Royals XI lose at Eastleigh

Reading, who played two different teams each side of half time, lost 3-2 to Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium this afternoon.

Both Royals line ups didn’t boast much experience with a mix of academy graduates and first team fringe players.

The Royals started lively with former Eastleigh player Brett Williams going close from a corner before Reading went 1-0 infront thanks to Jordan Obita, after Frankie Reymond set Michail Antonio down the left.

However, Eastleigh hit back seconds later as poor defending allowed Andy Forbes to tap-in from close range. It went from bad to worse for the Royals as a good Eastleigh move led to Jamie Davis crossing for former Royals academy player Andrew White to head in.

Reading almost hit back when Sean Morrison’s header was cleared off the line before Jamie Slabber rounded keeper Simon Locke to put the Spitfires in cruise control and 3-1 up.

After half time, on came the team including Jake Taylor, Marcus Williams and Nicholas Bignall and made some improvement.

Gozie Ugwu, who recently signed a professional contract with the Royals, almost made a good start as he latched onto Bignall’s header but for the keeper to rush out to his feet and save.

Ugwu did later get on the scoresheet though following some good work from Welsh U21 international Jake Taylor, as he allowed Ugwu to score from close range.

The Royals chased for an equaliser, with Bignall going close with a drive from the edge of the box and Ugwu having a few more chances, only to narrowly miss on both occasions.

Despite the loss, there were many positives to take from the game with some very good performances from Jordan Obita and Gozie Ugwu, along with some game time for the likes of Sean Morrison and Brett Williams.

First half team: Locke, Goddard, Raymond, D’Ath, Morrison, MacDonald, Antonio, Walcott, B Williams (c), Obita, Losasso

Second half team: Locke, Arnold, Mills, McHugh, M Williams, R Edwards, C Edwards, Bignall, Ugwu, Taylor, Gage

Attendance: 526