Joel Pereira: 6
Nothing to do in the first half. I suspect he just enjoyed the sun. Much busier in the second half.
Pereira did well to come well out of his area to anticipate a long ball forward not going out of play and clear the danger in the 64th minute and also saved a Wareham effort in the 69th minute.
Pereira showed good anticipation to intercept a bouncing ball and catch it to deny Wareham an opportunity in the 77th minute and made a good block in the 87th minute when Wycombe were threatening.
Could have done
more for the second Wycombe goal, but wasn’t the one at fault.
Udoka Godwin-Malife: 5
This might be controversial but possibly his poorest showing for us yet?
Rarely ventured forward – only notable moment being a good ball into Marriott in the Wycombe area in the 15th minute. With Wycombe rarely threatening in the first half, he really should have provided an overlap more often.
When Wycombe presented more of an attacking threat in the second half, he just wasn’t up to it today, even taking too long to take a throw in the 67th minute which meant the throw got awarded to Wycombe.
Dokes should have closed down the cross for the Wareham attempt in the 69th minute – side note: I am not sure if it should have been him or Wing stopping the ball into the back post in the 90th minute that led to Wycombe’s second, but the fact no attempt to close down the space regardless of whose responsibility it was was poor form.
Dokes won second ball from Williams’ long throw in the 93rd minute but couldn’t break down the left and ended up losing the ball and conceding a foul, though had little support around him.
Paudie O’Connor: 6
Shaky moment where he seemed to miss a header in the sixth minute but may have chosen to let it run to Pereira. Otherwise, a quiet first half mostly because Wycombe rarely got forward.
O’Connor had a strong start to the second half, when he went forward for a corner in the 48th minute and stayed up to receive a second ball in from Lane and his excellent header resulted in giving Reading the first goal of the game.
This was about the high point of the game for him, as Wycombe mounted the pressure he began to look less comfortable.
He lost Wareham in the 69th minute, which allowed Wareham a free headed effort on goal, and also had to come across to cover for Ward when Ward went missing in the 71st minute, but was too slow to close down the space and Wareham had to be denied by Pereira.
However, this might not necessarily be his fault to have been put in that difficult position in the first place.
Benn Ward: 4
Possibly harsh, but honestly, I thought he was poor today. Ward had a quiet first half with Wycombe not really threatening (seven shots, zero on target).
However, he was lost at sea in the second half. Ward lost Wareham for the Wycombe goal in the 62nd minute, which was particularly frustrating because we all know about the former player curse. Ward didn’t learn from this as he also lost Wareham for a shot in the 72nd minute.
A positive attempt from a headed effort at the Wycombe goal that just went over in the 85th minute, but reverted to type when he lost the Wycombe attacker who won the header to set up the Wycombe second goal.
Ward carelessly picked up a yellow card and gave away a free-kick in a dangerous position in the 95th minute by diving in when he should have stood up the attacker.
We were very fortunate not to have conceded from this (the Wycombe player skied this effort under no pressure roaming outside of the box), but also because of the 96th-minute curse.
Haydon Roberts: 5
Managed a full game, which is good, and had some moments for us: a decent right-footed effort on goal in the 26th minute, being the highlight.
Conversely, Roberts also needlessly put the ball out of play with a low ball looking for Lane in the 33rd minute.
Very few notes in the second half, other than that Roberts provided a good ball to Fraser in extra time. I think (hope?) it’s just where he is, coming back from injury, but he’s just not quite the same player we remember from January right now.
Lewis Wing: 5
I love the fact that we kept the game despite Andy Rinomhota and Charlie Savage being away on international duty. However, the only downside to this is that it’s at the point now where Wing clearly just needs a bit of a rest and today is an example of this. He was just not at the races.
Wing started well with good early link-up play with Lane, but later followed this up with a loose pass sent out of play on the right in the 12th minute.
In the 23rd minute, he played a simple ball behind a running Dokes that slightly slowed Dokes’ forward run, but it was notable because that second lost gave time for Wycombe to adapt their shape to defend the situation better.
Wing eventually received the ball back from Dokes and put a looping cross into nobody. Genuinely not sure who or what he was aiming for there.
Shanked an effort wide in the 27th minute, which is becoming more and more the standard from him. Rounded off the first half by not being able to get his shot past the first man.
For balance: Wing did show a bright moment of play when doing well under pressure from a throw in to play Lisbie down the line in the 30th minute.
Not much to report in the second half – did the odd defensive job but mostly I don’t remember him contributing much to stem the Wycombe flow.
This wouldn’t be so bad if he were providing an attacking threat, which he didn’t do until he did by accepting a Stokes interception and having a long shot in the 81st minute that led to the Wycombe ‘keeper spilling the effort into the six-yard box and Brown running onto to capitalise.
I’m not sure if it was him or Dokes that went missing to prevent Wycombe getting the ball into the back post that led to Wycombe’s second, but this seems to be a theme that Wing’s not great at protecting the edge of the box.
Liam Fraser: 6
Quiet but effective. Had a key moment in extra time of the first half to calmly set up Wing for a shot outside the box, and also set up Stokes for a shot at the start of the first half.
