McDermott in seventh heaven

Reading boss Brian McDermott paid tribute to his side after their automatic promotion bid gained further momentum with a seventh straight npower Championship victory at Scunthorpe. Shane Long swept home Jimmy Kebe's low cross to open the scoring in the 57th minute and then won a penalty which Ian Harte converted to send Scunthorpe closer to relegation. Reading now lie in fifth spot - just three points behind second-placed Cardiff - and McDermott said: "It was a great result and we're absolutely delighted. "Scunthorpe played some good football in the first half but we bossed the game after the break and probably deserved to win. "It's been a decent week but to get three points at Nottingham Forest on Saturday and Scunthorpe is a good few days for us. They were big wins."

Source: PA