Reading suffered shoot-out heartbreak in their second round EFL Cup tie against Ipswich on Tuesday evening.
The Royals took an early lead after a cross fizzed in from the left ricocheted off both Cieran Slicker and then Brandon Williams before nestling in the back of Ipswich’s net.
But the visitors restored parity in the final minute of stoppage time. Omari Hutchinson dropped a shoulder on the right byline before firing across the face of goal for Cameron Humphreys to tap in.
And Ipswich took the lead on the hour mark through Freddie Ladapo who pounced on a straightforward ball through the middle and slotted past Boyce-Clarke.
Substitute Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan continued his fine EFL Cup scoring record by grabbing a late equaliser, but the Royals eventually fell to a 3-1 defeat in the penalty shoot-out.
Coniah Boyce-Clarke 6: Called into making a couple big stops early on and was in the main confident when claiming the ball. A mix-up with Mbengue was fortunate not to be capitalised upon. Made a fantastic save in the shoot-out.
Kelvin Abrefa 6: Asked questions of Ipswich’s left side, putting some dangerous balls into the channel and driving forward whenever possible. Relished his duel with Brandon Williams.
Tom McIntyre 6: Put in the stronger of the two centre-back performances. Covered a lot of ground putting out fires across the back line. Moved out to left-back later on.
Amadou Mbengue 5: The defender took a blow to the head early on and delivered a sloppy performance. Beaten far too easily for Ipswich’s second goal.
Matty Carson 5: Looked promising going forward but was ultimately beaten too easily by Hutchinson as the winger set up the equaliser.
Michael Craig 7.5: The best Reading performance by a country mile. Broke up play really well and was able to identify dangerous situations before they happened.
Tivonge Rushesha 5.5: Energetic as always, but was involved in a number of miscommunications with teammates which resulted in the ball being passed off the pitch.
Jay Senga 5: A mixed bag from the midfielder. Looked tidy on the ball at times but lacked the incisive pass to break the line.
Ben Elliott 5: Quiet, particularly in the first 45 minutes when the majority of Reading’s play went down the right hand side. Struggled to impose himself on the game.
Caylan Vickers 6: Livewire up top early on, applying enough pressure to force the opener. Better decision-making could have seen him feed teammates in.
Basil Tuma 5.5: Really bright in the opening stages, but struggled to find opportunities to get in behind and turn on the afterburners.
Substitutes:
Andy Yiadom 6: Added more solidity down Reading’s left, but opportunities to get forward were limited.
Charlie Savage 6: Kept things ticking over and worked well with Craig.
Harvey Knibbs 6: Offered some nice movements down the right, putting in one particularly dangerous cross which was cleared just before the ball could reach Ehibhatiomhan.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan 7: Was the hero in the previous round and grabbed the late equaliser in this game.
Jerilel Dorsett: N/A
