Reading secured back-to-back wins for the first time since January as they consigned Rovers to their sixth defeat in their last seven games, as the visitors continued to search for the formula to solve their ever-devolving situation.
After Rovers could only muster a 1-1 draw in their clash with relegation-threatened Coventry City on Saturday, Tony Mowbray reacted by making three changes to the side for Tuesday’s clash at the Madejski Stadium. Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Amari’i Bell and Tom Trybull all returned to the starting side, as the trio replaced Jarrad Branthwaite, Barry Douglas and Lewis Travis, all of whom had a spot on the bench.
Following the pre-match rituals and the thumbs up from Sky Sports – where the game was being broadcasted live – referee Gavin Ward, signalled for the game to get underway as Adam Armstrong took the kick-off aspiring to help his side get back to winning ways against a high-flying Reading side.
Reading were able to make use of their home advantage by hitting Rovers with a frightening attempt inside three minutes. The home side got the ball down the right-hand side before whipping a ball into Hungarian forward George Pușcaș, however the attacker’s header was fantastically tipped over the bar by Thomas Kaminski, who once again showed his value to Rovers.
After Rovers managed to work the ball through Reading’s half before the ball fell to the path of Corry Evans whose attempt, which lacked power, was blocked by the potential Bayern Munich-bound, Omar Richards.
Thomas Kaminski nearly saw his fine previous save undone by a moment of magic from Pușcaș as the Hungarian tried his luck from halfway, yet despite the Belgian ‘keeper scrambling back to his own net, the forward’s attempt from just inside his own half dropped onto the roof of the net, rather than in it.
Benfica loanee, Alfa Semedo soon found himself in the referee’s book after he chopped down Ben Brereton on halfway, on the 17th minute.
Semedo wasn’t going to let the booking dampen his spirits as less than 60 seconds later, he tried his luck form outside the box after evading a few challenges, yet the shot proved catching practice for Kaminski.
The breakthrough soon came in the 24th minute after Reading’s press forced Harvey Elliott into an uncharacteristic mistake. The winger found himself deep in his own half with pressure from all corners, as he was unable to clear the ball or find a spare man. The young teenager soon buckled under the pressure from Omar Richards and gave the ball away to former Rovers loanee Lucas João who had the simple task of finding his strike partner Pușcaș who slotted the ball past Kaminski to put the hosts ahead at 1-0.
Reading were forced into an early first-half substitution on the 32nd minute as Tom Holmes replaced Michael Morrison, in the heart of the Reading defence.
In the 37th minute, Ben Brereton nearly levelled the scoring from just outside the box, but his shot skewed narrowly wide of the mark. After the ball was fizzed into his feet, the young forward managed to control the ball well before tiptoeing past a few Reading challenges on the edge of the area. After the ball bobbled back into the forwards path via lucky bounces, he tried his luck from just outside the box, yet his effort skewed narrowly wide.
It took 42 minutes for Rovers to muster their first effort on target, which again came through Ben Brereton who looked like Rovers’ brightest attacking spark throughout the game. Amari’i Bell found Brereton who shifted the ball from his left-foot to his right before drilling in a low shot that Rafael Cabral saved well, down to his left.
The final chance of the half came in the 45th minute as a Michael Olise free-kick saw him try and catch Kaminski out, yet the goalie was awake and alert enough in order to deny the playmaker’s attempt.
After two added minutes of time brought no action, referee Gavin Ward soon brought the half to a close, with Rovers heading into the break with much to discuss after another underwhelming 45 minutes.
Reading would have been the happier of the two sides heading into the break, given they were ahead in both the shooting stats and the scoreline. Home boss Veljko Paunović would have been pleased with all the aspects of his side’s play, bar their lack of possession, given Reading ended the first 45 minutes with only 37% of the ball. Despite that red mark on their record, the former Chicago Fire boss would have been pleased with his side’s hard-fought display and their ability to keep Rovers at bay and restricted to only one shot on target.
Tony Mowbray’s emotions would have mirrored his counterparts’. The boss would have been frustrated with the manner in which his side conceded the goal, which consigned Rovers to only three clean sheets in their last 21 games: despite the glowing confidence that the gaffer has been giving Harvey Elliott this season. Despite the individual error, Ben Brereton proved to be the sole shining light for Rovers as he offered the side the drive and the directness an away side requires.
