Reading climbed into the top six with their third successive victory in eight days, but it was a far from comfortable victory against a feisty Rovers side. After being reduced to ten men after fifty-five minutes, and falling behind to a subtle Sam Smith finish on sixty-six minutes, they came back strongly. Denied a point by two excellent saves from Pereira in the closing stages of a lively encounter, the travelling fans were clearly appreciative of their team's efforts, enthusiastically applauding them off the pitch after the final whistle.

The game started at a high tempo and Reading were very much on the front foot and looked far more threatening going forward than Rovers throughout the first half. Early in the game, slight hesitation by Ehibhatiomhan and Knibbs in getting their shots away on the edge of the box allowed the visitors to close them down. Both players found space later the half to test Rovers 'keeper Griffiths. Reading guilty at times, Mbengue in particular, of some carless distribution in their own half, put themselves under unnecessary pressure. One such error presented Rovers with their best chance of the first half on the half hour, but Sotiroiu dragged his shot wide with only Pereira to beat.

Reading's best effort came when Wing burst through midfield and exchanged passes with Elliot before striking the ball well but too close to Griffiths. Just before half time Reading should have taken the lead with a goal lead their play deserved. Harvey Knibbs, closing in on goal with only Griffiths to beat, ignored the option of slipping the ball to Ehibhatiomhan on his left unmarked and with an empty goal at his mercy. Instead, Knibbs opted to strike a tame shot at a height allowing Griffiths to make a comfortable save. To say it was disappointing decision by Knibbs' usual standards is a huge understatement.

Lack of discipline from Rovers, racking up fourteen fouls and five yellow cards, ultimately cost them the game. Two of those cards resulted in Forde being sent off. On a yellow for first half for pulling Knibbs back as he accelerated past him, ten minutes after half time he lost another tussle with Knibbs, protested aggressively to the referee's assistant, and kicked the ball away.

Reading took full advantage of the extra man taking the lead through Smith eleven minutes later. Elliot, surprisingly later replaced by Savage, delivered yet another perfectly weighted and timed pass through the opposition defence. Smith timed his run to perfection, and as Griffiths came out, pushed the ball past him with the outside of his left foot and the ball rolled in to the unguarded net. Camara, twice caught offside in the first half, could learn a lot from Smith. Elliot has had a couple of fairly quiet games recently but has produced some excellent passes and two outstanding assists.

From that point Reading decided to 'manage' the game. Unfortunately, they didn't do it very well and allowed Rovers to gain the upper hand forcing a string of corners and coming close to saving a point. With Rovers in the ascendency, Reading not only lacked the ambition to score a crucial second goal but made some extremely poor decisions in possession in all areas of the pitch.

Rovers' manager claimed, with some justification, his team deserved to take something from the game. However, it must be said their dominance, which forced a string of corners, good saves from Pereira and some desperate defending, was as much to do with Reading's shortcomings than the quality their play.

John Wells