Last updated on .From the section Football

Garath McCleary has four goals in the last four games for Reading

Reading secured a fifth successive Championship win as they beat Bristol City at the Madejski Stadium.

Two goals in six minutes put the Royals in control, with Garath McCleary and Roy Beerens the men on target.

McCleary saw his penalty saved after Hordur Magnusson fouled Dominic Samuel, but hooked in the rebound, and Beerens volleyed home Chris Gunter's cross.

Bristol City had a number of chances at the other end, but Gary O'Neil's late strike was only a consolation.

Having begun the game four points behind second-placed Brighton, Reading remain in third place despite the victory.

And there was cause for concern for manager Jaap Stam as the Robins carved out several decent openings in response to his side's double breakthrough.

Bobby Reid, in particular, had a number of chances, one in particular from close range which Ali Al-Habsi somehow clawed away, and was later denied by a superb block from Royals centre-back Paul McShane.

O'Neil finally found a way past the keeper with a well-directed right-foot effort from the edge of the box - the first goal conceded by Reading in the Championship for 447 minutes - but the home side hung on for the three points.

Jaap Stam's Reading have caught the eye this season with their passing game

Reading manager Jaap Stam (on style comparisons with Barcelona and Manchester City): "I think we're a long way from there. We need to be realistic. We're not trying to copy a certain team, we've got our own style of play and that's what we're trying to do.

"I'm not going to sit in front of the television looking at their patterns of Barcelona and Manchester City.

"But we're trying to play and we've done it loads of times. But if people are talking about us like that, that's a good thing.

"The guys are getting appreciated for what they're doing on the pitch. Maybe people can say as well that Barcelona and Man City are trying to play like Reading."

Bristol City boss Lee Johnson: "The penalty was a decision by somebody who's probably not played football an awful lot before.

"The striker's legs get tangled up as he tried to cut across the defender. He fell over, but there were no complaints. Then penalty.

"It seemed that it was the assistant who gave it. Our fans were right in front of the incident and knew exactly what happened.

"It was decent game, it was like two good boxers going for each other. Had the game finished four-all, you'd have probably been right that that was a fair result."