Last updated on .From the section Championship

Stuart Dallas broke the deadlock for Leeds against a stubborn Reading defence

Leeds climbed to second with a narrow win against Reading and needed a late penalty save to hang on to all three points.

Stuart Dallas poked home from close range after Kemar Roofe had been denied a finish by brave defending from Liam Moore and Chris Gunter.

But Reading missed a glorious chance to snatch a point late on when Marc McNulty had his penalty saved low down by Leeds goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

It came after Barry Douglas had been penalised for bringing down Josh Sims on the edge of the area.

Victory for Leeds moved them to within a point of leaders Norwich City, who were held to a goalless draw at struggling Hull.

Marcelo Bielsa's side have now won four of their past five home matches and were denied a more emphatic win as some smart keeping by Anssi Jaakkola in the Reading goal kept his side in it.

Roofe was twice kept out by the Finn in the second half, first with a header across goal and then towards the end by a strike from inside the six-yard box.

Defeat meant Reading failed to go through November unbeaten after a recent improvement of a win and two draws.

Paul Clement's side have failed to score in back-to-back away games at Wigan and Leeds, and are only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa:

"We would've liked to have finished the game in better conditions and Reading dared to play more in the closing stages.

"We didn't take the right positional choices to combat that after making a number of changes in the second half.

"There were a lot of attacking players out there at the end who perhaps aren't used to playing a more defensive role when needed.

"I'm very happy for (goalkeeper) Bailey Peacock-Farrell and the team, he has shown bravery and resolve in games and he had a big influence in keeping us ahead in the game.

Reading manager Paul Clement told BBC Radio Berkshire:

"I think on reflection from the whole game, we did enough to get a draw.

"It's a strange feeling because as a professional you want to get points for your team by winning or drawing games, but that might be one of the best games we've played.

"The players did everything that I asked of them in terms of the tactical set up and in how they worked hard on and off the ball against a team who don't stop running.

"We did really well on all fronts, the only thing we didn't get was the result the performance deserved."