Doyle spot-on to foil Fulham

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Kevin Doyle's penalty earned Reading a 1-0 victory over 10-man Fulham at Craven Cottage and made it three Premiership wins in succession for Steve Coppell's side. Republic of Ireland striker Doyle slotted home in the 17th minute for his third goal in three games after he was brought down in the box by defender Ian Pearce, who was given a straight red card for a professional foul. The newly-promoted Royals held on despite pressure from the hosts to wrap up their seventh win of a remarkable season, consolidating their position in the top half of the table. The Cottagers' American forward Brian McBride looped a header on to the roof of the net early on, but it was Doyle who made an explosive impact on the game when he opened the scoring. Glen Little guided the ball over the top for James Harper to chase on the right and he fed Doyle, who took a touch and was tripped in the six-yard area by Pearce. The Fulham defender was dismissed and Doyle sent Antti Niemi the wrong way. Doyle was in the thick of the action and then appeared to make contact with Liam Rosenior using his elbow in an aerial challenge, with the full-back requiring attention. To compound Fulham's poor start to the game, skipper Luis Boa Morte and team-mate Rosenior were involved in an animated argument as Niemi prepared for a goal kick after Seol Ki-Hyeon had a shot deflected wide. James Harper was then cautioned for leaving a foot in as Rosenior cleared, while Ivar Ingimarsson was cautioned for handball as the intensity of the match increased. Rosenior showed his pace on the right before his deflected cross was met by McBride and Royals goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was forced to save the diving header. Claus Jensen came close to an equaliser three minutes after the break when he curled an effort which required a save from Hahnemann. Fulham felt they should have had a penalty in the 59th minute but Dermot Gallagher awarded a goal kick when Tomasz Radzinski went down in the penalty area under the challenge of Nicky Shorey. Rosenior got behind the Reading defence just after the hour mark but his cross was cleared, and Collins John's header from the resulting corner went over the crossbar. Radzinski snatched at a shot and found the side-netting after John had bundled his way through from a set-piece, as Fulham applied pressure on Reading. The visitors appealed unsuccessfully for a Carlos Bocanegra handball in the area with 18 minutes left and John Oster and Doyle had late efforts saved as the visitors held on.