Bryan Ruiz hit two goals, but Fulham were beaten 4-2 at Craven Cottage on Saturday by already-relegated Reading.

The Royals went 1-0 ahead after a Hal Robson-Kanu penalty and, in the second half, they extended their lead through the striker again. Ruiz got one back after a good ball from Hugo Rodallega, but Adam Le Fondre restored the two-goal cushion. Ruiz then scored his second to see the Whites comeback again, but Jem Karacan ended our hopes of a revival as he ran through to make it 4-2.

Fulham started well and a long ball from Giorgos Karagounis brought the first chance of the game in the second minute. The pass was floated in to Damien Duff on the right who killed it with his first touch and crossed for Ruiz, but the Costa Rican’s shot was well saved by Alex McCarthy from close range.

The Royals then hit back with a wave of pressure as Pavel Pogrebnyak almost sneaked in at the far post, but John Arne Riise got in front of him as the cross arrived and diverted it away for a corner. Soon after, Garath McCleary ran well down the left and cut it back for Robson-Kanu, but Philippe Senderos did well to throw himself in front of the shot.

Reading were then gifted a 12th minute opener as Robson-Kanu went down right on the edge of the box under a challenge from Riise. The assistant flagged for a penalty and the striker picked himself up to hit the spot-kick low into the bottom corner of the net much to the consternation of the Fulham faithful.

Danny Guthrie was causing problems for the Whites and his run down the right saw him find some space and hit in a cross, but Brede Hangeland was there at the near post to send it away. The impressive McCleary then had a shot from outside the area, but it was scuffed wide and failed to trouble Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal.

Duff and Urby Emanuelson combined to force a corner and, as the ball was swung back in, Berbatov showed some neat control under pressure in the box to chest it down and get a shot away, although it was well blocked.

As Jobi McAnuff drove at the Whites’ defence, McCleary again found space on the left and cut inside to see his shot fizz wide of the post. But then Fulham almost grabbed the equaliser. A chipped Karagounis ball to Berbabov saw the Bulgarian’s header just fail to loop over McCarthy.

The pressure was telling as Senderos clattered into the back of Pogrebnyak to earn himself the game’s first yellow card and, in a bid to shake things up, Manager Martin Jol made a tactical change as Rodallega came on for Karagounis in the 27th minute, with Ruiz dropping deeper into midfield.

Good movement from Riise and Rodallega almost opened Reading up, but the defence stood strong to block Ruiz’s shot from outside the area. The trio combined again as a cross was smashed across goal and Berbatov’s ball back in was headed back by Ruiz to Rodellaga six yards out; only an incredible save from McCarthy ensured that Reading kept their lead.

Rodallega was making an impact and his ball through to Ruiz saw the forward hit a shot into the hands of McCarthy. As half-time approached, Ruiz’s crossfield pass to Riise almost saw the Norwegian sneak in at the far post, but his shot went wide. Our other full-back Sasha Riether did well to dive in and block a shot, but we went into the break at 1-0 down.

Minutes after the restart it was almost 2-0 as Karacan broke through the middle onto a flicked ball over the top. Schwarzer and Hangeland just combined to keep out. Fulham looked to hit back immediately with Ruiz on the break and Berbatov’s excellent scoop over the top found Rodallega who swiveled and unleashed a powerful shot which was going into the top corner before McCarthy’s intervention.

Incredibly, Pogrebnyak then failed to double Reading’s lead. Robson-Kanu’s shot was blocked but the rebound then spun up and evaded the onrushing Schwarzer. As the Russian striker was about to tap it in, he missed his kick under pressure from Senderos and Fulham fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Riise was then withdrawn in the 55th minute, as Kieran Richardson entered the fray. Fulham fans, though, were incandescent just five minutes later as Ruiz’s ball through was flicked in to Berbatov by Rodallega. The Bulgarian was seemingly upended in the box by Stephen Kelly but the assistant’s flag remained by his side.

A killer blow was then struck as a super ball upfield found McCleary in space. He cut inside and his shot was brilliantly blocked by Senederos, but the rebound fell to Robson-Kanu who took his time and curled an effort into the corner to make it 2-0.

Good interplay between Ruiz and Rodallega opened up some space for Duff as we tried to get back into the game, but his shot was deflected wide. Emanuelson then saw a dipping shot palmed away and Berbatov knocked an effort over the bar as the ball was chipped back in to the far post.

And it was Ruiz and Rodallega who combined to give us a way back into the game in the 69th minute. The ball was slipped in to Rodellaga, who then reversed it to the Costa Rican as he ran in on goal. A cool head was needed and duly he slotted his shot between the legs of McCarthy to make it 2-1.

Alexander Kacaniklic was brought on for Duff as Jol made his final change but it was a Reading winger who almost added to the scoring: McCleary driving away down the right and hammering a shot which flew just over the bar. Five minutes later, Fulham were behind by another as a ball through the middle saw substitute Le Fondre race past Schwarzer and slot home Reading’s third.

The 3-1 lead lasted only one minute though. Kacaniklic worked some space on the right and curled a lovely cross into the box for Ruiz to nod home his second of the game. The Fulham heads were up and as Berbatov raced away on the flank, his cross was met by Rodallega who hammered his shot against the bar.

The Whites were undone, though, as Karacan added a fourth as the game moved into the last 10 minutes. The ball wasn’t cleared in the Fulham box and the midfielder arrived to power a low shot into the bottom corner. Ruiz tried to net his hat-trick and spur another comeback, but his free-kick was hit over the bar and then Rodallega came within an inch of scoring in the last minute but was just unable to get his head on the cross. To add insult to injury, Sean Morrison then blocked on the line from Kacaniklic’s shot to put the seal on a miserable day for the Whites.