Feb 28, 2015 at 3pm UK at ​Madejski Stadium
Reading
0-3
Nott'm ForestNottingham Forest

McCleary (60')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Osborn (56'), Fryatt (70'), Gardner (80')

Result: Nottingham Forest march on under Dougie Freedman

Nottingham Forest make it five wins from six under Dougie Freedman as they comfortably beat Reading 3-0 at the Madejski Stadium.

Nottingham Forest's unbeaten run under new manager Dougie Freedman continued with a 3-0 win over Reading thanks to goals from Ben Osborn, Matty Fryatt and Gary Gardner.

Daniel Williams of Reading battles for the ball with Ben Osborn of Nottingham Forest during the Sky Bet Championship match on February 28, 2015© Getty Images

Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak nearly put his side ahead from a Jordan Obita corner early into what was an otherwise scrappy and uneventful first half.

Simon Cox should have done better with Chris Gunter's smart cutback just after the half-hour mark, but the striker's effort ended up in the stands high above Karl Darlow's goal.

Cox then teed up Pogrenyak to fire narrowly wide before Garath McCleary's low drive was cleared off the line by Jamaal Lascelles on the stroke of half time.

Adam Federici's acrobatic save kept out Fryatt's header shortly after the restart, before Freedman's team took the lead in spectacular fashion.

It was young Forest midfielder Osbourn who broke the deadlock, curling home his third goal for the club from 25 yards.

Pogrebnyak nearly outdid Osbourn with a volley from the edge of the box 10 minutes later, but Darlow reacted quickly to palm the ball over the top of his goal.

Fryatt's mazy run and powerful finish from close range then doubled Forest's lead, before Gardner hammered an effort home from all of 30 yards just minutes after coming on.

Substitute Yakubu Aiyegbeni carved out a late chance for Nathaniel Chalobah, but the on-loan Chelsea midfielder could only blaze over the top as the Royals went without a consolation.

The result is Reading's fourth defeat in five league games but a fifth win in their last six for Forest.

Reading manager Steve Clarke during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Reading at The Amex Stadium on December 26, 2014
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2Middlesbrough39237954252976
3Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton402015556381875
4Hull City392091054272769
5Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds401814859372268
6Derby CountyDerby401813956371967
7Cardiff CityCardiff40161595142963
8Ipswich TownIpswich401612124644260
9Birmingham CityBirmingham391511134339456
10Preston North EndPreston401414123938156
11Queens Park RangersQPR401216125047352
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves401313144852-452
13Reading391312144544151
14Brentford39147185460-649
15Leeds UnitedLeeds391115133948-948
16Blackburn RoversBlackburn401113163940-146
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest401113163541-646
18Huddersfield TownHuddersfield40129195257-545
19Fulham401014166166-544
20Bristol City401111184163-2244
21Rotherham UnitedRotherham40127214764-1743
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24Bolton WanderersBolton40414223772-3526