday is now crucial so MM has to get his selection right.

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blueboy1981 added 20:05 - Feb 21 dannyrr ........... spot on with that post.
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ArnieM added 20:17 - Feb 21 We're fluck3d now!
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Lightningboy added 20:25 - Feb 21 I get the impression that Mick's the kind of guy who doesn't like being told the bleeding obvious from his fans - i.e. That Chambers is not a RB and Parr should be starting. Mick's too stubborn for his own good at times which probably lead to his downfall at Sunderland & Wolves. Parr needs to start at RB. Chambers needs moving to the middle instead of Smith. It's that bleeding obvious Mick!

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oldegold added 20:41 - Feb 21 For a club steeped in an attacking tradition possibly today was our nadir and we showed that we have severe limitations with a good manager but unable or incapable to vary his tactics or formation. We are deadly boring and are unable to switch play according to circumstances on the field of play and the opposition know what type of hoofball to expect.Probably the worst standard of soccer in 40 odd years of following Town..and yes that includes Duncan and Jewell. Our manager is totally inept tactics-wise or simply is too bone-headed to realize that this type of football for teams aiming to get out of the Championship died when Hadrian's wall was being built. Ghastly and boring...prepare for Naarwich to tear us apart. I mean can you imagine us beating Watford 3-0 away from home realistically ? With this style of football we would be lucky to enter the opponents half...terrible soccer

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