Royals fall to impressive Swans

Reading were given a tough workout by Premier League outfit Swansea, losing 3-0 at the Madejski Stadium.

Nigel Adkins gave 90 minutes to nine of his players, who are more than likely to start against Ipswich next Saturday. It was a fairly open start, with both sides having a fair share of the ball. However, Swansea turned it on with 12 minutes gone, as Michu opened the scoring, following some neat play from the away side.

Reading proved they were capable of keeping the ball, but they struggled to break down a very rigid Swans side. McCarthy got down well to deny Michu a second, while captain Jobi McAnuff almost had a sight of goal, but Wales captain Ashley Williams denied the winger with a no-nonsense challenge in the area.

The Royals had a bright start to the second period, with substitute Hope Akpan looking lively. Drenthe’s low, whipped cross was met by the head of the midfielder, but drifted harmlessly over the bar. Laudrup’s side soon doubled the lead 12 minutes into the half, as Jonjo Shelvey exchanged passes with Britton and slotted home the second.

The lively Akpan then had another opportunity and the best of the game, as Drenthe’s neat flick sent him through, but shanked his effort into the side netting. Instead, it was Swansea who rounded the scoring off, as Hernandez latched onto Bony’s dissecting pass and placed the ball under an onrushing Alex McCarthy.

Akpan was at the forefront of the goal action again, forcing Vorm into a decent save in the closing stages. It was a tough challenge for us, but I don’t think we played bad by any means. We won’t be playing any sides this season as good as that, so there is certainly no need to panic!

Reading: McCarthy, Kelly, Bridge, Pearce, Morrison, Karacan, Guthrie, McAnuff (c), Robson-Kanu, Drenthe, Le Fondre
Subs: Federici, Gunter, Cummings, Mariappa, Gorkss, Akpan, D’Ath, McCleary, Obita, J.Taylor, Ugwu, Pogrebnyak

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Davies, Williams, Amat, Britton, Hernandez, Shelvey, Routledge, Michu, Bony
Subs: Tremmel, Monk, Taylor, De Guzman, Yeung, Canas, Pozuelo, Dyer, Richards, Lamah