Forster punishes nine-man Preston

Reading 5 Preston North End 1

Such is his holistic approach to football the Reading manager, Alan Pardew, felt that his team would benefit by running out last night to louder music.

Whether the extra decibels mattered remains a moot point but the Royals took a further step towards the play-offs with a victory over Preston every bit as resounding as the manager's U2 anthems of choice.

The Berkshire team, who face Nottingham Forest and Portsmouth over the Easter weekend, rose to fourth place with a hat-trick from Nicky Forster and goals from Nicky Shorey and Darius Henderson as the visitors – unambitious from the start – were reduced to nine men.

Pardew said: "This was a massive win for us tonight. It showed that we are good enough in a pressure cooker situation. That's how it's going to be from now."

In the early exchanges Reading dominated possession, and the visitors seemed content to take their chances on the counter-attack. But the first half turned on 28 minutes when the central defender Michael Jackson, booked for dissent early on, was dismissed with a second yellow after his late tackle felled Forster.

Two minutes later Reading's lone striker Forster poached from close range after shots from Andy Hughes and Glen Little, which bought a reflex save from David Lucas almost worthy of David Seaman.

With Preston's manager, Craig Brown, making hurried plans to shore up the defence, Reading then enjoyed a free-for-all in the balmy heat of the Madejski Stadium. John Salako and Little went close before Forster claimed his 15th goal of season three minutes before the break, picking up a Salako cross to place a left-foot shot beyond the keeper.

Down by two goals and one man at half-time, things got considerably worse for Preston nine minutes after the re-start. Their goalkeeper Lucas was dismissed after he pulled down Little as the on-loan winger tried to dribble round him in the box. The substitute keeper, Jonathon Gould, was easily beaten by the resulting penalty from Nicky Shorey. Four minutes later Forster ran on to a ball out of defence and when Chris Lucketti, slipped the Reading centre-forward claimed his hat-trick with a crisp right-foot shot in the 58th minute.

The substitute Henderson headed from close range in the final minute just after Tyrone Mears scored a late goal with a thunderous left-foot strike from 30 yards as consolation to a side that failed to manage a shot on target in the first half.

Reading (4-5-1): Hahnemann; Murty, Williams, Brown, Shorey; Chadwick (Cureton, 58), Little (Tyson, 59), Hughes, Harper, Salako; Forster (Henderson, 58). Substitutes not used: Ashdown (gk), Newman.

Preston North End (4-4-2): Lucas; Alexander, Jackson, Lucketti, Mears; Cartwright, Etuhu, Skora, McKenna (Gould, 55); Cresswell, Lynch (Lewis, 38). Substsitutes not used: Abbott, Edwards, O'Neil.

Referee: P Taylor (Hertfordshire).