New boys on target

The Royals second string took on Crystal Palace on Tuesday afternoon with a strong starting 11 including the likes of Shaun Cumming, Zurab Kizhanishvili, Chris Armstrong, Jay Tabb and Brian Howard in the line up. Sean Morrison, Mathieu Manset and Brett Williams also lined up against a young and inexperienced Palace side, with Claude Davis the only recognised name.


Manset gave the Royals the lead after good work from Williams, and the former Eastleigh striker scored the second with a fine strike from 20 yards.


Tabb completed the scoring with a tap in after a storming run from Manset. Alex McCarthy made a brilliant save in the closing stages when he was called upon, to cap a decent performance.


The fringe players again proved to Brian McDermott that they are ready to step up into the first team if needed, with the likes of Cummings and Jake Taylor having excellent games.