They say there is a fine line between success and failure, and that narrowest of margins was never more evident than at Wembley Stadium on Monday.

Tasked with reporting on Reading's Championship play-off final with Swansea, I always knew come 5pm there would be 40,000 supporters celebrating in sheer ecstasy.

What I had not bargained on was the complete despondency I would witness from the other camp.

Walking down Wembley Way an hour before kick-off there were no such contrasting emotions as fans from Berkshire, South Wales and beyond joyfully anticipated their big day out, not daring to consider the alternative to winning.

In the press lounge, pundits and ex-pros including Matt Holland, Robbie Savage and Steve Claridge exchanged last-minute predictions while tucking into their pre-match pasta.

What followed on Wembley's hallowed turf is history, but in years to come the 4-2 scoreline will not tell the full story.

That referee Phil Dowd rejected a Reading FC penalty appeal just minutes before awarding Swansea's first of two spot kicks, will not be remembered.

Nor will Jem Karacan's piledriver which rattled the post and brought the Royals agonisingly close to an equaliser in the £90m game.

Standing in the tunnel afterwards, Reading's players and staff made their way through motionless.
No tears, no tantrums, just pure inconsolable disappointment.

Moments later the silence turned into raucous delight as their victorious opponents followed.

At his post-match press conference, Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers joked that he and his counterpart, Brian McDermott, had come a long way since taking training sessions together for Reading's youngsters at Wokingham's Cantley Park.

Rodgers will now be taking another step - to the Premier League, a place that McDermott will feel he was just an inch away from reaching.