[Adalon]

Referee Neale Barry has apologised for his role in Norwich's winning goal at Reading.

Phil Mulryne netted the only goal of the encounter at The Madejski Stadium just five minutes from the end of a tight affair.

But the ball fell to him fortuitously after Dean Gordon's headed clearance rebounded off Barry and into Mulryne's path.

The official admits he could not avoid the ball in time and has apologised to Reading for his part in their defeat.

"I'd like to apologise to all the Reading fans and players," opined Barry.

"I just couldn't get out of the way in time and you don't know how bad I feel that it has decided the game.

"It's never happened to me before in 31 years of refereeing and I can only say that I'm very sorry."

Royals boss Steve Coppell was less charitable following the incident which could hamper his team's prospects of reaching the play-off positions.

Coppell said: "He should have anticipated the clearance and got out of the way."

Norwich manager Nigel Worthington admits his team benefited enormously from the ricochet off Barry.

He said: "The incident's unfortunate but it wasn't intentional and I have to admit that the referee's done well for us."