Jack Stevens: 6
Should have shepherded a ball out of play in the 23rd minute to win a goal-kick but panicked a bit and sent it out for a throw-in, not even much further away from the goal – poor.
Good catch to stop a low Wycombe header from a corner in the 64th minute. Handled a bouncing effort poorly in the 65th minute and was lucky there was no Wycombe Wanderers attacker alert to nip in and poke the ball past him while it was bouncing under him around the penalty spot.
Not at fault for the goal but didn’t have a great
game outside of the penalties.
Guessed right for the first penalty after some good sh*thousing caused the Wycombe player to send it wide, went the wrong way for the second penalty, saved the third penalty by standing still and letting the Wycombe player kick it directly at him and dived the right way to save Wycombe’s fourth attempt.
A great performance in the shoot-out from Stevens has bumped his score up an extra point.
Ashqar Ahmed: 7
Involved in the attacking play in the 12th and 13th minutes, linking well with Emmanuel Osho and having a shot that went wide.
Did brilliantly to run back and dispossess the Wycombe winger in the 26th minute to set up an Osho chance. His tenacity on the right to win the ball and drive forward in the 40th minute created a really good opportunity.
Subbed off for Tyler Sackey in the 57th minute after a very lively performance down the right, in a game in which he grew in confidence the more it went on.
Boyd Beacroft: 6
Fine. A perfectly fine evening, nothing spectacular to note. Stayed strong to win a header in the 19th minute but lost a Wycombe attacker in the 36th minute, which led to a shot on target.
Started the second half well, with some good defensive work when Wycombe were looking more lively. Beacroft closed out the game at right-back from the 82nd minute onwards after the final changes.
Jeriel Dorset: 5
Better today but still seemed to be the weakest link in the Reading back line.
He made a brave run forward with the ball in the eighth minute but was careless to lose it. However, very fortunately he got awarded a free-kick (shouldn’t have been) which led to a chance. Lost the Wycombe attacker for a header in the box in the 36th minute.
Went up for a header from a Randell Williams long throw in the 54th minute but only fouled the Wycombe goalkeeper.
Instead of helping Paddy Lane recover in the 71st minute by making himself big and closing down the goalscorer, he went down to the floor about 5m away from the Wycombe winger. Lane at fault, but Dorsett has not helped him either.
Haydon Roberts: 7
Was a real threat down the left, particularly in the opening 20-25 minutes.
Good cross from deep on the left in the eighth minute after a Charlie Savage free-kick, the intended target being Jacob Brown but finding Osho lurking at the back post. Won a good tackle in the ninth minute on the left. Also made the crossing chance for Williams in the 13th minute.
Remained active throughout the first half, offering a threat on the overlap to move the play forward and really showing us what we have been missing during his injury lay-off.
Subbed off, most likely in a pre-planned move, for Daniel Kyerewaa in the 67th minute.
Liam Fraser: 5
Didn’t really do much apart from score a cracker of a goal, though some might find the rating harsh. Fraser got robbed in the sixth minute just outside the area and was fortunate to be let off by the Wycombe attacker failing to connect well with the shot.
Did well to show his strength and get the ball back to Beacroft in the 56th minute, under a lot of pressure from the Wycombe attack.
I had almost forgotten he was still on the pitch until he hit a low effort into the keeper’s right from 30 yards out, after receiving a Kyerewaa squared pass in the 76th minute, and it was an excellent goal. Also scored the second penalty in the shoot-out.
Maybe it’s a case that some of the work he did went unnoticed, given how good we looked down the right with Ahmed and Osho, but I wanted to see more from him.
Charlie Savage: 5
The brighter of the two midfielders in the pivot today, he linked play well down the left all game but, much like Fraser, I wanted to see more from Savage today than simply linking play for the wide players.
Good quick free-kick to set Roberts loose in the 8th minute. Gave away a poor foul and earned a yellow in the 55th minute – I’m not entirely convinced he was “taking one for the team” here, I think he was caught flat-footed.
Set Kyerewaa up for the assist in the 76th minute with a forward pass down the left. On one of his rare forays upfield, he left off a poor shot in the 93rd minute that sailed way over the bar. Scored Reading’s first penalty in the shoot-out.
Emmanuel Osho: 7
Almost an 8/10 today, if he could have had a little bit more end product.
Good first touch and shot in the eighth minute – perhaps needed to be more clinical, but judgement to be reserved given his infancy around the first team. Found space with a run well in the 14th minute, but the low cross from the right was misdirected and reached no-one. Found Lane in the 19th minute with a misplaced pass in the centre.
