TENDAYI Darikwa clutched a bottle of champagne - his reward for being Burnley’s star man - but looked in no mood to drink it.

The right back had just scored his first goal for the Clarets; a moment he will no doubt look back on with pride one day.

But in the immediate aftermath of defeat to Reading and a first loss at Turf Moor this season, Darikwa’s consolation offered little in the way of it.

His play was bright, his close range volley was brilliant, but his eyes were heavy as questions were posed in the post-match press conference.

Burnley have not played as well this season and won.

Although they had not created as many chances as their opponents, they had been dominant in terms of possession.

But lapses in concentration and focus in the opening nine minutes had given them a mountain to climb, and ultimately proved their undoing.

Nick Blackman opened Reading’s account in the fifth minute, reacting clinically after a mistake by Michael Keane and driving across Tom Heaton into the bottom right corner from Hal Robson-Kanu’s backheel.

Lucas Piazon doubled their lead in the ninth, after Burnley gave the Royals too much freedom to pop the ball around before the young Brazilian Chelsea loanee finished well from 12 yards.

There were opportunities for Sean Dyche’s side to respond before the break, but they did not do enough to test goalkeeper Jonathan Bond.

The introduction of Joey Barton for his debut before the hour made the difference, not just for the bite and boldness he offered in midfield but also the opportunity for Scott Arfield to return to the wing. And it was no coincidence that just over 10 minutes after the change that Arfield laid on the ball for Darikwa to score.

Sam Vokes, who had a number of good chances, thought he had levelled it late on.

But Burnley-born Clarets fan Oliver Norwood risked the wrath of family and friends by sticking out a decisive leg on the line to deny the Wales international.

Norwood declared the intervention “just work” when asked if he expected to be shunned by his nearest and dearest on his return ‘home’, to ensure the Royals once more triumphed away.

Reading had won three of their last four Championship games, all on the road, and fairly comprehensively - notably their 5-1 thrashing of Fulham.

Norwood and co might have hoped for a similar scoreline at Turf Moor after going two-up so early.

Michael Keane looked to have covered the danger from Robson-Kanu’s back heel but his mis-kick created a second chance for Blackman. The striker did not waste it as he drilled left-footed across Heaton and into the bottom right corner for his eighth goal of the season.

Steve Clarke’s side doubled their advantage just four minutes later, after Burnley backed off and allowed them to move the ball around at will from left to right and back to the middle of the 18-yard box, where Piazon fired past Heaton.

Burnley, previously unbeaten at home this season, responded well but they could not get the goal they needed to put the pressure on Reading.

Michael Kightly had a couple of efforts but one was comfortably saved by Bond, while another was well charged down by Chris Gunter.

Vokes expertly controlled Ben Mee’s long diagonal ball but Reading managed to scramble the ball to safety and deter the shot.

Burnley had not done enough to test Bond, and change came to try to affect that before the hour, with a debut for Barton as one half of Dyche’s double substitution, which gave the fans a lift after a month-long wait to see their summer signing in action.

Chris Long also came on to replace Rouwen Hennings, who had started in place of the injured Andre Gray .

Within seconds of the pair’s introduction Burnley had strong penalty appeals turned down, when Jordan Obita looked to have stopped Vokes’ firm shot illegally.

The goal, when it arrived, came from an unlikely source. Arfield crossed from the left, and right back Darikwa was on hand to take advantage of being unmarked at the far post to beat Bond with a close-range volley.

Long buzzed about and Vokes went close again, but while it was Wales’ day in the Rugby World Cup it was not to be the Wales striker’s here.

George Boyd won a late corner that goalkeeper Heaton went up for deep into stoppage time, but Reading cleared Matt Taylor’s delivery and killed off Burnley’s last chance.

Darikwa could not hide his frustrations and let former Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield United striker Blackman know that his reaction towards the Clarets fans was not acceptable.

“It was nothing, just handbags, you know what footballers are like,” said the defender.

“I saw him giving a bit to the fans and I don’t really respect players who do that. There was no need for it, so I thought I’d just walk straight past him and leave him hanging.”

But Burnley will not want to let this defeat linger for long.