Exeter took a 14th-minute lead through skipper Pierce Sweeney but Reading loanee Will Keane levelled on the brink of half-time.

Centre back Paudie O’Connor gave the hosts a 2-1 advantage in the 75th minute only for Woodhouse to level in the third minute of time added on at the end.

After a cagey and uneventful opening, Exeter went in front from a deep Ethan Brierley corner. Reece Cole drove it back into the danger area and Sweeney, a former Royal, diverted it home for only his second goal of the season.

Reading’s patient approach paid off in first-half stoppage time when Haydon Roberts found space on the left and his clever cross allowed Keane, on loan from Preston, to firmly volley past Grecians keeper Joe Whitworth via the inside of a post for his first Royals goal.

As the rain lashed down early in the second period, Brierley blazed well over from a speculative 30-yard attempt.

Reading gradually gained the upper hand, with Lewis Wing’s hanging free-kick expertly volleyed in by the unmarked O’Connor.

But Exeter snatched a point in the 93rd minute when Woodhouse thumped in after a goalmouth scramble.