READING FC picked up their first win of the Championship season after a determined 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, despite a late fightback by the visitors, piling pressure on Villains’ boss Steve Bruce.

A Glen Whelen own-goal was quickly followed by Modou Barrow’s first goal in Royals’ colours as Reading sailed to a 2-0 lead early in the second-half.

Jaap Stam’s men looked destined to pick up all three points when Villa all of a sudden staged a late fight-back through Conor Hourihane.

Reading, having controlled the game throughout, suddenly had to put everyone behind the ball as a late surge by Villa threatened to squander Royals’ lead.

But Stam’s defence were determined to keep the visitors at bay and held on to secure an emphatic victory under the floodlights at Madejski Stadium.

Stam made three changes to the team which drew 1-1 against a 10-man Fulham on Saturday afternoon. Joey van den Berg, whose mistake led to Cottagers’ equaliser, replaced Tiago Ilori while Adrian Popa came in for George Evans and Pelle Clement replaced Joseph Mendes.

New signing Leandro Bacuna, who joined Royals from Villa just three days ago, made Stam’s bench while Garath McCleary was also amongst the substitutes following his recent spell on the sidelines.

Reading started the match strong in possession with Dutchman Clement leading the line in a striker-less starting XI, supported by Popa and Barrow on either flank.

But it was the hosts who were presented the first goal-scoring opportunity when a deflected pass fell kindly for Andre Green. The young forward found himself one-on-one with Mannone but Royals’ stopper made himself big and produced a fine save.

Green then delivered a near-perfect cross from the left flank towards Tottenham Hotspurs’ loanee Josh Onomah, but Royals’ Liam Moore was on hand to clear the danger with nine minutes played.

Royals dominated possession in the opening quarter of an hour but failed to produce a meaningful attack on the visitors’ defence.

John Swift tried his luck from range with 18 minutes played but his curling effort drifted narrowly wide of Sam Johnstone’s post.

Swift’s chance sparked a little more urgency in Royals’ play and the 21-year-old found himself on the end of an inch-perfect delivery from Barrow. The England Under 21 international got his head to the ball but it bounced off of Neil Taylor for a corner.

Skipper McShane was handed a prime opportunity to break the deadlock from the resulting set-piece when he was allowed a free header from deep inside the box. The captain mistimed his jump however and his effort sailed harmlessly wide of the goal.

Romanian international Popa thought he had finally broken the deadlock for Reading when his thunderous drive looked destined for the back of the net. However, Villa stopper Johnstone produced a stunning save down low to his left to deny him.

Next came a long-range effort from former Swansea City man Barrow but his tame strike drifted harmlessly wide as Royals struggled to carve out clear-cut opportunities.

Royals could have gone into the break a goal to the good after some neat passing in the box fell to Popa. The Romanian forward got the ball out of his feet quickly but his shot fell straight into the arms of Johnston on the stroke of half-time.

Royals raced out of the blocks and Liam Kelly could have given the home side the lead when he was played through by Barrow. The young midfielder took a touch before trying to pick out the far corner, but he dragged his shot wide.

But Reading took the lead just moments after the restart when John Swift sent Popa charging towards goal. The winger produced some fine trickery before trying to dink the ball into the six-yard area, however his cross deflected off of Glen Whelan and looped over the helpless Johnston.

The decision required the first ever use of goal-line technology at Madejski Stadium and replays showed the ball clearly crossed the line as Johnston scrambled to keep it out.

The goal sparked life into Royals’ play and Barrow soon doubled the lead after Liam Moore found himself unmarked in the box. The defender unselfishly squared the ball for Barrow who tapped it into an open net to open his Royals’ account.

Villa, desperately looking for a way back into the game, surged forward and Andre Green’s cross flashed across the face of Mannone’s goal, narrowly missing the head of the on-rushing Bjarnson with 58 minutes on the clock.

Jamaican international McCleary was introduced to the fray with 70 minutes played and almost made an immediate impact on proceedings. However, Kelly’s searching long-ball was cut out by Hutton, preventing McCleary from going one-on-one with Johnston.

The visitors’ winless run looked destined to continue when an unmarked Bjarnson lined up a shot from 12-yards out, only to be denied by a determined block by Tyler Blackett.

Bruce introduced the pacey Albert Adomah as a final throw of the dice but Stam’s defence held firm as Reading looked destined to pick up their first three-points of the Championship season.

Villa looked dejected on the field as Reading continued to dominate the ball in the closing stages of the match. The visitors occasionally pushed forward but Royals’ defence remained solid.

But Royals suddenly had to defend for their lives when Hourihane blasted the visitors back into the game when he found himself unmarked just inside the box with three minutes left on the clock..

The goal sparked life into the visitors’ travelling contingent and Royals were braced for a difficult end to what had been a relatively comfortable game.

Garath McCleary gave away a clumsy free kick deep into Royals’ half but Bjarnson misjudged his header and the ball gracefully looped over Mannone’s crossbar.

The visitors thought they had snatched a point when Green fired wide from the edge of the box deep into four minutes of added time.

But Royals held on throughout the late onslaught and picked up their first win of the campaign.

Reading FC: Mannone, Gunter, van den Berg (Evans, 69), McShane, Moore, Swift, Barrow (Beerens, 76), Clement, Popa (McCleary, 69), Kelly.

Subs not used: Mendes, Bacuna, Ilori, Jaakola

Aston Villa: Johnston, De Laet (Hutton, 62), Chester, Whelan, Hogan (Agbonlahor, 27), Hourihane, Onomah (Adhoma, 76), Green, Bjarnson, Terry

Subs not used: Samba, Lansbury, Steer, Bree, Adomah

Bookings: Moore (Yellow, 36), Hourihane (Yellow, 37), McCleary (Yellow, 89)

Attendance: 20,144 (3,935 away)

Referee: Kevin Friend