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Player Ratings – Norwich (H)

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We take a look at the players’ individual performances from the win over Norwich City on Boxing Day.

We take a look at the players’ individual performances from the win over Norwich City on Boxing Day.

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Ali Al-Habsi – 6 – The Royals number one didn’t have an awful lot to do, as Norwich rarely tested him. Couldn’t do anything about the goal, and his distribution was OK, played a good part in the third goal with his long throw.

Chris Gunter – 6 – Quiet but solid game from the right-back, who didn’t get forward as much as we reverted to a back four. Didn’t have an issue with Murphy’s pace.

Paul McShane – 7 – The skipper was solid throughout and made some crucial blocks in the second half.

Liam Moore – 8 – Man of the match – What a signing this guy has been! Another heroic defensive performance from Moore, who won virtually every single header against tough opponents in Oliveira and Jerome. A future captain for sure.

Tyler Blackett – 7 – He has looked shaky at left-back in recent games, but he didn’t out a foot wrong all game. He was often left isolated with Beerens not tracking back, but had Brady under wraps.

Joey van der Berg – 6 – I was shocked to see JVDB start ahead of Evans, but he marshalled the midfield reasonably well. A very harsh first half booking probably held back his influence and wasn’t surprising to see him subbed.

Liam Kelly – 6 – The academy graduate didn’t have the same influence he had against Blackburn, but still didn’t look out of place at this level. He wasn’t scared in putting himself about and often had to do a lot of Roy’s tracking back on the left.

Danny Williams – 6 – Good to see Williams back, but he didn’t really have an influence in midfield. Busy, but didn’t warrant the Premier League interest that has reportedly been following him.

Garath McCleary – 7 – Good game from GMac, who looked our biggest threat when we weren’t playing that well. Always forward thinking and did really well with the rebound from Yann’s penalty.

Yann Kermorgant – 8 – Probably the best game from the striker in a Reading shirt. He was a nuisance all afternoon for the Norwich backline, did very well for his goal and played a big part in the second, despite the horrific penalty!

Roy Beerens – 6 – Roy was a 7 going forward, but a 5 tracking back. There is no denying Roy is a great attacking threat, but needs to put more of a shift in defensively to help out the side, as Kelly often had to do his covering with Blackett left isolated.

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George Evans – 6 – Came on to steady the ship with Joey booked and did just that. Unlucky to have been dropped.

John Swift – 7 – Great assist on his return, but more importantly, fantastic to see him back on the pitch again.

Callum Harriott – 7 – A good impact from the winger, who hasn’t been getting much playing time as of late. Cameo’s like this will hopefully push Roy for his place and keep him on his toes.

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