Vital Reading takes a look at the players’ individual performances from their stalemate with Leeds at Elland Road on Wednesday.
Vital Reading takes a look at the players’ individual performances from their stalemate with Leeds at Elland Road on Wednesday.
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Adam Federici – 6 – Very uneventful game for the Royals keeper, having to make one easy save from Sharp. Distribution was fine.
Chris Gunter – 7 – After a slightly poor spell of form pre-Wolves, Gunter was back to his best in this game. Defensively he was good, keeping Sloth out of the game and dealt with Doukara`s pace in the second half. Gunter also offered himself well going forward.
Alex Pearce – 7 – Much improved on his Wolves showing on Sunday. He was comfortable playing out from the back and won the majority of his aerial duels.
Michael Hector – 6 – Defensively he was solid enough, but his distribution from the back is hit and miss. He can play a superb cross-field ball, then play a slack ten yard pass, which he did on one occasion – it will improve with time and experience though.
Jordan Obita – 7 – Young Obita recovered well from his mistake on Sunday with a solid performance. He was rarely troubled, but was a shame he didn`t use that to venture forward more.
Oliver Norwood – 7 – The new signing just fails to disappoint or have a poor game at the moment – his range of passing is stunning. He is becoming vital to our new passing philosophy and on the only occasion he lost the ball, we won it back with a great challenge – he is proving he has more in the locker than just passing.
Hope Akpan – 6 – You would have questioned putting Hope back in after being subbed at HT against Wolves, because of his confidence, but he did well. While he didn`t set the world alight, he kept the ball moving simply, complementing Norwood once again very well.
Nick Blackman – 8 – Man of the Match – Probably our best player of the season so far and easily man of the match in this one. The Leeds manager admitted he played a centre-half at left-back to deal with his threat, but it clearly didn`t work. Blackman had the beating of him every time and could have won a few penalties.
Simon Cox – 6 – He had a lively start to the game, playing between the lines, but Mowatt and Cook playing deeper as a result meant he was non-existent after this.
Jake Taylor – 6 – Plenty of hard work from the academy graduate, but didn`t get much luck against Byram. He could have had a penalty in the second half after showing good feet in the area.
Glenn Murray – 6 – It`s hard to say whether he had a poor game or a quiet one, but I`d probably go with the latter. He held the ball up when needed, but despite plenty of good deliveries coming in from Norwood and Obita, he didn`t convert any.
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Danny Guthrie – 6 – Did what was needed of him, keeping the ball moving in midfield.
Hal Robson-Kanu – 6 – Good to see him back in the fold and he had a few good touches, but clearly isn`t match fit yet. He played through the middle, but I still see him as a winger in the long-term.
Jamie Mackie – 5 – Tried numerous times to beat his man on the right and failed to do so, often leaving us vulnerable for the break.
