COVENTRY City suffered their third defeat in four games after a double from Grzegorz Rasiak and one from Jobi McAnuff broke Reading's four-game losing streak.
Rasiak put the visitors ahead in the first minute with a close range header and McAnuff bagged a second for the Royals eight minutes into the second half before Rasiak capped off the scoring with 20 minutes to go.
The three goals from the hosts though took the attention away from Freddy Eastwood who bagged his first gaol of the season with a superb strike three minutes after the hour.
The Sky Blues got off to a nightmare start when Rasiak headed home a cross from McAnuff with the game only seconds old..
The winger swung in a cross from the right for the Polish international who rose at the back post and headed into the roof of the net past Dimi Konstantopoulos from close range.
Reading's on-loan left-back Ryan Bertrand went close to making it two after six minutes, cutting inside from the left flanks and getting as far as the six-yard box only for Konstantopoulos to stop his shot.
Infact the Sky Blues were struggling to find their feet in the first ten minutes but they soon got a rhythm going and went on to control much of the remainder of the first half.
Ben Turner swung in a shot from close range after latching onto Aron Gunnarsson's long throw after 11 minutes, only two diving Reading bodies stopping his shot finding the net.
Freddy Eastwood was on the scorsheet two minutes later with a header from Michael McIndoe's free kick only to have it scrubbed off for offside.
Eastwood then hooked a shot at goal after 20 minutes, McIndoe's low corner bobbling in the area for Eastwood to swing at it only to find Reading gioalkeeper Adam Federici equal to the effort.
Gunnarsson hooked a shot just over the bar after the half hour mark, another uncomfortable corner from McIndoe bouncing around in the area before falling to the Icelandic international who pulled a shot just over the bar from eight yards out.
Gunnarsson was denied again just a minute into the second half, his shot from McIndoe's corner blocked for a another set piece.
McAnuff doubled Reading's lead on 53 minutes though, making the most of a fortunate opportunity when the ball bounced to him in the Coventry area for him to half volley past Konstantopoulos into his top corner.
A double substitution for the Sky Blues on 57 minutes seemed to give them fresh impetus, Leon Best and Isaac Osbourne replacing Michael McIndoe and Aron Gunnarsson.
And it seemed to have the desired effect as some great link up play on the hour ended with Jack Cork's shot from just inside the area take a deflection onto Federici's crossbar.
Best flicked a header into the path of Morrison a minute later but the club joint top goalscorer could not steer the ball into the net with only Federici to beat.
The Sky Blues got their just rewards for a good spell of pressure on 63 minutes though when Eastwood picked up the ball midway in the Reading half and fired a shot from more than 25 yards which found its way past Federici and into his bottom far corner.
The strike gave City fans some hope of salvaging the game but Rasiak reinstated the Royals' two-goal cushion in the 71st minute amid controversial circumstances which saw City 'keeper Konstantopoulos claiming the goal should not have stood for an offside.
A shot at goal piunballed around the area before findimng its way to Rasiak who simply had to poke a shot past the Coventry shotstopper.
City had a chance to pull one back inside the four minutes of added time, Jordan Clarke recieving acut back infront of the penalty area only for his first time shot to pop over the crossbar.
The final chance of the game was infact representative of the Sky Blues' luck as they carved out enough chances to get something out of the tie but were left empty handed.
Attendance: 15,165 (679 away)
Teams
Coventry City: Konstantopoulos, Turner, Cranie, Clarke, Grandison, Cork, Gunnarsson (Osbourne 57), McIndoe (Best 57), van Aanholt (Hussey 72), Morrison (c), Eastwood
Subs: Ireland (GK), Ward, Bell, Madine
Reading: Federici, Tabb, Matejovsky, McAnuff, Ingimarsson (c), Church (Long 55), Rasiak, Bertrand, Sigurdsson, Pearce, Howard (Karacan 67)
Subs: Hamer (GK), Cisse, Gunnarsson, Cummings, O'Dea
