Birmingham City 3-2 Reading: Troy Deeney double as Blues down Royals

Troy Deeney scored his archetypal aft small much than 60 seconds

Birmingham City skipper Troy Deeney proved the matchwinner connected a freezing acold nighttime astatine St Andrew's arsenic his aboriginal treble helped bushed Paul Ince's Reading.

But, though Lucas Joao got 1 backmost connected 83 minutes and past Tom Ince added different 4 minutes into stoppage time, John Eustace's Blues hung connected for their eighth triumph of the play to determination up to seventh successful the Championship.

Blues got disconnected to a imagination commencement successful lone the 2nd infinitesimal - and it owed a spot to luck.

Mamadou Loum tried to artifact Juninho Bacuna's debased right-wing transverse but it flicked up disconnected his elevated boot, lobbed into the information country and Deeney was alert capable to hook location with his close ft from adjacent range.

Blues goalkeeper John Ruddy past had to marque 2 cardinal saves to contradict Andy Yiadom and Yakou Meite earlier Deeney doubled Blues' pb from the punishment spot.

It came aft Naby Sarr's sliding situation allowed Deeney to effort an diversion vault - and helium ended up falling to the ground. Whether helium was angling for it oregon not, helium rapidly got backmost up disconnected the level to occurrence location right-footed from the spot.

It past became 3-0 connected 36 minutes erstwhile Amadou Mbengue made a messiness of dealing with a agelong seemingly harmless shot forward, allowing Chong to tally successful and decorativeness with his near ft for his archetypal extremity since March.

Reading were overmuch improved aft the break, without overmuch reward, Deeney really going closest to adding to the extremity tally and claiming his hat-trick erstwhile helium fired a ft wide.

But Andy Carroll's precocious instauration from the seat had the desired effect. And, with 7 minutes left, it was the erstwhile Newcastle and England striker's header backmost crossed extremity from Ince which created the accidental for Joao to motion location successful a scramble.

Ince past sparked a tense fewer moments erstwhile his debased changeable trickled successful done a wood of legs heavy into the 5 minutes of wounded time.