Joel Pereira: 5
Didn’t have a lot to do today, in his 100th game for Reading, yet rarely exuded the confidence that we’ve seen in previous years, and when we were once again crying out for a quick throw to set the speedy full-backs/wingers on a counter, he held onto it too long and played the ball centrally to a centre-back, too often.
Pereira struggled to claim an early free-kick in the third minute and later came out from the goal to help Andy Rinomhota shepherd a long AFC Wimbledon ball out of play. He looked
initially hesitant but eventually dealt with it well.
In the second half, Pereira struggled to punch the ball clear from a corner in the 85th minute due to the crowd of people in front of him, but did well late on in the game to rush out from the line to intercept a through-ball that broke the Reading defensive line.
Udoka Godwin-Malife: 7
“Dokes” provided a real presence on the right, getting forward throughout the early stages and generally looked comfortable dealing with any Wimbledon threat down Reading’s right. He built upon this in the second half by becoming a real attacking outlet, and was unfortunate to not have picked up an assist.
Notable moments from the second half: a fantastic run down the right in the 51st minute using his pace to get round the outside of the Wimbledon left-back and into the area, whose cross found Josh Stokes, followed by another fantastic run through the middle and through-ball to find Jack Marriott in the 54th minute.
Almost immediately followed up by a great ball into the six-yard box at the end of the move but no-one was there to tap it in. Cut out a Wimbledon attack on the edge of the Reading area in the 56th minute and sprinted with the ball to take it deep into the Wimbledon half.
Another great interception from a Wimbledon counter when drifting in centrally in the 58th minute, showing his game is not just about getting high up the pitch, but also about being able to sense and snuff out the danger, either out wide or cutting inside from the right.
Paudie O’Connor: 6
Fine. Truthfully, didn’t get tested a lot today and just did what he had to do. He also picked up a yellow card for being a nuisance around the goalkeeper during a prolonged corner routine in the 28th/29th minute.
In the second half, he played a good ball forward in the 71st minute to find Kyreece Lisbie running down the right and made a headed clearance in the 78th minute from a dangerous Wimbledon attack.
Benn Ward: 6
Fine as well. Maybe the slightly brighter of the centre-back pairing but wasn’t really tested for most of the game, setting the tone with a couple of good headers early on.
Was more involved in the second half as Reading started to run out of steam and Wimbledon attacked more. A notable moment was when Ward carried the ball up field well in the 60th minute to find Stokes.
However, his most notable moment was in the 69th minute, doing well to be on the line to clear a goal-bound effort from Wimbledon. Late in the game, he was strong to come across to the left wing and hold off the Wimbledon winger’s run to win the long ball.
Haydon Roberts: 6
Started the game brightly, especially the first half, but faded in the second half. During the first half, Roberts took a good shot in the 20th minute from just outside the box that was blocked by a low defensive line and provided a viciously fizzed free-kick from the left that just needed a touch from someone in the 46th minute.
He was sound defensively in the first half, keeping the Wimbledon threat at bay, but the most notable moment was a good clearing header in the 40th minute from a Wimbledon cross, sensing the danger and moving over to the right side of the Reading area.
Subbed off for Paddy Lane in the 87th minute, presumably to help ease him back into competitive action, though, as mentioned earlier, he did have a much quieter second half and I really don’t have any notes.
Lewis Wing: 6
I’m told it was Wing’s 150th game for Reading today, and it was a decent day at the office to respond to criticism from the Luton Town game. Indeed, if he could have got a deserved assist or goal, he would have rated a 7/10.
He started the game well with a good long ball forward to find Marriott (who was slightly offside), and followed this up with another good long ball to find Lisbie out wide in the fifth minute and then another great long ball to the left to find Daniel Kyerewaa in the ninth minute, who was offside. Not bad for an opening 10 minutes’ work.
Also did his defensive duties with a clearance from a low cross in the 11th minute and whipped in a couple of good early corners. He had a free-kick hit the wall in the 23rd minute and, just after this, probably his best pass of the game was a great low, long ball forward to find Marriott, which the striker was unable to capitalise on.
Signed off the first half with a good long ball again, cross field in the 45th minute, to find Kyerewaa, who didn’t make the most of it.
In the second half, there was a great ball from a shooting position outside the box to find Dokes on the right, allowing him to put in a dangerous cross in the 54th minute. Wing also received a good ball from the Lisbie in the 71st minute in space inside the box, but slipped as he took the shot and it went wide. Contributed again defensively as Reading were under pressure, making a good block in the 85th minute.
Andy Rinomhota: 6
A solid, if somewhat unspectacular, outing for Rino today. He just did the simple things well and helped to keep the play moving and the hard draft to cover the defence.
He made a good tackle high up the pitch to start an attacking move in the 30th minute and provided a great long ball out wide to find Kyerewaa in the 37th minute. Indeed, both midfielders were getting joy with the long balls in the first half. Picked up a yellow in the 39th minute when conceding a free-kick near the semi-circle.
