From BBC Sport

Reading's recent form has been far better on the road than at home and they looked keen to adopt a counter-punching approach to this first leg tie.

Steve Coppell's side looked solid at the back and dangerous on the break and they were unlucky not to take the lead when Jay Tabb forced a spectacular save from Brian Jensen. Marek Matejovsky pulled the back from the bye-line for Tabb to run on to and smash a left-footed drive that Jensen reacted superbly to block. Matejovsky then fluffed the chance to force home the rebound as he shot tamely at the Burnley keeper from a tight angle.

Kevin Doyle thought he had broken the deadlock for Reading when he followed up after Jensen had parried Andre Bikey's header, only to see Martin Paterson block on the line.
At the other end, Paterson ploughed a lone furrow for Burnley and as a result the home side rarely threatened Marcus Hanemann.

Reading suffered a setback when Doyle limped off with an Achilles injury soon after going so close to opening the scoring, Dave Kitson replacing him up front.

But Burnley had personnel problems too; having lost Wade Elliott to injury shortly before kick-off, they then saw his replacement Joey Gudjonsson limp off after a shuddering early challenge by Michael Duberry. That situation hardly helped the mood of the home supporters, who grew increasingly frustrated by their side's lack of chances and failure to keep hold of the ball.

But they finally threatened to trouble Hahnemann 15 minutes from time when Chris McCann cut inside and hit a fierce shot which cannoned off Duberry and over the bar.

Reading, though, wasted an even better chance to break the deadlock 10 minutes from time when Jimmy Kebe superbly skipped clear of the Burnley defence, but failed to tee up the unmarked Kitson in front of goal.

And that error was punished moments later when Thompson spun clear of Bikey, only for the defender to grab hold of his shirt. It was a clear penalty and the ever-reliable Alexander was ruthless in his punishment as he rammed home his 11th goal of the season to hand Burnley the advantage.

Bikey's misery was compounded in injury time when he was shown a straight red card for a petulant stamp on Robbie Blake, then threatened to land himself in deeper trouble by ripping off his shirt and reacting theatrically to the decision.