ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP:BRIAN McDERMOTT'S Reading ended a run of five consecutive draws in the Championship as Shane Long grabbed a late winner at Derby on Saturday.

Long opened the scoring from the penalty spot just before half-time and Kris Commons brought Derby level after they had spurned a host of chances.

Despite Long’s brace, McDermott insisted Reading were indebted to goalkeeper Adam Federici for keeping the Rams at bay.

“I thought first half we were on top of the game, but second half Derby came out really strong and our ’keeper had to make a couple of good saves,” said McDermott. “They scored a good goal and it could have gone either way but, fortunately for us, Shane Long has got a great header and we won.

“In the last five games, even though we had drawn all five we felt we should have won them all, against top sides as well. But we are in the results business so today we have got the result.

“I thought we were good value for it and there was a good spirit among the players which we have had all along. We have not deviated away from what we are trying to do and we have younger players coming through so we are competitive in this league.

“Our ’keeper was first class. His kicking was good and his organisation was good. He’s made saves that basically have won us the game. That’s what you want from your ’keeper, making saves that make a difference and he’s done that today.”

Meanwhile, Ipswich boss Roy Keane was thankful for referee Stuart Attwell’s decision to allow his side’s televised 3-0 win over Leicester to continue despite heavy snow at Portman Road.

Ipswich had lost their previous six games, but turned in a solid display to race ahead thanks to a David Norris strike and a double from Jason Scotland.

“The referee had a tough decision to make and he was put under a lot of pressure by Leicester. But he stuck at it and fair play to him for that,” Keane said.

“It wasn’t easy and he needed to look after the safety of the players. The fact we were three up put him under more pressure, but he made the right decision.”

Leicester boss Sven-Goran Eriksson condemned the decision to even start the match and called it “bad PR for English football” and unsuitable for television.

Leeds manager Simon Grayson described his side’s 2-0 win over table-toppers QPR as their best home performance of the season as they climbed to second in the table. Max Gradel scored both goals in either half on a day made even better for the club after Luciano Becchio signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract.