Reading FC: Three-minute West Ham madness was the catalyst for remarkable 2012 achievement - View | OneFootball

A double at Upton Park just before the interval gave the Royals the platform to go on and win the Championship title.

Reading faced one of their most difficult games of the 2011/12 campaign at the end of March 2012, when they made the trip to face West Ham United.

The Irons were strong contenders to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking under Sam Allardyce - and Upton Park was always going to be a tough place to go to, considering the atmosphere.

Heading into the game in the English capital, just one point separated the teams, with the Royals sitting in second place.

However, West Ham were probably the favourites heading into this clash, not just because of the home advantage, but also because they had an excellent squad.

Quickfire goals against West Ham helped Reading FC to secure Championship title

The Irons took advantage of their home advantage early doors, with Carlton Cole firing the hosts into the lead.

And it looked as though the home team would go in at half-time 1-0 up, but Kaspars Gorkss bravely met a corner from Ian Harte to equalise for the Berkshire side in the 44th minute.

At that point, Royals boss Brian McDermott would have been pleased to go in at the interval level, but some strong work from Jason Roberts allowed Noel Hunt to put the visitors 2-1 up in the second minute of stoppage time, not long after Gorkss had equalised.

Their work wasn't done though, with the Royals having to clear from a goalmouth scramble before the half-time whistle went.

Those few minutes ended up changing the game for McDermott's men, who dug in well, stopped the scoreline from becoming worse and then hit back with two goals to turn the game around.

They were able to build on these goals after the break, with Hunt winning a penalty just before the hour mark.

Harte made no mistake from the spot, sending Rob Green the wrong way to make it 3-1.

Ricardo Vaz Te's 77th-minute header halved the deficit, but less than 10 minutes later, Mikele Leigertwood benefitted from a slice of fortune to fire the ball past Green and all but seal the three points for the away team.

Able to hold on to this lead and win the game 4-2, that widened the gap between themselves and the Irons to four points and that gave them a bit of breathing room.

And it was their quickfire double just before the interval that gave them that platform to go on and secure what looked to be a crucial win in the race for automatic promotion.

The Berkshire side were already in decent form at that point, having won 10 of their previous 12 league games, but that game at Upton Park would have taken the team's confidence to another level.

They went on to win their next four league games, recording a memorable 2-0 win against Leeds United, before securing a gutsy 1-0 win away at Brighton and Hove Albion, with Adam Federici saving a penalty during that game.

After that, the Royals headed to St Mary's to face Southampton, in what looked set to be a clash that decided who won the second-tier title.

An equaliser from Saints gave the hosts some momentum, but an Adam Le Fondre double allowed McDermott's side to secure all three points, and they won promotion in their next game against Nottingham Forest.

They may not have won against Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of the season, but results went their way and that allowed them to secure the league title with one game to spare.

There were many games that helped the Berkshire side to secure the title, but that game at Upton Park probably played the biggest part. Having won there and at St Mary's, they richly deserved to win the league.