Caretaker manager Martin Kuhl was unable to prevent his Reading side from losing their fourth successive away game, after a Joe Garner penalty sealed the points from Preston North End. 

Joe Garner
Joe Garner netted the only goal as Preston beat Reading

The Royals were very much on the back foot for the majority of the game, and Adam Reach thundered a shot against the post early inside the first half.

Reach then was denied by a double save from Jonathan Bond in the Reading net. The keeper had stepped in after Kuhl dropped last month's player of the month Ali Al-Habsi, in the wake of his unfortunate mistake against QPR last week.

Paul McShane had been a stand out performer in the early stages of the season for the Royals, but has suffered a dip in form, and was well beaten by Garner, before bringing down the in-form striker inside the box to give the Lilywhites a penalty.

Garner calmly dispatched to turn the scoring in Preston's favour.

Chances came and went and Nick Blackman could have ended his drought but he failed to finish when presented with a one-on-one, and Simon Grayson's side deservedly held on for victory.

FootballLeagueWorld writer Harry Smith identifies three things that we learned from this scrappy encounter...

1) Joe Garner is back to his best

The striker had failed to score all season up until the last couple of weeks, and has since scored in three successive games.

The striker was League One's top scorer last season, and played a huge role in Preston's promotion.

After Jermaine Beckford was ruled out, many Preston fans feared the worst, and goals proved hard to come by at Deepdale, but Garner is returning back to his best.

When Garner is playing well, so too are Preston.

2) Reading need a boost

The Royals are lacking confidence and lacking that spirit that was emanating from the squad within the opening stages of the season.

They desperately need a boost of some sort to lift the spirits among the squad.

Brian McDermott looks set to be announced as the new manager in the coming days, and this could be the said lift needed.

3) Nick Blackman must get a goal

Nick Blackman was by far and away Reading's best player at the start of the season, and he was incredibly dangerous whenever he was on the ball.

After going on something of a goal drought in recent times, he desperately needs a goal to get him back in form and back to his top form.

On his day, he can be unstoppable.

Preston and Reading fans... what did you make of the match? Did Preston warrant the victory? How can Reading get back to winning ways? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!