Reading manager Noel Hunt admitted his side were perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty in their 3-1 League One victory over Peterborough.
The Royals won with an own goal from Posh skipper Sam Hughes and further efforts from Harvey Knibbs and Charlie Savage, with Kwame Poku replying for the lacklustre visitors.
Reading, who moved into sixth place and the play-off spots, were leading 2-0 when Savage appeared to bring down Ricky-Jade Jones in the box but referee Adam Herczeg waved play on.
“I couldn’t really see the incident but I knew that the guy [Jones] was bearing down on goal,” Hunt said.
“If that was the decision [no penalty], then so be it. I’ll have to have a look back at it.
“But I could see that the Peterborough guys were frustrated and angry about it.”
Reading are now unbeaten in 11 league games, and Hunt said: “I thought that we looked really good, we looked really fresh.
“We were maybe a little bit slow with the ball in the first half but we were still in control.
“We had to make sure that we had the intensity and the work rate. That was our number one priority.
“We spoke about that all the way through the week. We had to chop and change things at 10am this morning [due to injury and illness in the squad].
“But it was one of those things that happen and I thought that the boys dealt with it really well. It didn’t faze them at all.
“No matter who comes in and puts on the shirt, they give everything they’ve got.”
Peterborough’s undefeated seven-match league run came to an end, with manager Darren Ferguson annoyed at the spot-kick controversy.
“I’ve got to be honest. I think that the referee must have been the only person in the stadium [that didn’t think it was a penalty],” Ferguson, who was booked for his protests, said.
“Even the Reading bench couldn’t believe it. I think the problem is if the ref gives it, then he’s got to give him [Savage] a red card.
“I asked the referee about it and he said: ‘I make the final decision and I didn’t think there was any contact’. So, there we go.
“We still created many chances but, when you concede three goals, it’s going to be hard to win a game of football. All the three goals were avoidable.
“The key point was Reading’s third goal because, at only 2-0 down, you’ve still got plenty of time.
“And the way that we play, we’re always going to create chances. I thought also that we looked physically strong in the last 20 minutes.
“But you concede that third and it just kills you.”
