I’m a believer that there is such a time when performances matter as much as results. In a free-hit cup trip to Championship Wrexham, this was the last time Reading can claim to be in that moment – and they did enough to justify coming away from a 2-0 defeat with a little spark of positivity.
Nathan Broadhead’s goals did for the Royals in North Wales, on 57 minutes puncturing a stalemate that Wrexham arguably hadn’t deserved to keep with a fine finish following some scrappy pinball in and around the box.
Not long later, it was two with the £10 million man’s deft header dropping over the line via the crossbar.
Those clinical moments alone meant Wrexham deserved the win, a poor hour followed by some touches of class and a subsequent rapid rise in confidence which left the Royals unable to respond.
But Reading were the better team in the first half and matched their hosts for the first and last thirds of the second, which for me makes this not an evening wasted but hopefully a stepping stone towards a much-needed run of results when it matters.
Reading (4-2-3-1): Stevens, Abrefa, Stickland, Jacob, Garcia; Elliott, Savage; Kyerewaa, Doyle, Ehibhatiomhan; O’Mahony
Subs: Pereira, Ahmed, Ryan, Duah, Fraser, Wing, Rushesha, Lane, Patton
Noel Hunt has always found his best balance with a 4-2-3-1, which makes its absence for much of the year all the more irksome.
Kamari Doyle sat in behind Mark O’Mahony, easing the defence’s attention on the Irishman and allowing Charlie Savage to be more fluid off the left-centre of midfield.
O’Mahony managed some decent off-target attempts early and Doyle smacked the inside of the post later in the half, the closest Reading came all night.
At the back, Matty Jacob was mighty in an unusual central slot and the only downside of the first half saw Andre Garcia taken off injured with an apparent groin tweak, which he had tried to play through.
Aside from 15 second-half minutes, the Royals were steady off the ball, moved it well in possession and only really lacked the sort of clinical touch that Broadhead provided for Wrexham to steer them into the Carabao Cup fourth round.
Such a destination is not Reading’s priority this season but, with some first-teamers back on Saturday at Stockport County, this felt like a step towards finding that elusive winning formula.
