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After going seven games without conceding defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for the home support.
Alan Pardew was bitter, but optimistic about the future following the disappointing result that saw the Royals drop down to sixth. In his programme notes Pards wrote that it would not be the end of the world if his side lost, as if to soften the blow when the inevitable happened.
Pardew was philosophical following defeat. Speaking to readingfc.co.uk he said: "If that run had carried on until the end of the season they'd have been building statues of me, but that was never going to happen. It had to end sometime, and unfortunately it was today. It was a bigger blow that it was at home.
"If you look at the league table tonight, we're still sixth but with the same points as a few teams and a game in hand on a couple of them. So we're in a great position and have got to take the positives out of today's game.
"We've come a long way and we've got to take account of what we've achieved so far. We've still got a great chance."
"If you come up against the top teams you need eight out of ten performances from your players, and unfortunately we didn't have enough of those. Sheffield United certainly had more of those and that was the difference between the two teams."
Reading's run of seven consective clean sheets came crashing to an end as Marcus Hahnemann's net was penetrated by first Jon Harley and then Dean Windass, to Pardew's disappointment.
Pardew added: "We'd been waiting for so long to concede a goal I think we got a bit over-excited when we did concede. We got a bit ragged, which is unlike us. I think that's understandable in the circumstances. I was a bit disappointed with both of their goals, I think they could have been avoided."
The Royals will hope to get the ball rolling next weekend by getting a result in what on paper is a tough fixture, away at Nottingham Forest.