Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Reading: Weathering The Storm
Harvey Knibbs’ first-half equaliser earned the Royals a valuable away point in Noel Hunt’s first game back in charge.
That’ll do very nicely indeed. The second Noel Hunt managerial era is up and running, with his spell as permanent Reading manager kicking off with a pretty impressive 1-1 draw at Wycombe Wanderers.
There were plenty of reasons to be pessimistic heading into this game. The Royals were coming into the tie at the end of a gruelling week with two home games in quick succession, had tough weather conditions to contend with that were bound to disrupt any attempts to get the ball on the deck and express themselves, were facing a league-leading Wycombe side in red-hot form and - of course - had just been dealt the body blow of losing Ruben Selles to Hull City. The perfect storm, you could say.
As much as Hunt is loved and respected by fans and players alike, and thoroughly backed by a board that’s given him a contract until 2027, his predecessor has loomed large at this club over the last two seasons. Selles has been an integral part of Reading Football Club; Hunt had big shoes to fill.
However, Hunt’s inheritance was a Reading side which has been improving on the road recently. Having lost three of their first four league away games, the Royals have since won twice, lost once and drawn twice in their previous five league away matches.
The task for Hunt? To continue that uplift while weathering this week’s literal and metaphorical storm. How to do it? Retain the confidence, resilience and intelligence which have been become more prominent on the road in the last couple of months.
He passed with flying colours. Reading weren’t perfect against Wycombe - they’ll play better on the road for sure, being more creative and ruthless in the final third in particular - but they stepped up to the occasion excellently and showed no signs whatsoever of a post-Ruben hangover.
Hunt made one change to the side that beat Cambridge United 3-0. Harvey Knibbs made it off the bench last time out but started this time, taking Mamadi Camara’s place on the left wing.
Reading (4-3-3): Pereira; Craig, Mbengue, Bindon, Dorsett: Elliott, Wing, Savage; Campbell, Smith, Knibbs
Subs: Button, Ahmed, Dean, Holzman, Garcia, Camara, Wareham
Reading started the game strongly, playing much of the first quarter of an hour on the front foot, but clear-cut chances were hard to come by. Lewis Wing put a deflected shot from range wide and Chem Campbell had a go himself, with the same result.
Wycombe grew into the game around quarter of an hour in though and, in the first quality moment of the game in either third, took the lead. Jack Grimmer had far too much space down Reading’s left to put a cross in and sent in an excellent low delivery, which Beryly Lubala beat Michael Craig to, converting at close range.
Reading faded for a time after that goal, losing the momentum and control they’d had at 0-0. Before long though, they were back on level terms.
A Wycombe defender failed to deal with a long ball from Amadou Mbengue, allowing Sam Smith in behind. He should have beaten the keeper one on one, but could only draw a save - Harvey Knibbs was on hand thought to coolly collect the rebound and convert: pretty much a carbon copy of one of his goals at Peterborough United.
Reading grew into the game at that point, negating the improvement that the hosts had shown around the time of the first goal. Neither side could find another goal before the interval though.
Wycombe were on top for a fair while after the restart. Reading’s first-half composure fell away, with the Royals surrendering possession cheaply too often, meaning the ball kept coming back at them.
The home side piled on the pressure at that point, sensing a goal, and it was certainly their strongest period of the match. However, the Royals held firm, even if they came close to surrendering the 1-1 scoreline. Tyler Bindon came up trumps at one point when Daniel Udoh rounded Joel Pereira, only for the young New Zealander to get back and snuff out the chance before it could be tucked away.
Just as they had done in the first half though, Reading eventually managed to grow back into the contest. Wycombe’s momentum was stalled and the Royals started to play their own game, probing for a second goal. However, that wasn’t translated into quality chances, with Reading unable to break Wycombe down and having to settle for longer-range efforts through Ben Elliott and Wing, as well as a Bindon header that didn’t trouble the ‘keeper, and a big Smith penalty shout that resulted in a yellow card for simulation.
Hunt made just one alteration in the second half, and it was a very Selles-esque one: Savage was replaced by Mamadi Camara with 12 minutes to go, which meant left-winger Knibbs slotting into Savage’s midfield spot. However, neither Knibbs nor Camara could impact the game enough in the closing stages.
Wycombe pressed for a winner though, meaning Reading had a fairly nervy ending to ride out. Garath McCleary, a second-half substitute, forced a good save from Pereira to his left with an effort from range, but that was about as close as the Chairboys came to finding a late goal, with Reading managing the lead well.
So overall a well contested affair, pretty scrappy at times, in which both sides had stronger periods going forwards. Wycombe and Reading were fairly evenly matched overall and, while either team could have won it, a 1-1 draw feels about right.
Given the Royals’ previous struggles on the road, this result and the manner in which it came were very pleasing. This is now a team that knows what it’s doing on the road and plays with confidence - not the pushover it’s been guilty of defaulting into in the past.
While the hosts weren’t all that impressive for a table-topping side, they were still a strong outfit. Therefore, seeing Reading largely match them and take a deserved point (and for it to not seem all that remarkable) is testament to the improvement on the road the Royals have shown recently - and which Hunt has continued.
An impressive and encouraging return to the Reading first-team dugout for Hunt then. Keep it up Noel!