THERE were plenty of positives for Reading FC to take from the cruel 2-1 defeat to Derby County on Friday night, writes Courtney Friday.

Royals showed flurries of attacking football which carved open the Rams’ defence early on and created several clear-cut chances.

Tiago Ilori looked like a different player at the back, keeping things calm and simple rather than trying to overplay and being caught in possession.

Modou Barrow looked as frightening as ever and John Swift showed glimpses of the player we saw in his first season at Madejski Stadium.

Some of the new additions looked like welcome assets too, particularly Dave Meyler and Andy Yiadom, who I was very impressed with on the night.

That said, it will be another long season if Reading do not learn to convert their chances.

In truth, Reading should have been 2-0 up within the first 20 minutes. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson had a one-on-one with Carson and tried to poke it underneath the veteran goalkeeper rather than lift it over him.

Minutes later, the Icelandic had another chance from the edge of the area and tried to stroke the ball into the back of the net rather than put his foot through it.

He made amends with his second-half header to put Reading in the lead but an increasingly common error by Royals’ goalkeeper let Derby back into the game.

Mason Mount let fly from distance and Vito Mannone flapped his hands at the ball which eventually trickled beyond him and into the back of the net.

Paul Clement’s side were superior in the first half and had they taken their chances it would have been an entirely different game.

But Frank Lampard got his message across at half-time and it has to be said the visitors showed their superiority for much of the second half.

The Rams played more direct and Clement’s side struggled to adapt to the situation.

An end-to-end final 10 minutes meant it was anyone’s game but Derby looked the most likely to score and sure enough they did, at the cruellest possible time.

You have to give credit to Mason Bennett for the cross and it was a sublime header by Tom Lawrence to steal all three points in the 94th minute.

It goes to show that if you switch off, even for a second, the Championship will punish you.

It was a harsh lesson for Reading to learn, but best to learn early than improve than wait until it is too late.