READING U18s came from behind to beat Fulham U18s and secure their place in the FA Youth Cup fifth round on Monday night.
Fulham went in front through a Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson goal, but Royals keeper Luke Southwood saved a Dennis Adeniran penalty to prevent his side going 2-0 down in the opening 10 minutes at Motspur Park.
The visitors mounted a late comeback with three goals in the last 15 minutes to seal the victory.
Tyler Frost drew Royals level from a Daniel Akinwunmi assist.
Fulham then saw keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond sent off for a foul on Sam Smith - only for Josh Barrett to miss from the spot.
Nevertheless, Royals finished strongly and further goals from Ryan East and Smith rounded off a memorable night for David Dodds’ team.
U18s head coach Dodds beamed: “Fulham started off really strongly and went 1-0 up, and the crucial thing was Luke saving the penalty.
“That gave us a bit of strength, and then we got our wits together and a foothold in the game before half-time.
“We tweaked a couple of things at half-time in our shape, and started turning them around.
“We cut them open at times. It was a really pleasing performance with lots and lots of character and spirit, but also skill.
“This group have really pleasantly surprised us this year. They’ve got a lot of character and they’ve also got a lot of skill. A lot of them have got a chance of playing football for a living, which is a nice thing.”
Reading face an away trip to either Met Police or Wolves in the fifth round.
Reading U18s: Southwood, Akinwunmi, Richards, Osho, Andresson, Bennett, Frost, East, Barrett, Davis, Smith. Subs: Tupper, Holmes, Loader, Coleman, Howe.
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