Found the ball far away from his goal for most of the early stages. Made a good catch and a poor clearance with his first two major interventions of the first half.
Bravely dove at the feet of the onrushing Northampton attacker to make an excellent save in the 25th minute. Alert to snatch up a scrambled shot in the 40th minute.
Punched away a dangerous cross from a set play in the 82nd minute, getting underneath his bar but well in the air.
Did enough against a weak Northampton attack to deserve his first League One clean sheet for the Royals.
Started the game just a little sloppily, but was made to look more so by the experience around him in the centre-backs and Ritchie. Sent a fantastic cross into the back post when given an early chance out wide. Got another one of those into the back post that needed to be headed behind.
Was occasionally a little sloppy in possession, and could be beat defensively, missing one sliding tackle in the 52nd minute and allowing his man into the box. Withdrawn for Yiadom who calmed things down a little on the right.
Looked steady on the ball in the opening stages. Again was a set-piece threat at the back post, connecting with an early Savage corner to force a save. Stepped in when Abrefa was beaten on the box at the beginning of the second half and made a good block.
Imperious in the air throughout, with Northampton not having a physical match for him in that area of the pitch.
Returned from injury after missing the last month since the Leyton Orient game. Got too separated from O’Connor right in front of the box early on, allowing a one-on-one on goal. Managed to deflect away a dangerous ball into the six-yard box, allowing Stevens to catch.
Booked for throwing his hand out at a ball that went over him early in the second half. Mostly solid outside of that though and helped Reading see out the game without many troubles.
Started the game with a good win down the left side before setting Lane down the wing in front of him. Interacted well with Lane and Savage around him in the opening stages especially. Faded in terms of a threat going forwards as the game went on.
Authored a few nice touches that helped Reading maintain possession in the middle of the park when they were high up the field. Sent some nice balls into the channels for Ehibhatiomhan to chase. Finally found himself in some space to shoot midway through the second half and forced a good save out of the ‘keeper.
Slid in cleanly in the box to win Reading the ball back in injury time, helping get the team across the line with the win.
Struggled to find a role for himself in the first half, only getting 18 touches of the ball and occasionally losing it. Left his arm way out wide when jumping for a header in his own box and found himself very lucky not to be called for handball.
Had to do the vast majority of his work in Northampton’s half, and often struggled with the tight pressure, especially early in the second as the midfield opened up. Made way for Doyle in the 65 minute.
Whipped in an absolutely fantastic ball from the edge of the box on the left, causing havoc in the six-yard box for Northampton. Found O’Connor at the back post with a powerful early corner delivery.
Sent a nice early cross in for Ritchie on the 30th minute, doing a great job of dropping it between the centre-backs. Arrived on the edge of the box midway through the second half but saw his curling shot blocked out for a corner.
Helped turn Reading’s possession into creativity multiple times through the game.
Full of fire in the early stages, and happy to make a cynical foul when needed. Often had strong words for the players around him. Got on the end of a Savage cross totally unmarked but couldn’t quite find the angle he needed.
Put in a sturdy challenge shortly after that from which he never recovered, and had to be withdrawn before the first half ended.
Had to lead the line tonight with Jack Marriott out of the XI. Struggled a little aerially in the first 15 minutes, miscontrolling a few first touches. Took a knock to his shoulder midway through the first half and needed a few minutes of treatment before returning.
Leapt onto a win-back from Lane and whipped a ball across the front of the goal early in the second half but couldn’t quite pick out Kyerewaa.
Redirected Lane’s powerful cross into the far corner, getting his angles perfect to guide Reading into the lead.
Followed up his goal by streaking down the left and finding O’Mahony in front of the goal, but unluckily didn’t see an assist added to his tally.
Snapped into life early on, chasing high. Helped Reading get into Northampton’s half a few times, creating some nice triangles with Savage and Jacob. Given a good opportunity to cross on 15 minutes but could only find ex-Royal Nesta Guinness-Walker.
Charged down a clearance early in the second half to create a chance for Kelvin to get into the box. Again won the ball well on the edge of the box for Reading shortly after, and did a good job of nipping in right after Reading had lost the ball a few times.
Got the reward for his second half effort with an assist on Ehibhatiomhan’s goal, jinking towards the box and finding a good curling cross.
Came on for the stricken Ritchie in the first half and injected a bit of energy into the Royals. Forced a decent save out of the keeper from outside of the box shortly after coming on.
Played more aggressively than Ritchie, pressing high up and almost getting onto Ehibhatiomhan’s early flash across the goal. Had to take a yellow card when he lost the ball in midfield, dragging back his man.
Injected some good energy into Reading’s attack when he came on, often getting very deep into Northampton’s half to act as an extra winger. Helped Reading take the sting out of the game whenever it came onto his side, smartly winning free-kicks out of a Northampton team that found itself getting frustrated.
Failed to make much of an impact coming on, with the ball going out wide a lot. Understandably then, a lot of the work he got through tonight was coming from the outside of the box. Made one good dribble but struggled when often outnumbered deep in Northampton’s half.
Got in the way of a shot on goal shortly after coming down, but should have had a goal minutes later. Slid in well to reach a Kelvin cross but couldn’t get it around the ‘keeper.
Loose with his passing, but helped Reading to get out of the game with a clean sheet.
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