The Royals were two goals up at the break courtesy of Jason Roberts and Jimmy Kebe but Coventry had the better of the second half.

Federici had a leading part to play in the second half, first denying Alex Tchuimeni-Nimely (on loan from Manchester City) before saving Gary McSheffrey’s mis-hit.

Reading manager Brian McDermott was full of praise for Federici at the end of the game.

“At 2-0 in the second half we looked like we were running out of steam," he said. "Our goalkeeper made some fantastic saves and that’s why he is a top keeper.”

Lowly Coventry are without a victory on the road this season.

Shane Lowry played the entire match as Millwall played out a goalless draw with Derby County at the Den. The Lions are now level on points with Bristol City (30 points) and sit five points above the relegation zone.

Bristol City were without Socceroos midfielder Neil Kilkenny in their 3-0 loss away to Richard Garcia’s Hull City. Kilkenny was withdrawn at half time against Leeds because of a hamstring complaint and was ruled out of both the Hull City match and midweek clash against Crystal Palace.

At Portman Road, Rhys Williams played 37 minutes before Middlesbrough’s match at Ipswich was abandoned due to a frozen pitch. The surface had been protected for eight days and had earlier passed two inspections.

Mile Jedinak’s Crystal Palace had their match with Doncaster postponed because of severe snow.

In the Premier League, Tim Cahill put in a full shift as Everton followed up their 1-0 triumph over Manchester City with a 2-0 victory at home to Chelsea.

Mark Schwarzer’s Fulham prevailed 2-1 over Stoke City at Craven Cottage. The result condemned Stoke to a fourth consecutive defeat and leaves the visitors with just one win in their last nine Premier League games.

In Scotland, Ryan McGowan was introduced with 24 minutes remaining at Rugby Park as Hearts drew 1-1 at Kilmarnock. An equaliser deep into injury time rescued a point for the financially stricken club.

Matt McKay did not make it off the bench in Rangers 4-1 victory away to Dunfermline. The defending champions remain four points behind leaders Celtic.

Elsewhere, Aaron Mooy was an unused substitute for St.Mirren as they played out a goalless draw with Motherwell at St.Mirren Park. That’s now three draws in succession for St.Mirren.

In Germany, Mitchell Langerak’s Dortmund defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 thanks to a Shinji Kagawa goal on the stroke of half-time. The Bundesliga champions have won five on the trot and remain top of the table.

Nikita Rukavystya was an unused substitute in Hertha Berlin’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Stuttgart. Following the match, Hertha decided to part ways with manager Michael Skibbe after only five games in charge. The Berlin club sit only two points clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Matthew Leckie did not make it off the bench as Borussia Monchengladbach comfortably disposed of fourth placed Schalke 3-0 in front of 54,049 home fans. Monchengladbach are now unbeaten in their last five competitive matches.

In good news for both Australia and James Holland, the former Jets midfielder made his first start for Austria Vienna since completing a move from AZ Alkmaar. He played the full 90 in Vienna’s 2-0 win at home to second placed Ried.

Socceroo Brett Holman set up AZ Alkmaar’s opening goal in the 58th minute before being replaced after 67 minutes. AZ went on to defeat Excelsior 2-0 for their third win on the bounce.

Michael Zullo was an unused substitute for FC Utrecht in their 1-1 stalemate with ADO Den Haag. Tommy Oar and Adam Sarota were both absent from the match day squad. Next up, Utrecht face Holman’s AZ Alkmaar.

In Turkey, James Troisi received a 59th minute yellow in Kayserispor’s 1-0 loss away to league leading Galatasaray. The South Australian played seventy-seven minutes before being replaced.

Elsewhere in Turkey, Kerem Bulut was absent as Eskisehirspor suffered a 3-1 defeat at Samsunspor. This weekend’s win was Samsunspor’s first win over Eskisehirspor since November 5, 2006.

Carl Valeri completed a full 90 minutes in Sassuolo’s 2-1 win away to Bari. Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last five games, winning four and drawing one. They remain top of the Serie B table on goal difference.

In League One, Oldham’s match against Brentford was postponed due to snow, denying Alex Cisak and Dean Bouzanis the chance of a game this week.

In League Two, Shane Cansdell-Sherriff did not feature in Shrewsbury Town’s 1-0 loss at Torquay United. The result ends Shrewsbury’s three-game winning streak.

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