After both sides returned for the second-half, it was Reading who got the second-half underway as they looked to try and extend their lead in the game and go four points clear of Cardiff City, in the playoffs.
The 51st minute saw the second-half’s first booking as Amari’i Bell was cautioned for a foul on Ovie Ejaria on the halfway line.
Some lovely Rovers interplay in the 54th minute nearly saw Adam Armstrong snatch an equaliser, yet after the ball dropped for the forward on the edge of the area, his first-time effort deflected behind for a corner, which Reading dealt with.
Ejaria again was the recipient of some heavy Rovers tackling as Corry Evans found himself booked in the 58th minute.
On the hour mark, Tony Mowbray played a double change as Stewart Downing and Bradley Dack replaced Corry Evans and Joe Rothwell.
A Stewart Downing free-kick in the 65th minute saw Rovers clutch at straws in the hope of ruining Reading’s clean sheet, yet the substitute’s set-piece hit the back of the empty stand behind Rafael Cabral’s goal.
A change for each side occurred in the 67th minute as Tom McIntyre replaced Lucas João for the Royals whilst Tyrhys Dolan was brought on in-place of Harvey Elliott, for Rovers.
Reading were awarded a controversial free-kick in the 76th minute after it was deemed that Kaminski had handled outside of his area. The set-piece saw Olise try his luck from a wide angle, but Kaminski redeemed himself with a good catch.
From one free-kick, to another, as Rovers were offered a wide set-piece of their own two minutes later. After the initial set-piece was dealt with by Reading, the cross came back in towards the far-post where Darragh Lenihan rose highest to connect with the ball, but the skipper’s header was angled off target, as Rovers continued to look for an equaliser.
The 80th minute nearly saw Ryan Nyambe pick up his first ever senior goal, as he latched onto a parry by Rafael Cabral, which came from Ben Brereton’s initial effort. The forward picked the ball up on the edge of the area and created half a yard for himself to try his luck. The venomous strike stung the palms of the Brazilian goalkeeper who couldn’t push the ball to safety as the rebound fell to the Namibian full-back. Despite the presence of Bradley Dack in his way, Nyambe tried his luck but saw his effort skew wide of the near-post.
Another brace of Rovers changes occurred in the 84th minute as John Buckley and Barry Douglas came on for Tom Trybull and Amari’i Bell. Alongside that change, Reading introduced Tomás Esteves in-place of Michael Olise.
Tyrhys Dolan tried his luck at goal in the 87th minute after getting on the end of a one-two with Bradley Dack, yet the youngster’s attempt at trying to pick out the far corner lacked the necessary dip as it ballooned over the bar.
As the 90th minute ticked over, referee Gavin Ward added on four minutes onto the end of the game as Rovers looked for that glimmer of hope in order to salvage a draw.
That glimmer nearly came in the 92nd minute as Barry Douglas whipped in a deliciously inviting ball towards the near-post which Armstrong latched onto via a volley, yet the forward’s strike fell the wrong side of the near-post, which summed up what was another depressing evening for Rovers and their fans.
Despite a late swing and miss from Bradley Dack, who missed the ball completely with a volley of his own, Armstrong’s first effort of the game also proved to be his last as referee Gavin Ward called an end to the game, but not to the drama as Thomas Kaminski managed to talk himself into the referee’s book after the final whistle, with the official reason for the booking being labelled as ‘dissent’.
Another day, another defeat. Although tonight’s loss came via the finest of margins, courtesy of an individual error, the overall game-plan and lack of proper urgency until the final moments of the tie never really offered the belief that Rovers was going to get back into the game, regardless of both side’s prior form. It remains a mystery how and whether Rovers can escape this rather annual slump, without a radical change being made.
Rovers’ slump down the table continued tonight as they dropped down to 15th place with 40 points and a – now rather irrelevant – positive goal-difference of +7, from the 33 games Tony Mowbray’s side has played.
Rovers’ fixture list doesn’t get any easier as Saturday sees the lads travel down to The Den to face Millwall on the 6th March at 3pm. After that, Ewood Park beckons as Swansea City make the trip to Lancashire for their 6pm kick-off on Tuesday 9th March. Following that clash, Rovers again act as hosts, this time to promotion-chasing Brentford on Friday 12th March at 7:45pm.
