Boss pleased with second half response

Nigel Adkins didn’t shy away from his side’s first half performance against Doncaster, but was chuffed with the response in the second half.

Our first half showing against Donny was far from inspiring, especially as the hosts went in a goal up at the break. However, the Royals came out a much-improved side in the second period and deservedly scored three goals to match our dominance in the final third, with a goal for Le Fondre and a double from Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Speaking to the Official Reading FC website, Adkins said: ‘It was an excellent win away from home. We reminded the players at half time that we haven’t done well this season when going behind, so it was about time we did. The grit was there for everyone to see and the contribution of all of the players was very important.’

‘It was a horrible game in the first half, we conceded a poor goal, but well done to the players because the second half was far better. What did I say at half time? You don’t want to know. The togetherness was there, and importantly it was there at the right time of the season. The passion was there as well.’

The way we played in the final thirty minutes of the game was superb and a great response, to what had been a rather miserable first half showing. We played with a much higher tempo and credit to the gaffer for sticking to his guns and motivating the players at half time, to get that performance that through three points back to Berkshire.