After a successful victory and performance against Birmingham on Saturday, Vital Reading looks at the how the individual players got on in their fourth victory in five games.
After a successful victory and performance against Birmingham on Saturday, Vital Reading looks at the how the individual players got on in their fourth victory in five games.
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Alex McCarthy – 7 – Solid game from the man between the sticks, who made fairly routine saves, with credit going to his handling for that. His kicking was a lot better too and firmly establishing himself as one of the best keepers in the division.
Chris Gunter – 7 – Probably his best game in a Reading shirt so far this season, much improved on his Brighton showing. Showed a constant willingness to drive forward and help McCleary; his crosses were ten times better as well.
Sean Morrison – 7 – It was a fairly easy outing for the skipper, who was rarely troubled by Matt Green or Lingard. Very unlucky not to score from a corner in the first half.
Alex Pearce – 7 – Similarly to his partner, another solid performance. Zigic`s height caused Pearcey a few problems, but on the whole, very sound.
Wayne Bridge – 7 – You already get the impression with Bridge that he is going to be our Mr. Consistent this season, a trait most Reading left backs undertake. Burke is one of the most dangerous wingers in this division and kept him quiet for the most part.
Garath McCleary – 8 – After being out of favour with the manager at the start of the season, the former Forest winger is repaying the faith Adkins has shown in him. Always looked a threat on either side and very unlucky not to score on two occasions in the second half.
Chris Baird – 6 – I think it`s fair to say that he isn`t 100% match fit yet, but already looks like a very capable replacement for Jem. ‘Bairdinho` made some crucial interceptions in midfield and proved he has a good range of passing.
Danny Guthrie – 8 – Man of the match – This man has probably been our best player this season and two great goals were justified with a superb performance. With the ball, his distribution and passing was outstanding, while without the ball, constantly harried the Birmingham midfield, making some great tackles.
Hal Robson-Kanu – 6 – I`m afraid to say it was another ineffective game for HRK, who hasn`t hit the heights yet this season. It was pleasing to see him wanting to take on players, but his end product is failing him at the moment.
Adam Le Fondre – 6 – Alfie will probably not get above a 6 or 7 this season and that is through no fault of his own, it`s just the player he is. His hold up play was decent, but didn`t have any clear cut chances in the game.
Pavel Pogrebnyak – 7 – The Pog looks a different player at the moment. The game proved that he is a striker that much prefers the ball played into his feet, rather than aerially. He showed great hold up play and neat touches, but had missed two decent chances that he will be disappointed with.
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Hope Akpan – 6 – Good cameo appearance from the centre midfielder, who will have been disappointed to have seen Baird brought in to fill Karacan`s void. He still seems to struggle with the tempo of the game at times, but will improve this with experience and game time.
Jordan Obita and Stephen Kelly – Not really on long enough to make an impact.
