Ten-men Derby County tasted defeat with a 4-1 reverse at Reading this evening.

Shane Long put Reading ahead early on before Gilles Sunu hit back with a fine equaliser for the Rams, but Jimmy Kebe quickly restored the Royals' lead.

Derby's task was made even harder when substitute goalkeeper Saul Deeney, on for the injured Stephen Bywater, was sent off before the break for a professional foul which meant Robbie Savage had to don the goalkeeper's gloves for the rest of the game.

The Rams put up a strong fight but their resistance was broken when Ryan Bertrand made it 3-1 twenty minutes from time and Simon Church made it four late on, a scoreline which was harsh on the hardworking Rams.

Derby were dealt a blow before kick-off with in-form striker Chris Porter ruled out with a virus, so Gilles Sunu was handed a recall in his place which saw Michael Tonge move into an advanced role just off leading goalscorer Rob Hulse.

In the second of two changes from Saturday's victory over Watford Jay McEveley came in for Dean Moxey at left-back after serving a two-match suspension.

The home side were out of the traps quickly looking to prove a point after their second-half collapse in Sunday's FA Cup quarter final against Aston Villa and created an opportunity in the opening minute but Sigurdsson headed Kebe's right-wing cross over Bywater's crossbar.

On eight minutes though, Reading did break the deadlock just as Derby began to enjoy an early spell of pressure.

On the break the ball fell kindly to Kebe who played Long in on goal and he used his pace to burst past Barker and he followed on from his brace against Aston Villa at the weekend with a low drive beyond Bywater.

Picking the ball out of the back of the net was one of Bywater's last actions as he had to be withdrawn soon afterwards with a back problem which he was unable to shake off, which meant a Derby County debut from the bench for his understudy Saul Deeney.

Derby were having to do some defending in the early exchanges and Barker threw his body on the line to block Long's goalbound effort on the volley.

Just as Reading's opener came against the run of play, the boot was on the other foot as the Rams hauled themselves back onto level terms on twenty-one minutes.

A penetrating run by Pearson into the Reading area saw the ball break kindly to Sunu on the edge of the area, and he produced a delightful strike with the outside of his right foot to guide the ball beyond the dive of Federici to open his Derby account since his loan switch from Arsenal last month.

Reading were looking to use the pace of Kebe down the right as often as possible and twice soon after Derby drew level he fizzed balls across the six-yard box which evaded everyone.

Deeney made his first serious save since coming off the bench ten minutes before the break, bursting off his line to dive bravely at the feet of Bertrand as he advanced towards goal.

Deeney was picking the ball out of the net a few seconds later however as Kebe slammed home from close range after ghosting into the Derby box unmarked to restore Reading's lead.

The goalkeeper's Derby debut turned into a nightmare minutes later when he was shown a straight red card for a professional foul on Jay Tabb for a penalty inside the area after he was quickest onto a short back-pass to the former Burton Albion goalkeeper.

With no other goalkeepers available at Derby's disposal, skipper Savage donned the gloves and his first task was to face the penalty from Long but the Irishman fluffed his lines and blazed over; bringing a very eventful half to a close.

Despite being a man down, Derby were the stronger outfit at the start of the second half Hulse almost had the Rams back on level terms again but his close-range shot from Pearson's low cross was blocked at point-blank range.

Savage made his first save between the sticks by diving bravely at the feet of Long when clear on goal on the hour, and moments later he produced a top class save diving full length to his left to claw Sigurdsson's free-kick from long range over the bar to keep Derby in the game.

He also palmed away Kebe's stinging volley as Reading upped the ante, but he was finally beaten twenty minutes from time when Bertrand crashed home a rising drive from just inside the box with his right foot.

That didn't mean Derby were going to throw the towel in and accept defeat, far from it, and Pearson tried his luck from long range to force a fine save from Federici late on before Church scrambled home a late fourth for Reading.