THIS, as far as Reading were concerned, was a little more like it. While they are still some distance from finding the consistent fluency and tempo which served them so well last year, and a draw would probably have been a fairer result, there were passages when the Royals played well enough to suggest that second season syndrome may still be avoided.

Having said a run of three defeats gave him the right to experiment, Reading manager Steve Coppell made only two changes from the team beaten at Sunderland last week. Michael Duberry came in at centre-half for Andre Bikey, and Kevin Doyle, rested against the Black Cats after returning from two games on heavy pitches for Ireland “looking shattered”, returned up front in place of Leroy Lita.

The young striker didn’t look heavy-legged when he turned Andreas Granqvist in the eighth minute, but having left the Swedish centre-half trailing as he ran into the left-side of the penalty area, could not make up his mind between shooting and crossing. The result was an aimless ball that drifted harmlessly wide.

Doyle got the better of Granqvist again soon afterwards, this time in the air, and his flick-on fell nicely into the path of Liam Rosenior. The former Fulham midfielder ran clear, but his shot from the edge of the area was well saved by Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.

For perhaps the first time this season, Reading were passing and moving in the quick, neat style that brought them so much success last year, and the pressure on Wigan told. The rebound which returned the ball to the feet of Doyle on the right side of the penalty area might have been fortunate, but the forward took advantage superbly with a turn and shot from an angle which the startled Kirkland blocked, but could not hold. David Kitson was the first to react, nipping in to lift the ball beyond the grounded goalkeeper.

Wigan deserved to be level within a minute. Picking up the ball just inside the Reading half, Jason Koumas set off on a diagonal run during which he beat four attempted tackles before being deliberately fouled by Ivar Ingimarsson. The only question was whether or not he was in the penalty area, and having in initially appeared to point at the spot, referee Keith Stroud was persuaded to consult his linesman before awarding a free-kick on the edge of the area. Even then Koumas beat both the wall and Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, only to see the ball bounce down off the underside of the bar.

In the circumstances it was probably appropriate that Koumas should have been directly involved in the Wigan equaliser, five minutes after the restart. Paul Scharner, found down the right by a superb ball from Antoine Sibierski, put in a cross that was cleared by Duberry for a corner. Koumas took it, and Marcus Bent rose in front of Duberry to head past Hahnemann.

Now it was Wigan’s turn to press. Bent began to make his presence felt as a conduit as well as finisher, and Sibierski, though he was isolated, might have done better after the former Charlton striker’s flick-on offered him a shooting chance from the angle.

For Reading, the movement of Kitson and Doyle up front was still causing the visitors problems.

Kitson scooped a left-footed effort over, and Doyle tested Kirkland with a low drive from the edge of the area. Coppell sent on Bobby Convey to play down the right, and the American almost engineered an immediate breakthrough when the sliding Kitson just failed to turn his driven low cross over the goal line.

As the whistle approached, both Bent and substitute Julius Aghahowa had chances to win the game for the visitors. Bent, clear on goal, saw his shot brilliantly blocked by Duberry, and Aghahowa dribbled past Hahnemann but allowed himself to be shepherded out of position.

A draw seemed inevitable, but Kitson had other ideas. Running across the Wigan back line, his dinked ball put James Harper clear, and the midfielder beat Kirkland from eight yards.

Even then Wigan might have come back, but a final flurry of pressure, during which Hahnemann and Titus Bramble had a brief shoving match, resulted only in a Scharner header flying over the bar.

Star man: Kevin Doyle (Reading)

Player ratings: Reading: Hahnemann 5, Murty 6, Duberry 6, Ingimarsson 5, Shorey 5, Rosenior 7 (Convey 62min), Gunnarsson 6, Harper 5, Hunt 5, Kitson 7, Doyle 8 (Bikey 90min)

Wigan: Kirkland 5, Melchiot 6, Bramble 5, Granqvist 5, Kilbane 5, Koumas 7, Brown 6, Skoko 6, Scharner 5, Bent 6, Sibierski 5 (Aghahowa 79min)