Reading head into the break a goal down after Greg Halford's header put Nottingham Forest into the lead in the game at the Madejski Stadium.
After a quiet start, Jamie Paterson had a chance from outside the box on 24 minutes, but this was successfully blocked by the Royals defence.
Nick Blackman then nearly took the lead for the home side, but his shot missed the target.
In the 36th minute, an Andy Reid free kick looped into the path of Halford, who made no mistake from up close.