A harsh penalty decision secured a vital 1-0 win for Tottenham Hotspur, who moved up to sixth in the Premiership to keep their challenge for a Uefa Cup spot alive. Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov had previously squandered one-on-one opportunites before Leroy Lita's header slammed against the post at the other end.

But the home side went ahead when Keane kept his nerve to tuck away a penalty after Greg Halford was harshly adjudged to have handled in the area.

The win was a boost for Martin Jol's side, who face Sevilla in the first leg of their UEFA Cup quarter-final on Thursday. Spurs dominated the game and but for the first-half heroics of goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and two late misses by Jermaine Defoe would have won by a much bigger margin.

Tottenham were unlucky not to take a second minute lead when they carved Reading's defence open with a slick four-man move. Pascal Chimbonda's long ball was nodded down to Aaron Lennon by Dimitar Berbatov and when the England winger laid the ball into the path of Steed Malbranque, the French midfielder's shot cannoned off the outside of the post.

Seconds later Keane was denied a certain goal by the brilliance of Hahnemann. Berbatov was again the architect of the chance when he chested the ball into the Irishman's path, but Keane's volley was superbly saved by Hahnemann at point-blank range.

Berbatov was also denied by the Reading goalkeeper soon after when he pushed away the striker's effort, but the visitors hit back moments later when Leroy Lita's firm header cannoned off Paul Robinson's left-hand post.

Keane wasted another chance to put the home side in front in the 19th minute when Malbranque had again put him in the clear, chipping the ball tamely at the Reading keeper, while at the other end boyhood Tottenham fan Dave Kitson's powerful shot was superbly saved by Robinson.

Spurs finally took the lead in controversial circumstances in the 39th minute. Halford was adjudged to have handled the ball just inside the penalty area - a decision disputed at length by his team-mates. But Alan Wiley had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Keane despatched the penalty easily to put the home side in front.

Spurs almost made it two just before the break when Berbatov drove a free-kick over the defensive wall and towards the top corner but once again Hahnemann was equal to the task as he flung himself to his right. The American picked up and injury in doing so and was replaced at the break by Adam Federici, making his Premiership debut.

Tottenham continued to dominate and Aaron Lennon deserved better following a 60-yard run in the 51st minute. The England winger appeared to have run out of ideas when he reached the edge of the Reading penalty area but his low drive flashed wide of the far post with Berbatov unable to provide the required touch.

In the 64th minute, Berbatov wasted a glorious chance to increase Tottenham's lead firing wide when Lennon put him in a clear scoring position with a clever pass. Malbranque was equally wasteful, sending a rising drive just wide of Federici's right-hand upright five minutes later.

Federici demonstrated his own agility with a fabulous save to deny Berbatov in the 76th minute as Tottenham failed to take their chances. Jermain Defoe, on as a replacement for Keane, then wasted two glorious opportunities in the final ten minutes as Jol's side were made to hang on for all three points.