Reading remain rooted to the bottom of League One and are now winless in eight matches after they were held to a scrappy 1-1 draw by Bristol Rovers at the SCL Stadium.

After a disjointed first half, Reading went in front in the 40th minute when Sam Smith drove home his first goal of the season.

Chris Martin levelled for Rovers in the 57th minute, but the game drifted towards a stalemate long before the end.

Rovers had made the first impression with a good run and shot from Aaron Collins that home goalkeeper David Button had to push away.

Reading barely threatened going forward and there was a three-minute delay after tennis balls were thrown on to the pitch as part of the ongoing home protests against Reading owner Dai Yongge.

On the resumption, Reading grew into the game and went ahead five minutes before the break when striker Smith rifled in a fine angled drive after Harvey Knibbs had dispossessed Ryan Woods.

Button saved smartly from Jevani Brown and Collins early in the second period, but Martin, a former Reading loanee, equalised with a well-struck rising effort past the keeper.

Neither side showed much creativity in going for the winner as the game petered out into a tame draw.

Reading claimed their first league victory in almost six months when they edged past Cheltenham 1-0 in League One at the SCL Stadium.

With Cheltenham offering little going forward, Reading dominated the first half and went in front in the 33rd minute through a deflected own-goal from Town midfielder Will Ferry.

Neither side impressed in an uninspiring second period, with Reading just about doing enough to merit their rare win.

Reading had not won since a 3-1 success over Blackpool in the Championship back in late February – a barren run of 15 games.

Defender Matty Carson strode forward purposefully early on and unleashed a fierce 20-yard drive that Luke Southwood, the former Royals keeper, did well to turn away.

But Southwood had no chance when, after a mazy run from Reading’s Caylan Vickers, Ferry inadvertently looped to ball over him and into the net.

Struggling Cheltenham, without a point this term, improved marginally after the interval but were toothless in attack and Reading safely negotiated the nine minutes of added time at the end.