Embarrassing! Reading fans mistakenly invade pitch to celebrate play-off spot

Updated: 22 Jun, 2017 • • min read

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Reading supporters were left red-faced on Saturday afternoon after their premature celebrations dramatically ended in tears at the Madejski Stadium.

Reading pitch invasion at home to Burnley yesterday #RFC #ROYALS pic.twitter.com/0TDHivdoY0
— FootballAwaydays (@Awaydays23) May 4, 2014

Drawing 2-2 with Burnley, Reading thought they had done enough to secure the final play-off spot for Premier League promotion as Brighton & Hove Albion were being held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest.

As the Reading game was ending, Brighton scored an injury-time goal in the 92nd minute to give a 2-1 lead at the City Ground.

Unfortunately, just then a rumour spread around the terraces that Forest had found an equaliser, meaning Reading would finish ahead of Brighton in the Championship table.

Ecstatic, hundreds of fans streamed onto the pitch to celebrate.

But cheers quickly turned into tears as the fans realised that Forest had not equalised and Brighton had in fact held on for the win.

"I know people had been (mistakenly) celebrating, but it just takes one person to shout and there's mass hysteria. That can happen," Royals boss Nigel Adkins said afterwards.