He’s not Rino, so we missed those bursting runs from deep, but he was tidy and, for the most part, diligent.
Fraser displayed great anticipation to intercept a dangerous ball and clear it in the 89th minute and demonstrated this skill again when he won the ball in the Wycombe half through pushing forward to intercept and put in a great ball (with his weaker left, too!) to the back post in the 92nd minute, but read the passage of play to run onto it.
Kyreece Lisbie: 6
Summary: fine but lacked cutting edge today.
He provided a classic Lisbie run in the seventh minute down the right to get a low cross in, which found Lane, and also a good cross from the right in the 30th minute to find Stokes.
Good run down the left(!) to set Roberts loose in extra time of the first half. At least one of these should have been rewarded with an assist and/or Reading goal.
However, Lisbie faded in the second half. Lisbie broke free down the middle in the 61st minute but wasn’t able to get any power behind the shot to test the Wycombe ‘keeper and later picked up a yellow card for gamesmanship by not letting Wareham get the ball to take a quick throw-in.
Subbed off for Daniel Kyerewaa in the 74th minute.
Josh Stokes: 7
Stokes was excellent today and we missed him when he went off late in the game.
He started things off by playing a ball to set Lisbie loose down the right in the seventh minute, which found Lane in space, and he nearly scored.
Stokes was brilliant in the 27th minute to sense Wycombe’s hesitancy on the ball on the edge of their area to to nip in, win the ball and play in Marriott for an effort.
He timed his movement in the box well to take a Lisbie cross and play in Marriott, but the two of them weren’t on the same wavelength, so the move fizzled out, but continued with good pressure on the Wycombe back line in the 36th minute.
Stokes picked up where he left off in the second half, immediately playing Lane down the left and then later receiving the ball from Fraser for a shot that was deflected for a corner.
Stokes also well to get a low shot away in the 59th minute despite being fouled/held onto, doing well to cut in from the left to make the opportunity.
He demonstrated good play to find Marriott for a shot in the 67th minute. Stokes also looked to have won the ball in the 81st minute to set up Wing’s effort that led to Brown’s goal. Subbed off for Jamie Reid in the 84th minute.
Paddy Lane: 6
I’m in two minds about Lane’s rating today. Lane was definitely a threat; I also think he should have scored early in the game, but he did provide an assist later on.
Lane started the game with a floated early cross from the left that the Wycombe ‘keeper claimed. As mentioned earlier, he then should have scored from the Lisbie cross in the seventh minute after timing his run well.
Lane was just not quite tall enough to get any contact on a high ball into the Wycombe six-yard box in the 26th minute, but did well to be there to attempt it and closed out the first half with a decent low cross in the 35th minute which went out for a corner.
After taking a corner at the start of the second half, he found himself still on the right side of the pitch and swung in a high ball into the Wycombe box, which O’Connor headed in to give Reading the first goal in the 48th minute.
Set Lisbie free down the middle for an opportunity in the 61st minute. Subbed off for Randell Williams in the 74th minute.
Jack Marriott: 6
Marriott is always a threat and, when he’s on the pitch, you always believe you have half a chance. The difference between a 6/10 rating today and a 7/10 or 8/10 is simply goals, or the lack thereof.
Marriott had a half chance in the 15th minute from a Dokes cross and also took a left-footed effort from Stokes winning possession in the 27th minute, which was well saved by the Wycombe ‘keeper.
For reasons unknown, Marriott was then found sliding in to put the ball out for a corner from a Wycombe counter in the 38th minute, beating O’Connor to the ball.
Marriott came out for the second half and took a kick in the 49th minute chasing down a ball to put pressure on the Wycombe backline, which caused a heart-in-the-mouth moments for Reading fans, but he was able to continue after receiving some attention.
Saw much less of the ball in the second half as Wycombe grew into the game but did have a shot blocked in the 67th minute.
Subbed off for Jacob Brown in the 74th minute.
Subs
Randell Williams: 5
Subbed on for Paddy Lane in the 74th minute and I’m not sure he did much other than provide long throws.
Williams then went into the number 10 position when Stokes came off and was about as effective as you would historically expect. Richardson’s in-game management continues to be poor and this is a big example of the issue.
Jacob Brown: 6
Subbed on for Jack Marriott in the 74th minute.
Brown showed a striker’s instinct to sprint when he saw Wing ping a long shot, so he could be well placed to win the rebound from the Wycombe ‘keeper to give Reading a second goal in the 81st minute.
Brown seemingly went out to the left after Reid came on and, as harsh as this sounds, pretty much disappeared from the game at this point.
Daniel Kyerewaa: 5
Subbed on for Kyreece Lisbie in the 74th minute. Nev on the ReadingTV commentary said he looked lively and offered a threat, but I disagree. I’m not sure he really did anything.
Jamie Reid: N/A
Subbed on for Josh Stokes in the 84th minute.
Immediately won Reading a corner with his first touch and that was about it. Doesn’t qualify for a rating because he entered the fray after the 80th minute.
Average: 5.57/10
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