Joel Pereira: 6
Could do nothing about the Lincoln City opener: deflected past him when he’d already set his weight to the right. Found himself pinned into his six-yard box often from corners and crosses into the box in the first half, and struggled to come and claim the ball as a result.
Made a fantastic claim in the 30th minute, when a high deflection could have led to another unfortunate goal conceded.
Started the second half with an excellent save, getting a strong hand to stop a powerful close-range header. Made
another good save low to his left when Reading’s offside trap failed.
Could do very little about the second Lincoln City goal, with Hackett clean through with no defensive pressure.
Two conceded, but overall a day that could have been worse if not for Pereira.
Kelvin Abrefa: 5
Made a really important clearance early on when Lincoln found a cutback across Reading’s box. Dangerous when on the ball, and able to link up well with Elliott in build-up, but struggled with his final delivery.
Jumped forwards well in the 33rd minute to recover a loose ball and win a corner. Made a mistake though late in the half and wasted a chance to attack and undermanned Lincoln box by putting his cross over the bar.
Part of the defensive mixup with Stickland for Lincoln’s too-easy second, with the runner coming from his side. That generally summed up Abrefa’s day, in which he was good on the ball and off it during prolonged sequences of play, but often just lacked concentration at a crucial moment in defence.
Michael Stickland: 5
Almost certainly didn’t expect to start the season opener a week ago, but was first in line with Paudie O’Connor out. Saw a lot of the ball in the first half, and was generally calm and effective on it, moving it on fast.
Made an absolutely fantastic recovery tackle in the box when Lincoln got over the top again, sliding in cleanly.
Found himself in no man’s land for the second Lincoln goal, with the ball for the assist going over him when he clearly expected to have cover in behind. Communication mistakes can be fixed though, and overall Stickland didn’t stick out in this game at all.
Finley Burns: 6
Played out on the left side of the centre-back partnership after spending all of preseason on the right side. Started well, showing his comfort level on the ball to get Reading out in a dangerous-looking pressure situation early on.
Deflected the ball past Pereira for Lincoln’s opener when he made a lunge to block the shot. Burns’ positioning wasn’t bad in theory, but he found himself caught out by Dorsett’s slip and a great first touch.
Bounced back with a cruncher (per my podcast co-host) on the halfway line to kill a counter-attack dead.
Very clean on the ball throughout and repeatedly helped Reading recycle it in some of their best periods.
Jeriel Dorsett: 6
Had a really good first half in which his sole mistake caused the Lincoln goal. Slipped as the ball came over the top for the Lincoln opener, meaning Reading were chasing back towards their goal in a one-on-one.
Showed a lovely turn right down the touchline in the 27th minute to earn a free-kick, one of several he won in the first half. Imposing physically, winning the majority of his duels.
Got forward nicely, helping create the chance for Ehibhatiomhan early in the first half, but could have been cleaner on the ball.
Lewis Wing: 6
Out for his first match officially as the Reading captain, Wing took up his usual spot as the single six.
Came a millimetre from scoring in the 35th minute with a wicked curling shot that beat the goalie but hit the post. Camara buried the rebound but was judged offside.
Absolutely rocked the post for a second time in the game and couldn’t believe he hadn’t scored when his cleanly struck hit cannoned back.
Kept things ticking over for Reading well, but couldn’t catch his man when the ball was played over the top for Lincoln’s second goal.
Ben Elliott: 6
Took a while to warm up, but came into it more as Reading had some decent spells towards the end of the first half. Earned a free-kick with a fantastic shimmy through two players in the middle of the park and generally looked pretty good on both sides of the ball. As my co-host Ben said on co-comms - he does appear to have bulked up during his injury layoff.
Made a really nice run inside across the top of the box, but put his shot over the top shortly before he was subbed.
A good first start for Elliott after his injury with hopefully even more to come.
Charlie Savage: 5
Made a couple of nice deliveries into the box from set plays that deserved more in the first half, and was the most effective direct passer into the final third for Reading in the first half, but found himself limited in his chances.
Got a great recovery tackle in on the opposite side of the field when Lincoln tried to counter-attack after one of his corners. Ultimately couldn’t get on the ball as much as he would have liked in the game, but didn’t get a tonne of help in front of him.
Found himself in a spicy “conversation” with McGrandles of the Imps a few times in the second half.
Mamadi Camara: 6
Probably the best of Reading’s forwards in the first half, and forged a nice connection for progressing the ball into the final third with Abrefa and Elliott.
Had the ball in the back of the net when Wing’s shot crashed off the post and into his path, but was found offside. With no replay, it’s hard to tell if he truly was.
Laid off the ball well for Wing to hit after the break, and was almost rewarded with an assist. Withdrawn for Kyerewaa shortly after.
Mark O’Mahony: 4
Pushed over in the box in his most notable moment in the first half. Really struggled to win the ball in the air against Lincoln’s backline and couldn’t get close enough to anybody to link up along the ground.
Didn’t have much more luck in the second and was ultimately withdrawn without making much of an impact.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan: 5
Willing to try something in the first half, and had a few decent moments but ultimately held onto the ball a little too long too often. Wiggled deep into the box early in the second half and forced a good save out of the keeper.
Moved into the middle when O’Mahony was withdrawn but didn’t have too many more moments on the ball.
Subs
Liam Fraser: 6
Made his Reading debut, coming on shortly after the hour mark. Made some strong tackles and was able to shoulder Lincoln players off the ball well. Went out to the right side, replacing Elliott, and had some nice link-ups with Lane. Was generally safe with the ball.
Daniel Kyerewaa: 5
Replaced Mamadi Camara to make his Reading debut. Started out on the right but moved to the left when Lane came on. Guilty of a few loose touches but also was asked to chase an alarming amount of hospital balls that went way past him or out of play.
Paddy Lane: 6
Came on and drew a yellow card immediately with a smart touch around the defender. Took up the right-wing position.
Looked as though he had some good ideas in him but definitely needs time on the training pitch this week. Thrown onto his side of the field with Fraser, another new signing, you could understand time will be needed to gel.
That said, it looked dangerous, and showed a desire to cut inside and shoot.
Matty Jacob: 6
Came on very late with Dorsett having a good game, but looked a real athlete when he did join the fray. Gets touch tight to players quickly to prevent turns on the wing.
Scrapped well as injury time started when he was pressed deep in his box, earning a free-kick with smart play.
TTE podcast hosts on Reading TV co-comms
Ben Thomas: 10
A very cozy co-commentary debut from my podcast co-host. Gave a real “fans voice” style touch to proceedings and made sure to get a few pod references in there.
Did become ungovernable when the pie arrived at half-time.
Got a "spicy" in. Nuff said.
Average: 5.53/10
Who was your MOTM against Lincoln City? Vote below or through this link.
