Reading 2-0 Wigan Athletic: Player Ratings
There's plenty of praise all round from an excellent first home performance of the season.
Joel Pereira: 6
Made a good save low with his feet from Wigan’s best chance of the opening half hour, but maybe could have prevented the chance at all with more alertness of his line.
Still struggling a little with his distribution, especially out to the right side of the field, and especially when he has to hit long. Occasionally holds the ball a little too long at the back, but is generally capable of finding the open man in the short game..
Made a strong stop with two hands from Wigan’s first real tester of the second half, getting the ball away for a corner, but ultimately didn’t have too much to do today, with Wigan only managing three shots on target and only connecting on 14% of their crosses.
Michael Craig: 7
A steady opening half for Craig, as he used space in both an inverted midfield role, and while out on the touchline, very well. Won several handy free-kicks again by getting his body in front of the ball and taking contact.
Clearly so trusted by the coaching staff, with him often being the furthest man withdrawn at attacking set players. Used a few of those cleanup opportunities today to deliver searching balls into the box that helped Reading recycle the danger.
Amadou Mbengue: 7
Drove forward incredibly well with those famous legs of his.
At one point made it from the edge of his box to the edge of Wigan’s with powerful running down the right channel.
Saved Reading from a few dangerous balls over the top by having the pace to beat Wigan’s onrushing attackers. Yes, he obviously uses his pace, but shows great anticipation in these moments to understand where opponents want to play the ball.
Tyler Bindon: 7
Very solid, and shows a great understanding of how to close the distance with an attacker slowly to suffocate their space. Squeezed Wigan’s wingers out wide often when they wanted to come inside, helping to deny them shots in the right half space.
Barely put a foot wrong in possession today. Has less to do than in 2023/24, with Wing so close to him now, but just doesn’t dawdle on the ball unless he’s trying to bait an opponent in. Excellent at that too though, and often tries to bait in a player before moving the ball on, helping Reading move the opposition and making space for Wing.
Jeriel Dorsett: 7
Seems to have been working on his crossing over the summer which has hugely improved his usefulness at left-back. Whipped in one particularly excellent cross for Sam Smith at the back post, that should have rewarded Dorsett with an assist. Unlucky not to score in the first half with his backheeled flick that was cleared off the line in a scramble.
So excellent one-on-one, at one point running with a dangerous Wigan runner into midfield and just shoulder barging him off the ball with ease. Often steps forward out of the backline nicely to spring passes the other way when momentum is shifting towards his own net, catching players off guard.
Lewis Wing: 7
Calm and collected at the back when called upon, at one point almost too coolly taking two touches in his own box to dance away from onrushing attackers. Responsible for many of the impressive balls over the top in the early stages that allowed Reading to start the game in a dominant manner.
Stepped in well both in midfield, and occasionally as the last line of defence for Reading, and seems to be enjoying his more reserved role. Delivered some difficult set pieces right underneath Wigan’s crossbar, helping Reading create numerous penalty-box scrambles.
Charlie Savage: 7
Made his first start of the season in the home opener as he did last year, and was given a big pair of shoes to fill with Harvey Knibbs out. What that did do though was open up the left side of midfield for Savage, allowing him to play in his preferred position.
Scored his second goal of the week just seven minutes into the game, sliding the ball into the far corner: a strike that only became more impressive to me as the first half went on and Tickle in net showed his quality.
Had a tidy first half, interplaying nicely with Elliott at times and helping Reading to progress down the field. Tired a bit in the second half, but blocked and cleared the ball in the box from one tricky Wigan shot late in the game, showing no lack of commitment.
Ben Elliott: 8
Produced a different performance to last week with Savage often pushing a little further forward, but made a trove of correct decisions, small and seemingly insignificant ones, that allowed Reading to progress down the field. Is often the player to break the lines, or wrongfoot a defender with a directional first touch.
Has become so strong with a player on his back, and did exceptionally well at one point in the second half: walking the ball out of trouble in his own third and then sliding it forward to an onrushing player, with three Wigan players troubling him. Small moments like that, rather than a player booting it clear, are the difference between an average and a good team.
Played a huge role in Kelvin’s goal, taking an air ball down, turning in midfield, and then driving forward before sliding the ball delicately into the path of Smith before he broke the offside trap.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan: 8
Absolutely exceptional in the first half, dominating in the left half space and requiring Wigan to double up on him.
Got to the byline several times for cutbacks, and was rewarded with an assist early on when Savage slipped his cross home. Almost got a second assist when he cleverly flicked the ball back toward Dorsett in a goalmouth scramble.
Saw a powerful shot palmed away by Tickle, and then curled another just over the top corner shortly before half time.
Runs with power and is so hard to take down. Got Rankine booked for taking him down just outside of the area when he otherwise would have been through on goal.
Continued his scoring start to the season in the second half, being alert to the rebound opportunity in behind when Wigan had switched off while begging for an offside.
Again: absolutely exceptional today. Has stepped up to offer dynamic threat in the weeks without Azeez very well.
Mamadi Camara: 6
Had a useful first half, with space opened up on his side of the field by Kelvin scaring Wigan on the other. Did well to find space in front of the box late in the first half for a shot, but dragged his effort wide of the post. Presses energetically, and is good at coming out of an opponent’s blind spot to challenge for the ball.
Continued to find space on the edge of the box and had a pair of opportunities to slip Smith free in the box shortly after the break, but couldn’t quite find the right power for either.
Showed his versatility when Azeez came on, switching over to the left side and continued to help out but tired a little as the game went on.
Sam Smith: 6
Is great at spotting an opportunity to capitalise on any hesitation in the backline to steal the ball, and once in possession helped Reading to recycle the ball repeatedly in the first half.
Given a fantastic chance by Dorsett’s cross shortly after the half hour mark. Six yards out but with a tough finish to hit with the speeding waist high ball, Smith could only blaze it over.
Crashed into Tickle a little before the hour mark and came up lame, but did fantastically well just a minute later to time his run beyond the defence and beat the offside trap, before his shot rebounded to Kelvin and into the back of the net.
Continued to plug away despite the seeming knock, winning the ball and time for Reading well with two free kicks in quick succession after Kelvin’s goal.
Subs
Femi Azeez: 6
After tweaking his back before Birmingham last week, Reading fans will have been delighted to see Femi back on the team sheet today, even if it was on the bench. Made his first appearance of the season, replacing Ehibhatiomhan.
Took a while to get settled in the game, but began to show us what he can do, first finding a nice turn to win Reading a corner, then jumping on a loose Wigan touch in midfield to drive forward and get a shot off. Combined the two moves lastly to produce a nice spin and shot on net.
Andre Garcia: 6
A really willing runner. Sometimes a little too eager to join the press, knocking down one Wigan player in their box shortly after coming on, but helped Reading to close out the game very well.
Jayden Wareham: N/A
Injected energy into Reading at the death, and helped the team see out four minutes of extra time. Alongside Garcia and Abrefa, his introduction allowed Reading to finish the game on the front foot, with the team putting three shots on net after the 90th minute
Kelvin Abrefa: N/A
Came on very late to help Reading see the game out by pressing from the front. Made a nice turn to step away from a much bigger defender and put a shot on Tickle.
Average: 6.76/10
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