Great hit with his weaker left in the 26th minute after great work from Ahmed. Great work skinning the left-back in the 39th minute to make space but was let down by his final ball. Great run to set up Lane to set up Brown in the 44th minute.
A quieter second half as Wycombe looked to bring the game to Reading. Subbed off for Phillip Duah in the 82nd minute but should have given Leam Richardson plenty to think about for Saturday.
Randell Williams: 5
Not his fault – he is clearly not a number 10 and, as a result, he gets a bit overlooked/lost in the middle of the park. However, aside from his long throws, he didn’t do much notable work today.
There was a good cross in the 13th minute from the left and another good ball from the centre in the 18th minute to set Lane loose down the left. However, he also misplaced pass in the 21st minute which killed a good move forward – he tried to find Roberts on the left but put it well out for a throw.
Good long throw in the 54th minute, nearly finding Dorsett. We have missed this feature of his game.
Subbed off for Luke Howard in the 82nd minute.
Paddy Lane: 5
Failed to capitalise on the space and time from Williams’ ball wide in the 18th minute; his cross found no-one and went out of play for a goal-kick. Did the same thing after getting the ball in the centre from an Osho pass, lots of time and miskicked the ball and was fortunate to win a corner from it.
Decent effort in the 34th minute which was deflected and saved for a corner. Connected well with Ahmed in great attacking play in the 40th minute. Stayed calm under pressure to play a sideways ball to Brown in the box in the 44th minute which nearly led to a goal.
Moved to left-back in the 67th minute after Roberts went off and promptly got caught out by a long ball to the Reading left, which he didn’t close down or intercept, and Wycombe scored in the 71st minute.
Scored an excellent penalty, Reading’s third, in the shoot-out.
Jacob Brown: 5
Missed a header in the eighth minute, which led to Osho’s chance. You could ask if he did actually miss it or did he get a shout to leave it for an oncoming Osho? Hmm.
Needed to be more alert to the rebound after Osho’s shot in the 26th minute, as the goalkeeper spilled the save into the six-yard box.
Alert to win a header in the 34th minute and knock it down to an unmarked Lane. Unlucky not to score from a Lane pass across the box in the 44th minute.
Subbed off for Jerae Jones in the 67th minute after another game in which he honestly had very little impact, and you begin to question whether he is an out-and-out striker or perhaps better deployed as a 10.
Subs
Tyler Sackey: 5
Subbed on for Ashqar Ahmed in the 57th minute. Appeared to go to right-back, which makes no sense, but then these tactical and personnel choices rarely do outside the labyrinth of Richardson’s mind.
However, Sackey did cover well for Beacroft in the 80th minute, nipping back to win the ball in the Reading box after the Wycombe attacker got in behind.
Eventually pushed up into the number 10 role in the 82nd minute after the changes, but had no notable impact there. Not necessarily his fault that his rating is low, given he played most of the game out of position.
Jerae Jones: 5
Subbed on for Jacob Brown in the 67th minute, in a direct swap. Miscontrolled a pass on the halfway line in the 82nd minute, which could have led to a Wycombe attack but fizzled out.
Moved over to the right wing in the 82nd minute, after the changes. Great run in the 89th minute down the right, but wasn’t able to get past the defender or get the ball in.
Not really afforded much opportunity to impact the game in a position where he is more at home (on the wing), but did the best he could and deserves more opportunities to get first-team minutes.
Daniel Kyerewaa: 6
Very classic Kyerewaa performance. Lots of energy and put Wycombe’s backline under pressure, but struggled to provide an end product most of the time. Subbed on for Roberts in the 67th minute, going to the left wing with Lane going to left-back.
Penalty shout in the 70th minute but nothing given, correctly. Great run down the left in the 76th minute after receiving a Savage pass, squaring Fraser for a great finish and offering some end product.
Great run down the left in the 87th minute to cut inside but failed to get past the Wycombe defender and should have got a shot away but didn’t. Lost the ball in the Wycombe half in the 91st minute, which led to a Wycombe attack, but he did well to run back and win the ball back again to cut out the threat.
Phillip Duah: N/A
Subbed on for Osho in the 82nd minute, going in at centre-back, but doesn’t qualify for a rating. No notes.
Luke Howard: N/A
Subbed on for Randell Williams in the 82nd minute and also doesn’t qualify for a rating. Appeared to look like he went up front, which, while helping get Jones out wide, is another one that makes no obvious sense.
Average: 5.64/10
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