STEVE Clarke blamed Reading FC’s lacklustre first half for their failure to beat Huddersfield Town.

Royals put in a ragged display in the opening 45 minutes on Tuesday where the return of fit-again Anton Ferdinand did little to shore up the defence.

It took Jamie Paterson just 64 seconds to break Reading’s resistance with the first goal and, though Oliver Norwood levelled, Nahki Wells put Terriers 2-1 up at the break.

Clarke made a double substitution at half-time and Ola John came off the bench to equalise with six minutes to go to secure the draw.

But Clarke was far from pleased with what he saw, stating: “It was a night we made very difficult for ourselves.

“We gave away a goal within two minutes. We huffed and puffed a little bit, got ourselves back in it at 1-1 but it was quite a disappointing first half performance.

“And the biggest disappointment for me was that we allowed them to score a second and get in front again before half-time.

“That made the second half more difficult, but credit to the players, they stuck at it and we kept probing away and eventually one of the substitutes got us a point.”

However, Clarke knows his side cannot be so generous at the back again if they are to end a four-match streak without a Championship win.

Reading go to Cardiff City this Saturday, and Clarke added: “I had to make changes at half-time because we were too wide and too open in the first half.

“The introduction of Ola gave us a little spark, and he got the equaliser which is great for him.

“He’s been a little bit frustrated as he’s missed out on a few of the squad selections recently because of the five loan player rule, so I’m pleased I put him on and I’m pleased he showed everybody what he can do.

“Huddersfield defended very well and we have to settle for the point and move on.”

Clarke is likely to reward John for his goalscoring cameo on Tuesday night with a starting berth at Cardiff City at the expense of either Garath McCleary or Lucas Piazon.