READING FC were made to wait to seal their place in the Championship play-offs despite staging a late fightback as they lost 3-2 away against strugglers Nottingham Forest.

Had they won, Reading would have guarenteed themselves a spot in the play-offs but a disappointing first-half display saw the hosts take the lead when Britt Assombalonga burst through on goal before calmly slotting past the helpless Ali Al-Habsi.

Mustapha Carayol proved to be a constant threat and Forest squandered numerous opportunities to increase their lead, but Reading offered little in return.

Forest doubled their lead early in the second half as Assombalonga scored his second before the dangerous Carayol made it three.

Reading did however stage a fightback thanks to two well taken goals by Yann Kermorgant, but the Royals could not quite find a third.

The result means Reading will have to wait to secure their spot in this season’s play-off finals, but they remain well within contention of a top-six spot.

Jaap Stam made three changes to his starting XI with Adrian Popa, in-form Lewis Grabban and Liam Kelly all coming into the side.

Forest threatened early when Chris Cohen broke down the right hand side, he looked up to deliver a cross but he was challenged by Kelly, who gave away a dubious free-kick.

The hosts continued in a positive fashion and forced the Royals back into their own half in the opening five minutes as Stam’s men struggled to get hold of the ball.

Chris Gunter was then forced to head a ball clear for a corner which was taken quickly by Daniel Fox. Ben Brereton went down in the box claiming a penalty from the resulting set-piece but referee Geoff Eltringham waved away his protests.

Brereton should have opened the scoring when Mustapha Carayol’s pin-point cross found him six-yards away from goal. It looked easier to score than miss but Brereton squandered an open-goal chance in glorious fashion.

The home-side continued to pile forward and heap pressure on the Royals’ defence with Popa struggling with the pace of Carayol.

Jordon Obita whipped in a dangerous cross against the run of play and found Kermorgant beautifully inside the box. The Frenchman got his head on the ball but it cannoned off of Mancienne and out for a corner with 26 minutes played.

Forest finally opened the scoring when Assombalonga raced onto a through-ball from the midfield. Al-Habsi was quick off his line but the striker simply slid the ball underneath the keeper to make it 1-0 to the hosts.

Reading nearly retaliated straight after when Lewis Grabban’s powerful strike from the edge of the area was tipped over the crossbar by Forest keeper Smith.

With the first-half drawing to a close, Reading came close again when Kermorgant’s connected with another delightful cross with a scissor kick, but his effort was blocked well. It was the Royals’ final chance of the first period and they found themselves trailing at half-time.

The hosts came flying out of the blocks and made it 2-0 just seconds after the restart when Assombalonga got in between Moore and Blackett to head past Al-Habsi, giving the Royals a mountain to climb.

Stam threw on George Evans and Roy Beerens to replace Popa and Williams, who aired his frustration at a disappointing Royals’ performance by lashing out at a water bottle as he left the field, much to the joy of the home crowd.

But it was soon 3-0 to Forest when a throw-in found Carayol who jinked his way past Gunter before firing into the back of the net, piling more misery on the travelling supporters.

Reading finally responded on 58 minutes when yet another cross from Obita met the head of Kermorgant. This time the Frenchman connected powerfully and crashed his header past Smith, sparking a potential comeback for the Royals.

Roy Beerens drew a foul on the right-hand-side and Obita was handed another opportunity to whip a cross into the box. However, the young full-back over-hit his cross and it sailed out for a goal-kick.

Reading finally got a hold of the ball and put together a neat passing move on the edge of the Forest box.

They continued to push forward and found the net again when Kermorgant’s header was well blocked by a Forest defender. However, the ball rebounded straight back to the Frenchman who took a calm touch before blasting the ball past Smith to make it 3-2.

With the momentum finally with the Royals, a nervy home side began slowing the pace of the game down as they looked to hold on to a vital three points with the prospect of relegation from the Championship looming.

John Swift tried to seal an equaliser in style when he took a shot from distance with 80 minutes played, but sadly for the Royals his shot sailed wide of the post.

Stam made a final throw of the dice by introducing Joseph Mendes for the final eight minutes of the game, replacing 21-year-old Swift.

Forest pushed forward and thought they had sealed the win when Assombalonga found the back of the net for the third time, but much to the dismay of the home supporters it was flagged offside.

Chris Gunter delivered a glorious cross from the right deep into stoppage time but it was just too high for any of the Royals’ attacking players and drifted out for a goal-kick.

Forest remained strong at the back and held on to a vital three points.

Reading FC: Al-Habsi, Gunter (c), Obita, Moore, Blackett, Swift (Mendes, 82), Williams (Evans,50), Kelly, Popa (Beerens,50), Grabban, Kermorgant.

Subs not used: Jaakkola, Meite, Ilori, Oxford.

Nottingham Forest FC: Smith, Mancienne, Worrall, Fox (Pinillos, 76) Lichaj, Vaughan, Cohen, Osborn, Carayol (Cash,80), Brereton (Ward,70), Assombalonga.

Subs not used: Tshibola, Clough, Evtimov, Vellios.

Bookings: Vaughan (12), Blackett (30), Gunter (82).

Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Attendance: 20,323