Reading moved back up to third in the Championship after a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Royals went down 3-2 at Derby County last weekend to fall to fifth in the table, but Roy Beerens’ strike from John Swift’s missed penalty early in the second half was enough to secure the three points on Tuesday.

However, the hosts have goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi to thank for a 15th league win of the campaign, after he brilliantly saved Chris Martin’s last-gasp penalty after defender Liam Moore fouled Lucas Piazon in the box.

That was Fulham’s seventh unsuccessful spot-kick of the season, and indeed third of their last four, while Jaap Stam’s Reading missed their sixth penalty of the campaign, but for the fifth time followed it up with a rebound.

It means that the Royals are up to third in the table, nine points adrift of second place Newcastle United, while Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham missed the chance to go seventh, instead they stay ninth after a seventh defeat of the season.

In what was a fascinating encounter at the Madejski on Tuesday, here are THREE things we learned from Reading versus Fulham…

No striker works for Reading

There were a few surprised faces around the Madejski Stadium when Jaap Stam named his starting eleven, given that there were no recognised strikers in the side, yet four were named on the bench.

Yet the system, which saw Garath McCleary and Roy Beerens lead the line, clearly worked for a Reading side that looked a threat every time they got into the final third.

McCleary’s pace caused the Fulham centre-back pair of Tomas Kalas and Tim Ream no end of problems, and even when the Royals went a bit more direct to the Jamaican international, his strength and aerial presence gave them a good outlet.

Goal-scorer Beerens had a quieter game but was more composed in the opposition box than previous matches, and took his finish well from just inside the penalty area.

The pace and directness of the front two worked for Reading last night, so don’t be at all surprised to see Stam use a similar system with similar personnel in the future.

Tale of two penalties

These two sides possess some of the strangest penalty statistics in English football this season.

The Royals have taken 11 penalties in the Championship this season and scored five of them, yet of the six they have missed, they have netted five times from the rebound, with Beerens’ goal last night adding another one to that tally.

While Jokanovic’s Fulham just can’t seem to score a penalty, with Martin’s miss last night their seventh unsuccessful spot-kick out of nine this season.

The Cottagers have been awarded four penalties in their last four league matches, but have only converted one of them when Martin netted in first half injury-time in the win over Barnsley on January 14.

Ultimately, it was the penalties that determined the outcome of a good game at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday.

Liam Kelly has a bright future

In a match that was full of goal-scoring opportunities and good build-up play, there was one man that stood out in the middle of the park – Reading’s Liam Kelly.

The 21-year-old, who only made his debut for the Royals in August of last year, ran the show from the midfield, with his incredible energy and work-rate to always give his defenders an option on the ball, as well as get forward and help launch attacks, important in helping Reading establish some midfield dominance.

Kelly also made some crucial interceptions and tackles to starve Fulham of possession in their own half, and he never gave the visitors much time on the ball in that midfield area, especially when the visitors began to get on top in the latter stages of the second half.

It was an outstanding performance from the 21-year-old, who deservedly received a standing ovation when he was substituted five minutes from the end.