Andre Bikey struck twice to secure Reading three crucial points from their Barclays Premier League relegation tussle with Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium.

Bikey's emphatic header on the half-hour gave Reading a lead they richly deserved.

But Birmingham, who were missing James McFadden after the Scotland striker had keyhole surgery on his knee on Saturday morning, hit back through Mauro Zarate.

They had barely managed a shot on target to that point; yet Zarate - McFadden's replacement - was on hand to convert Mikael Forssell's cross and open his Birmingham account.

The Blues' hopes of returning to St Andrews with a fortuitous point were dashed, however, when Cameroon defender Bikey nodded home the 80th-minute winner.

Reading would have been out of sight long ago had they made the most of their dominance, with midfielder Stephen Hunt hitting the woodwork and Dave Kitson and John Oster also going close.

Despite Bikey's two goals, it was Hunt who stole the show with another livewire display that left the Blues scrambling furiously for much of the first half.

Barely a minute was on the clock when a probing run from Hunt exposed the Birmingham defence, which was let off the hook when Kevin Doyle just failed to connect from point-blank range.

Hunt was unmarked on the edge of the area in the seventh minute, but his lobbed ball to Dave Kitson was easily headed clear.

Reading were caught napping moments later and nearly paid the price, Forssell teeing up Gary McSheffrey - who pushed his shot wide of the right post.

It took Rahdi Jaidi to finally clear the ball as Doyle sought to stab home, and in the 17th minute Hunt was denied by Stephen Kelly's timely intervention.

Hunt was rampant and rattled the bar with a blistering 25-yard drive after bulldozing his way through Birmingham's midfield.

Liam Rosenior delivered a pinpoint cross into the box. But goalkeeper Maik Taylor made a commanding catch, with a clutch of Reading players poised to strike.

Birmingham were struggling to make any sort of impact as the Royals cranked up the pressure with waves of attacks.

It therefore came as little surprise when the hosts went ahead in the 31st minute.

Hunt chased a lost cause in the left corner and won a free-kick, which John Oster floated into the box.

Birmingham's defence was all at sea, and Bikey was able to slip through unnoticed and thump the ball home with an emphatic header.

The Blues produced a promising spell that ended when Ridgewell's delicate cross was easily plucked from the air by Marcus Hahnemann.

Reading started the first half brightly and should have extended their lead when Doyle picked out an unmarked John Oster only for the Wales midfielder to sky his shot from six yards.

The Blues' defence was being exposed repeatedly, while in attack their feeble efforts were easily repelled by Reading's alert rearguard.

Oster had an appeal for handball turned down after Birmingham were caught on the counter, and it was difficult to see how they could loosen the home side's stranglehold on the match.

But against the run of play in the 65th minute, Forssell outmuscled Ivar Ingimarsson on the left.

The Finland international threaded the ball to Zarate, who made no mistake to register his first goal for Birmingham.

Reading began to look jittery at the back but breathed more easily after Bikey made it 2-1.

Nicky Shorey sent a free-kick into the box, and Bikey nodded home as Birmingham once again struggled to contain the powerful African at the decisive moment.