Reading were stung late by fellow strugglers Fleetwood Town in a poor quality, but high entertainment, 1-1 draw at Highbury.

Lewis Wing's curled home a stunning strike with 15 minutes remaining, but Brendan Wiredu was on hand in stoppage time to bundle an equaliser for the hosts.

Battling the conditions and a difficult playing surface, it was no real surprise to see a poor-quality encounter in the Lancashire coastal town. This was not helped when the Royals were forced into an early change, with Kelvin Abrefa getting his first real League One minutes after Jeriel Dorsett was on the receiving end of a strong tackle.

Endeavour and intent could not be doubted from either side, but the lack of quality was there to see in both red and blue. The biggest chance of the first period came after 15 minutes when Jayden Stockley headed a deep cross back into the penalty box but Promise Omochere could only find the palms of David Button from close range.

Reading managed just one effort in the opening half hour when Femi Azeez had room to find a cross, but his drilled effort hit Harvey Knibbs too quickly for the midfielder to divert it on target. Abrefa’s tame shot was the only effort on target from the Royals, but Jay Lynch was never in danger of conceding as both sides needed to restock at the break.

The rain drove down during the break and made the already challenging surface much more difficult to get to grips with. Still lacking cutting edge, it was certainly more entertaining as both sides tested the men between the sticks. Lewis Wing forced Lynch into his first tough save of the evening after just two minutes when a corner was only half cleared, and the captain fired an effort on target.

Five minutes later the Cod Army were incensed as they felt they should have taken the lead. A deep cross from the attacking left found Omochere at the back post and his diving header looked destined to make the net bulge, especially when a goalmouth scramble followed. However, much to the frustration of Charlie Adam, nothing was given.

Reading had the ball in the net within minutes as Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan was sent through on goal, but fellow forward Paul Mukairu ran past the youngster, took the ball off his toes and slotted home. Job done, one would imagine? But no, the Copenhagen loanee had been flagged for offside and the tidy finish was ruled out by the referee.

Following another tense 15 minutes of frantic action without cutting edge, the moment needed a cool head to take control. That came with 75 minutes on the clock as captain Wing curled a stunning effort past the motionless Lynch to send the 600 travelling supporters into delirium.

As expected, the hosts lay siege on the Royal goal and peppered the penalty box constantly. It could have been a calmer closing period had Ehibhatiomhan finished when sent through on goal, but his effort could only find the midriff of the keeper.

Just as it looked like the Royals had held out, a lofted ball into the box caused problems and the hosts' captain was on hand to scramble the ball home.