The winger capitalised on a defensive error midway through the first half, as Ipswich failed to deal with a long ball, allowing Taylor to dink his shot past Dean Gerken from a tight angle.

The Tractor Boys dominated as Luke Chambers' shot was blocked on the line.

Tyrone Mings almost equalised in the last minute, but his header was nodded onto the crossbar by Shaun Cummings.

The Royals nearly went ahead after just 20 seconds, but Simon Cox drove tamely at Gerken.

But the early effort was not a sign of things to come as the visitors were on top for much of the first half, with Luke Hyam and former Reading midfielder Jay Tabb going close.

After Chambers' fierce goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Jordan Obita and David McGoldrick was unable to force the loose ball in, Ipswich were made to pay for the missed opportunities as 22-year-old Taylor put the hosts in front.

Chris Gunter delivered a long diagonal pass forward, which McGoldrick could only divert into the path of Taylor.

Gerken raced from his area but Taylor got there first and cleverly nudged the ball into the bottom right corner.

Ipswich continued to create chances after half-time as McGoldrick found space in the box, but his angled effort trickled past the far post.

Mick McCarthy's men finally thought the pressure had paid off when defender Mings nodded Paul Anderson's corner goalwards, but Cummings managed to head the ball off the line and onto the crossbar before it was cleared to make sure Reading claimed all three points.

Reading manager Nigel Adkins: "This was a tough fixture, but the young lads showed great heart and desire.

"We had many young players in important positions, we have to give them some scope. With all these young lads, most of them are going to get better and better. With them, the long-term future of the club is going in the right direction.

"Ipswich threw the kitchen sink at us at the end. We had to stand up to it and we did."

Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy: "Our overall performance was good, especially in the second half. We easily did enough to get something out of the game.

"But they had a Johnny on the spot (Taylor) and we didn't. Around most of the pitch, we were fine. We just didn't score.

"We got in good positions but just didn't work their keeper enough."

BBC Sport