READING FC boss Jaap Stam says 'spirit and self belief' were the key ingredients behind their remarkable comeback at Bristol City.

A Yann Kermorgant brace and Liam Kelly strike in the last 18 minutes saw Royals recover from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in an Ashton Gate thriller yesterday.

The Robins appeared to have wrapped things up after on-loan Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham had given them a 27th minute lead and then added a second from the penalty spot less than a minute after the break following Tyler Blackett's foul on Callum O'Dowda.

But substitute Kelly stepped off the bench and gave Stam's men a lifeline when he netted his first Royals goal in the 72nd minute.

Royals Academy graduate Kelly then set up the 86th minute equaliser for Kermorgant before the 35-year-old Frenchman drilled home an injury-time winner to complete a dramatic turnaround.

Stam beamed: "I'm very proud of the team and of what they've done. We conceded the first goal because we didn't do well in the build up. Then, right at the start of the second half, we concede that second goal.

"But the spirit we have in this team, we always keep going. The self belief we have in the side means we believe we can get a result against every team.

"It's a great win and it's a big compliment to the players because they stuck to the plan when, so often, you see teams get impatient when they are trying to come from behind by taking risks and playing balls they normally wouldn't.

"But we didn't do that, we played it very well, the subs came on and did well and it paid off with three points. We're very pleased with that."


More than 2,000 Royals fans made the trip down the M4 to witness a third straight Championship win for Stam's men, and ninth in 11 matches.

Royals enjoyed a whopping 72% possession at Ashton Gate as they completed a quick double over Lee Johnson's Bristol City following the 2-1 home win in late November.

Stam added: "We dominated the opposition and it gave us confidence.

“You hear people say that possession is not good enough sometimes, but if you have quality on the ball and your passing is good, you make your runs at the right time, the opposition gets tired, you get chances and eventually - if you do it well - you score goals.

"In the first half, we dominated possession but we were sometimes careless on the ball, gave it away too easily and they broke on the counter attack.

“They had quality in midfield to press at the right time, they had quality up front with Abraham who makes his runs and is a threat.

"We spoke about that in our meeting, but still it happened. We needed to step it up. That's what we were looking to do at the start of the second half, but immediately after the whistle you concede the second goal.”


Stam also hailed his players for their patience, saying: "We had two great chances in the first half, Danny Williams could have got one and Yann hit the crossbar.

“We knew we just needed to play our game better. We needed to stick to the plan, that's what we did in the second half and right to the end of the game. And it paid off.”

Reading take a break from league action as they focus on Saturday's FA Cup third round clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford (12.30pm ko).