FURIOUS Jaap Stam claimed Reading FC were denied a stonewall penalty in last night's 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Huddersfield Town.

And the straight-talking Royals boss also suggested Philip Billing's 82nd-minute winner should not have been allowed as the Dane was standing off the pitch in the build up to the goal.

The defeat was Reading's first in seven Championship matches and leaves them four points adrift of third-placed Huddersfield having played one more game.

But Stam felt the result might have been very different at John Smith's Stadium last night had referee Tony Harrington pointed to the spot when Terriers keeper Danny Ward appeared to trip Lewis Grabban in the 52nd minute.

"Sometimes you can tell if it's a penalty by looking at the reaction of the opposition because a player knows when they have got a touch on somebody and taken them down,” he declared. “The first thing they do is stand up and hold their hands up to say they didn’t do anything.

"And it was very obvious that he did something. He came towards the ball and dived in and made the touch, but the referee hasn’t given it.

“That’s the choice that he makes and it’s frustrating.”

By that stage Ward had pulled off one magnificent fingertip save to divert a Roy Beerens shot onto the crossbar in the 34th minute.

Reading also got out of jail two minutes later when Ali Al-Habsi brilliant kept out a Rajiv van La Parra penalty after Tyler Blackett had fouled Isaiah Brown.

But Royals' luck appeared to run out in the 82nd minute when Billing struck the winner, albeit with a strong suspicion of offside, to seal a sixth-straight league win for David Wagner's hosts.

Reading's bench protested strongly with Harrington's decision to let the goal stand but to no avail.

Stam argued: “I think one of the Huddersfield players was off the pitch, then he came onto the pitch and then he scored, so you think about offside in that situation.

“But the referee and linesman obviously didn't so they gave a goal.

“Of course there were protests because it is frustrating when you don't get at least a point.”

Last night's defeat also dealt a major blow to Reading's automatic promotion hopes, leaving them eight points adrift of second-placed Brighton who also have a game in hand.

As a result, Royals' trip to Brighton this Saturday (5.30pm ko, live Sky Sports) is now a must-win game is Stam's men have any chance of avoiding the lottery of the play-offs.

Royals do hold a nine-point lead over Norwich City in seventh, though as Stam pointed out, the picture could rapidly chance over the coming weeks as his side still have to face leaders Newcastle United, fifth-placed Leeds United, sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday and the Canaries on top of a daunting trip to the Seagulls this weekend.

Stam added: “The next couple of games we’re playing, we’re facing all the top teams, so the margins in those games are going to be very small again. And sometimes you need to have a bit of luck.

“We hit the crossbar on Tuesday, we came close a couple of times late in the first half and we could have had a penalty in the second half, but it wasn’t given.

"But you have to look at your own performance, we worked very hard, at times we played very well, and we stayed patient going forward and created chances, so it’s a pity that we don’t have at least a point.

“We gave everything on the pitch which makes the defeat that much harder to take.

"We have played against a good side in Huddersfield and there was not a lot of difference between the two sides.

"Everybody wants to win and everybody is working very hard not to concede goals and not give a lot away. But we will keep believing in what we have been doing.”