Joel Pereira: 7
Absolutely shellacked in goal, and prevented this game from becoming a disaster. Timed his intervention well to stop Stockport taking the lead again midway through the second half. Presented a good strong block to the close range effort.
Left completely out to sea for both Stockport goals in the first half. Ended the half with a good claim on a cross that would have fallen onto Wooton’s head if not for his intervention.
Made his best save of the season so far immediately after half-time to begin a sequence
of three saves in three minutes. Threw himself low to his left side to get rid of a shot from the resulting corner, before then tipping over from another corner.
Deserved more from his defence for the well placed third, which was the only goal he had a chance on.
Udoka Godwin-Malife: 5
Made a really important overlapping run in the build-up for Reading’s first goal, opening up the space and the passing lane for Lisbie to find Marriott.
Struggled with the pace of Stockport to move the ball around him and made no secret of wanting more help from the players around him. Not one of the worst performers today.
Josh Knight: 4
Caught in no man’s land for the final pass on Stockport’s second goal, failing to mark the man or close the passing lane.
Oddly tried a give-and-go with Lisbie in one moment on the ball but played the ball out with a weak touch. Wound Harry Wood up on the other team in the second half, earning a booking for the forward when he dragged Knight down.
Bailed out by the offside flag in the 70th minute, when his scuffed attempt at a clearance dropped to Wootton to smash home.
Conor Masterson: 4
Tried to step aggressively but was caught out regularly in the first half.
The ball flew down his side for the opening goal, with the seam between Masterson and Roberts a constant source of joy for Stockport. Struggled to communicate effectively with Roberts, leading to that issue remaining far longer than it should have.
Lucky not to be booked for a few cynical first-half challenges when he was beaten near the halfway line. Lost the aerial duel that led to Stockport’s second goal when he had ventured to the centre circle to head it down.
Couldn’t get close enough to Diamond for Stockport’s third goal. Became the unlucky player to be subbed out as Reading changed their shape to chase the game.
Haydon Roberts: 5
Became the latest Royal to pick up a fifth yellow card of the season, and will miss the next game.
Unremarkable today, and struggled consistently in the first hour with the seam between himself and Masterson. To be fair to Roberts, the centre-back was often pulled extremely far forward, leaving him in a two-on-one if he stayed with the winger.
Lewis Wing: 4
Simply not in the game in the first half as Stockport passed around Reading before often bypassing Reading’s midfield altogether. Came into it more as Reading had the ball in the second half after the shape change, becoming the single six pivot in front of the back three.
Cleared away a ball across the front of goal on the hour mark. Reading finally began to get some chances to deliver set-pieces late in the game, giving the captain a chance to whip a pair of dangerous corners in.
Defensively though, this game exposed Wing’s ability to be played around. He simply couldn’t get close to the ball out of possession, with only four defensive contributions all day, no duels won, and being dribbled past once.
Liam Fraser: 4
Repeatedly caught out by Stockport’s attempts to feed the ball into the seam between Roberts and Masterson, getting caught in no man’s land.
Shaky in the very few chances Reading got on the ball, cheaply giving away the ball at two separate moments immediately after the Royals had won it back.
Whipped in a nice cross for Kyerewaa to attack in his best moment of the game. Ended his game with a frustrated booking, kicking out to end a counter-attack.
Kyreece Lisbie: 5
Picked up his 10th goal involvement for the season with the assist for Marriott’s goal.
Went down off the ball in the 28th minute in what could have been a worrying moment for Reading fans. That turned out to be nothing more than a boot malfunction, with Lisbie putting on another pair of and then slipping in those as well.
Ended the first half by bundling late into a Stockport defender and earning himself a booking. That, unfortunately, was his fifth yellow and he’ll miss the match against Bromley next weekend.
Forced a save out of the ‘keeper in the second half to draw a corner but was mostly peripheral to the game in a way he usually isn’t.
Charlie Savage: 5
Deserved the start today after his dismantling of his dad’s side last weekend, but had to mostly play off the ball today. Started as the 10 and was part of the frontline with license to drift deep to his preferred left.
Found himself with the ball suddenly just outside of the six-yard box late in the first half, but could only manage a stab at it.
Nipped into the box in the 65th minute, turning for a decent low shot that he would have wanted on his left. Showed some decent creativity after the shape change allowed him to move higher up the field on his left side.
Daniel Kyerewaa: 5
Ventured down the left side nicely in the 38th minute before crossing to the back stick.
Tracked back a few times in the first half to help Reading when they were looking overrun in the defence, timing his interventions pretty well. Snapped at a decent cross into the box just after hour mark but saw his shot blocked.
Jack Marriott: 6
Picked up his customary goal early in the game, needing no extra time as he slammed a first-time effort low past the ‘keeper. Frustrated for service after that, having to make do with scraps and balls over the top with him against one of (or more than one of) three centre-backs.
Managed some decent flick-ons, and got the hang of the defence more in the second half, but not given as many opportunities to shoot today as he usually is.
Subs
Randell Williams: 5
Reading’s utility man entered the game for the final quarter to allow Richardson to change the shape, going out to the left side. Covered Roberts well from the wing-back position to allow Reading to look more solid through the stale final 30 minutes.
Josh Stokes: 5
Full of running from a high midfield position, pressing alongside Fraser and Savage. Decent off the ball but showed why Savage started ahead of him today as well, with the Welsh midfielder showing more creativity in the final third.
Jamie Reid: N/A
Did really well shortly after coming on to both stop a ball from going out, and whip it up to the near post to force a corner.
Jerae Jones: N/A
Full of confidence when he came on after scoring on Tuesday, driving at his man to help Reading win a corner. Did show some youthful moments, losing the ball on the edge of the Reading box at one stage.
Average: 4.92
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