Reading match-winner Harvey Knibbs admitted he was left 'shocked' by their 89th-minute penalty at home to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, joking that he felt the club were 'cursed.'

Officials have come in for scrutiny in the past few months as the Royals camp felt hard-done-by with decisions. However, Kion Etete's handball was penalised in the final minute on Saturday and Reading were awarded their first league penalty at the SCL Stadium since a Championship win over Blackpool in February 2023.

Knibbs, cool as a cucumber, stepped up and sent former Royal Luke Southwood the wrong way to end a run of three successive defeats.

"I don’t feel much pressure with penalties, I try and practise them each week and know the next way I’m going," Knibbs said after the victory. "The practice means preparation so when it comes to it, I’m more excited to get the winner."

There was, at least to outsiders, some confusion as Charlie Savage held the ball on the penalty spot and looked set to take the kick before throwing it to Knibbs at the last minute.

However, this was all part of the plan and 'mind games' to allow Southwood less time to prepare.

"Firstly, I was shocked when the ref gave the penalty because I thought we had a curse recently. As soon as he did it, I threw the ball to Charlie and told him to hold on to it in case they want to do any gamesmanship or mind games. Sometimes, if Charlie is on the penalty spot, their goalkeeper coach might be giving them where Charlie is going and by the time I get it, he might be a bit distracted. It’s just a bit of mind games. I knew already I was going to take it, and I knew which way I was going to go."

The previous 88 minutes of the clash had been tight on what was a poor playing surface, with Aaron Collins missing two guilt-edged opportunities for the Whites to take the lead and likely the win.

"It was a performance I think we needed; the recent results haven’t been good enough," Knibbs summarised. "At Burton we were a lot better but still fragile at the back, today’s clean sheet was massive, and that penalty is what we deserved for our work in the game."

Now attention turns to this evening's transfer deadline, with the window closing at 11pm.