The kids are alright! Reading put in a solid Pizza Cup performance to comfortably see off the Hammers’ youth side at the SCL.
He'll be frustrated to have been beaten at his near post by a deflected effort. I’ve not seen the goal back, so don’t know if he should have done better with the shot, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
After all, this was on the whole a good evening for Boyce-Clarke. Otherwise kept West Ham at bay when required, and commanded his box well with aerial balls into the box.
A poor evening lit up by a really well taken goal. Abrefa looked more comfortable in his right-back role this evening than he was when shunted over to left-back as with last Tuesday, but he didn’t affect the game in open play enough and was too often sloppy in possession.
That said, he finished confidently to double Reading’s lead. Receiving the ball on the right side of the box, in space, he slammed it across the ‘keeper for 2-0 - a finish any forward player would have been happy with.
I’m not really sure how to feel about Harlee Dean. It’s clear that he’s not naturally a good fit for this team, being the quintessential immobile, old-fashioned centre-back that doesn’t fit a more athletic and technical style favoured by Ruben Selles.
Dean was shown up in that regard a few times tonight, misplacing passes at the back, including one sloppy moment when he gifted the visitors a chance midway through the first half. That said, he was generally pretty reliable and dealt with balls into the box effectively on a number of occasions.
Dean’s centre-back partner didn’t have a whole lot to do in the first half with Reading looking comfortable, but he was less assured after the restart. This wasn’t quite as knife-edge as the Colchester United performance last week, when he was subbed off after half an hour, at risk of a red, but Kanu did seem a bit shaky. Still, he played his part in a decent defensive display that kept Reading’s lead intact.
While Garcia didn’t fully convince defensively tonight, that’s to be expected of a 16-year-old who’s only just got into first-team football. And on the flipside, he showed his skill on the ball numerous times tonight - this is certainly a talented, confident youngster who’s well ahead of where he should be at this point of his development.
Surprisingly handed a start tonight, Elliott was one of a few who probably would have been rested if competition rules had allowed for it. He made a key impact for Reading though, picking up an assist by threading Wareham through one-on-one in the first half, before doing well in the build-up to Abrefa’s goal. Taken off at half-time to spare his energy ahead of the weekend.
A really bright debut from Spencer, who took the ‘Lewis Wing role’ at the base of Reading’s midfield three in front of the back four. He didn’t have a particularly adventurous evening but that wasn’t the point: Spencer consistently recycled the ball efficiently, receiving it and moving it quickly. Nothing overly complicated, but still nice and effective.
Had one effort when he popped up on the edge of the left side of the box, but he couldn’t force the ‘keeper into a particularly difficult save. Withdrawn for Craig in the second half.
Put in a very involved all-round performance in the middle of the park in the first half as an all-action box-to-box player. Energetic out of possession and popped up in and around the area for a go at goal a few times, including one sweetly struck volley from a Ben Elliott corner. Set up Kelvin Abrefa for the second goal, but taken off at the break to rest him for the weekend.
A slightly frustrating evening for someone who’s had a couple of chances now to show that he can make a difference for Reading out wide, but again didn’t really convince. His evening started poorly with a really wild back pass to Boyce-Clarke that needlessly surrendered a corner.
Didn’t quite have the quality in the final third for the rest of the evening. One moment in the first half when he had acres of space on the right, only to fail to pick out a teammate, was particularly frustrating. The application is there, but the end product currently isn’t. Withdrawn for Emmanuel Osho late on.
Took his goal with composure to finally open his Reading first-team account. Worked hard up top all evening and his link-up play seems to be improving - with the caveat that he was going up against much younger opposing defenders than usual.
Reading's biggest overall threat in the first half, bringing the confidence we've seen in recent games into this match. Ran at his defender positively numerous times and had a few efforts at goal, but without managing to get a goal - somewhat similar to his Wigan display. Taken off at the break to save him for Wrexham.
Rushesha got the second 45 as the left-sided central midfielder in Reading’s 4-3-3 in place of Savage and was a useful outlet. What he lacks in imposing physicality he makes up for in Duracell Bunny-like energy, and there were a few times he put Reading on the front foot by driving upfield with the ball into space.
What a moment that was, seeing Sackey score on his debut! The youngster popped up in the area with five minutes to go, converting Ahmed’s cross, and you could tell how delighted he was. It capped off a fairly low-key 45 minutes on the right side of Reading’s midfield, but a steady introduction to first-team football nonetheless.
Ahmed came on at half-time with Rushesha and Sackey, in this case initially as a right-winger before later going to the left. He wasn’t that involved for a big chunk of the second half but became more prominent later on, not making the most of a few openings due to a poor touch before finally getting an assist for Sackey.
Replaced Spencer at the base of midfield and had a steady, quiet time on the pitch.
Replaced Akande late on and had a fairly uneventful quarter of an hour or so, coinciding with a positive spell for Reading, so he had little to do defensively.
Who was your man of the match against West Ham United’s under-21s? Vote below or through this link.
