READING FC fell to a heart-breaking late 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Despite a positive showing from the Royals, Patrick Roberts picked Baba Rahman’s pocket inside Reading’s box, firing home an 84th minute winner.
Joe Lumley 7: Made a series of great stops in the second half, which included a triple save.
Junior Hoilett 6: Offered Reading an attacking outlet, also making numerous interceptions high up the pitch. Clarke enjoyed moments of freedom in behind as a result.
Andy Yiadom 6: Was able to cover for the more advanced Hoilett most of the time. A lapse in concentration could have seen Sunderland take the lead had Alese not fired over.
Naby Sarr 6: A little rash at times, but marshalled the defence pretty well on what was a positive return to football for the defender.
Amadou Mbengue 7: Fantastic. Added much needed pace to Reading’s back-line, snuffing out runs in behind from Sunderland’s forwards. An all-action performance.
Baba Rahman 5: An error cost Reading a point. A shame as the wing-back put in a fairly good performance otherwise. Benefited from playing outside of Mbengue.
Jeff Hendrick 5: Put in the hard yards but wasn’t able to create much in the way of attacking threat.
Tom McIntyre 6: Replaced Loum as the sitting midfielder and did a decent job, putting in a solid shift.
Tom Ince 6: Not quite at his brilliant best. Still showed moments of class when turning out of tight situations, often drawing fouls. Typically committed out of possession.
Andy Carroll 6: The Geordie would have relished the opportunity to get one over on the Black Cats. Won his fair share of flick-ons.
Shane Long 6: Worked tirelessly to make runs into the channels and showed plenty of desire to win the ball back when his side lost possession. Quieter in the second half.
Subs:
Yakou Meite: N/A
Scott Dann: N/A
Femi Azeez: N/A
Tyrese Fornah: N/A