Reading lost out away at League One promotion hopefuls Derby County, but still remain five points above the drop zone.
Dwight Gayle opened the scoring before Sam Smith replied quickly for the Royals.
Reading were then a man down after their captain Andy Yiadom was sent off after receiving a harsh second yellow.
Conor Hourihane had the decisive moment, scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot.
The Royals have now suffered back-to-back league defeats, but to their relief none of the sides below them in the table managed to win.
Ruben Selles made two changes to the starting eleven following the home defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.
Joel Pereira started between the sticks for his first League One match in the absence of David Button who missed out through illness.
Ben Elliott was brought into the team in place of Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Charlie Savage was selected ahead of Michael Craig.
The Rams went into the game with automatic promotion firmly in their sights, while the Royals were fighting at the other end of the table, hoping to pick up enough points to avoid the drop.
Defender Tyler Bindon picked up an early booking after he scythed down a Derby attacker.
Royals skipper Andy Yiadom was next to go into the book after committing a handball just outside the box moments after Pereira was called into action to keep out Tom Barkhuizen.
The resulting free-kick saw Derby hit the woodwork when Eiran Chasin connected with a header only to be denied by the frame of the goal.
Reading weren’t able to venture forward too often in the opening half, but did manage to frustrate the hosts.
With clear cut chances few and far between and the Royals more than satisfied to sit back and soak up the pressure, the teams went in level at half-time.
Derby found the breakthrough they had been searching for early in the second-half when Dwight Gayle got on the end of a free-kick and dispatched past Pereira.
But their lead didn’t last long as Reading hit back instantly when Sam Smith connected with a bouncing ball and put the ball past Wildsmith.
The equaliser saw Smith continue his excellent scoring form as he collected his fourth goal in as many matches.
In a manic spell in the match, Reading were then reduced to 10 players when captain Yiadom was given his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card despite there being minimal contact, if any at all.
Derby were able to restore their lead with a little over 20 minutes to go when Pereira was judged to have taken down Gayle in the box.
Conor Hourihane took the resulting penalty successfully to put the hosts ahead again.
Reading were unable to mount a comeback this time which means they were dealt a disappointing defeat after some contentious refereeing decisions.
Next up for Reading, they host Cambridge United at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Saturday.
Reading: Pereira, Yiadom, Mbengue, Bindon, Mola, Savage, Wing, Knibbs, Azeez, Elliott, Smith
Subs: Boyce-Clarke, Mukairu, Wareham, Ehibhatiomhan, Dorsett, Abrefa, Rushesha
Derby County: Wildsmith, Hourihane, Bradley, Cashin, Barkhuizen, Mendez-Laing, Sibley, Ward, Gayle, Adams, Nelson
Subs: Leach, Wilson, Forsyth, Thompson, Blackett-Taylor, Smith, Waghorn
Goals: Gayle 53’, Smith 56’, Hourihane 69’ (pen)