A quieter second half, and was subbed off for Charlie Savage in the 65th minute.
Kyreece Lisbie: 6
Lisbie was bright today, and always looked a threat as we are already beginning to expect, a few games into his Reading career. However, he just missed a little bit of the end product today (ie a goal or an assist) to get that 7/10 rating because I am a cruel task master.
I was also impressed with his defensive work, as he regularly came back to support Dokes, successfully too.
His notable moments were when he tracked back well to put the ball out for a corner in the third minute, and he had a cross/shot from a very narrow angle on the right edge of the Wimbledon box in the sixth minute that hit the upright.
Lisbie released Marriott down the right in the 14th minute to set up a chance and showed great strength and tenacity to win the ball and run up the field from the Reading corner flag on the right, and was rugby-tackled down, weirdly not earning the Wimbledon player a yellow.
A quieter second half, like everyone else in the delightful red and yellow of Reding. Lisbie was unable to convert the rebound from the Stokes’ shot in the 51st minute, possibly caught by surprise. He did do well to receive an O’Connor long ball and play in Wing on the right of the box, in plenty of space, which should have led to an assist.
Subbed off in the 95th minute for Jacob Brown.
Josh Stokes: 5
It’s just not clicking yet – he shows glimpses but it’s clear he still needs a bit of time to get acquainted with the team around him.
Stokes did provide a good forward ball from just outside the Reading area to find Lisbie in the 14th minute, which led to Marriott’s shot. He was later unable to get a clean hit on the rebound from Marriott in the 23rd minute and this was about it for the first half.
For the second half, he was unlucky to see his 51st-minute shot blocked just in front of the line by the Wimbledon defender, but I have no other notes for Stokes having contributed anything.
Subbed off for George Earthy in the 65th minute.
Daniel Kyerewaa: 5
A quiet day for Kyerewaa, and he struggled to make the most of the opportunities that did come his way. The one moment of note in the first half was when Kyerewaa was caught offside on the left when receiving a great Wing long ball in the ninth minute. Otherwise, he didn’t offer much and, generally, his first touch was poor in the first half.
Somehow even quieter in the first 20ish minutes of the second half, until he popped up with a header from a Wing corner in the 79th minute, which he did well to win at the near post but was unable to direct it on target from a tight angle. And that’s about it for him today.
Subbed off for Randell Williams in the 87th minute and, to be honest, it should have been a lot sooner.
Jack Marriott: 5
Not one of Marriott’s better days today – he got a couple of chances in the first half but struggled to demonstrate his usual ruthlessness which, I guess, was fair enough. He can’t score with every shot.
Though he nearly did with a phenomenal effort in the 14th minute from the wide right to force a save from the Wimbledon ‘keeper. However, there was a heavy touch in the 23rd minute from a pinpoint Wing ball deflected to Stokes, where we are accustomed to him making a goal out of those half chances, such is his ability to make something out of nothing for this side.
Marriott was completely starved of service in the second half and it was easy to forget he was even on the pitch, to be honest, unless it was when he was tracking back to defend. His only attacking moment in the second half was when he was unable to convert a header that he ran onto in the 90th minute, but was flagged offside anyway.
Subs
Charlie Savage: 5
Subbed on for Andy Rinomhota in the 65th minute. His first contribution was to pick up a yellow card in the 68th minute and give away a free-kick by conceding a poorly time challenge where he had unnecessarily dived in.
In one bright moment, Savage did well to pop up in a pocket of space to receive a ball from defence to play it forward to Earthy in the 81st minute.
There was also a good long ball to find Paddy Lane running down the Reading left in the 92nd minute. However, his arrival didn’t give Reading any extra dimension or ideas to attack a Wimbledon side happy to sit deep.
George Earthy: 5
Subbed on for Josh Stokes in the 65th minute to make his debut. If I am going to be honest, this was not the right game to bring him on – especially for a debut. Someone like Wing with a bit more height and ability to go direct would have been a better option as a 10 against this type of opponent.
Earthy did provide a promising through-ball for Lisbie in the 78th minute, but it didn’t quite have enough pace to find Lisbie. Shortly after, Earthy drifted over to the left side of the field and set Kyerewaa loose in the box down the left with a short pass. No other notable contributions.
Paddy Lane: N/A
Subbed on for Roberts in the 87th minute. Good clearance from a low Wimbledon cross in the 90th minute. Great run up the left in the 92nd minute to receive a Savage long ball, and his deflected cross nearly went in.
Randell Williams: N/A
Subbed on for Kyerewaa in the 87th minute. Probably about 20 minutes too late and would have been a better move to have put him on the right and Lisbie on the left. Was left with no time to contribute anything.
Jacob Brown: N/A
Subbed on for Jack Marriott with 90 seconds to play. It’s not Brown’s fault but this was pointless.
Average: 5.61/10
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