Ruben Selles expressed pride in his side after they cruelly had the chance of an opening day win taken from them by a controversial penalty call.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s opener was cancelled out late on as Alfie May converted from the spot following a harsh handball decision against Lewis Wing.
Despite not taking maximum points, Selles was delighted with the performance from his team
He said: “We did what we planned, the boys did a fantastic job. We could easily have gone home today with the three points.
“They didn’t have massive chances in the second half. I will take the performance of my team
“I’m very proud of what they are doing and what they have been doing now for a year under the circumstances.
“We know the tools and know what we are and how we work and how we have to develop the players.
“We know we can’t compete in the market or pay a transfer (fee) so we need to come to work every day and give our best and be the best version of the team we can be.
“Every day the boys are showing how they want to do it together and I’m very proud to be their manager.”
Speaking on the controversial penalty call, Selles said: “We had a goal disallowed. It’s the decision of the referee.
“Things happen and if we score a second goal it will not matter about the penalty. Sometimes you get these decisions, sometimes you get it for you.
“It’s not a massive thing for us.”
Selles handed a debut to 16-year-old Andre Garcia who came off the bench in the second-half.
Speaking about the chance given to academy players, Selles said: “We don’t look at the age of the players. He surprised us in a training game when he came in as a left-back.
“We thought he can be the winger we need in the first-team and he has been in the entire pre-season with us.
We have young talented players. As long as they have the qualities to play for Reading, we are not scared to play them on the pitch.
