JAAP Stam reflected on a 'productive' weekend for Reading FC following back-to-back friendly matches in Holland.

Royals kicked off their 10-day Dutch tour with 1-0 defeat to Belgian top-flight side KV Kortrijk at their training base in Oosterbeek on Saturday.

Stam's men then grabbed a 2-2 draw with Turkish club Genclerbirligi in Papendal the same day.

And boss Stam said he was satisfied with the performances having fielded teams mixed with youth and experience.

He said: “They were both very good games. We’re always looking for the players to make the 90 minutes during pre-season.

“The beginning is very important because you want the players as fit as you can, so it’s very productive.

“It’s very good to play against good sides as well. Most of the youngsters who played against the Belgian team did very well. They worked very hard in how we wanted to play. The patterns that we wanted to see, they happened.

“Of course we lost 1-0 but overall I’m very pleased with the performance.

"The Belgian team finished eighth in the highest league in Belgium, so if you use players who are 16-17 years old and you see the whole game, I think they’ve done very well."

Kortrijk secured the win thanks to a second-half Idir Ouali goal before Bryan Verboom was sent off late on for a reckless challenge.

Academy graduates Josh Barrett, Danny Loader and Sam Smith had all gone close for Royals in the first half before Jake Cooper headed narrowly wide after the break.

Royals started the second match on Saturday on the front foot with recent Ajax Jong signing Pelle Clement and defender Liam Moore both wasting early chances.

However, Genclerbirligi took the lead through Marko Milinkovic who converted from close range after Anssi Jaakkoola had tipped an initial effort onto the crossbar.

Royals pressed hard for an equaliser and it eventually came 10 minutes from time when the lively Adrian Popa stabbed home after Tyler Blackett's shot had deflected onto the post.

Reading Chronicle:

Adrian Popa was on target for Royals at the weekend.

But parity was short-lived as Genclerbirligi got their noses quickly back in front with a scruffy effort following a goalmouth scramble.

Royals, though, refused to lie down and they levelled again from the last kick of the match thanks to a stunning Roy Beerens free kick.

Stam, who celebrates his 45th birthday today, added: “The Turkish team is very experienced and they had a lot of quality.

“They have a certain physique and technically they’ve got good, clever players.

“We did very well, we created a couple of very good chances right from the start with the header from Pelle and could have scored early.

"We concede two goals, one on the counter-attack and not being focused at certain times and then one from a corner kick. Okay, in those two moments you can do better, but that’s all about pre-season and improving those things.

“But Roy hit a great shot towards the end so I think it was a deserved draw. The results are not the most important things, but in how we want to play and what we want to do, you never want to lose."

Stam's 26-man squad will now enjoy a week of training and team bonding before two more friendlies behind closed doors in Oosterbeek this Saturday.

They take on Eredivisie outfit Sparta Rotterdam (11am local time) then Belgian club Cercle Brugge (1.30pm local time) before flying back to the UK.

Reading v Kortrijk: Legg (Ward 46), Frost, Obita (Richards 67), McShane (c), Cooper, East, Quinn, Rinomhota, Barrett, Loader, Smith.

Reading v Genclerbirligi: Jaakkola, Gunter (c), Blackett, Ilori, Moore, Van den Berg, Evans, Kelly, Beerens, Clement (Richards 59), Popa.