Much more bad than good for Reading FC in defeat to Luton Town

Luke Southwood - 5

Not much he could do about either of the goals and made a couple of decent stops. About average - which is a pretty good performance but the standards of the rest of his teammates.

Ethan Bristow - 5

Improved on his Middlesbrough performance and tried to give his side an outlet going forward but ultimately, couldn’t do much with the ball other than one speculative shot from distance. Couldn’t get close to Luton for their second goal as they tore Reading to pieces down the Royals’ left side.

Michael Morrison - 7

The stand-out Reading player by some distance, Morrison on his return from injury didn’t look as if he’d missed a day. Held the patchwork defence together with constant communication while he always looked to get Reading going with his forward passing. Not much more he could have done.

Tom Holmes - 5

It’s been a few tough weeks on the trot now for Holmes. Battled with Adebayo and largely held his own but the first half own goal will take the headlines. Could he have actually done any better? It’s hard to say, but it was certainly a big moment in the game.

Tom Holmes tries his luck in the first half. Image by: JasonPIX

Tyrell Ashcroft - 5

Returning to the side from the concussion suffered against Derby County, Ashcroft didn’t make any glaring errors but also didn’t add much to this Reading performance. 

Danny Drinkwater - 4

It’s hard to believe this is the same player that was so crucial to Leicester’s title win in 2016. Game mostly just seems to pass him by and while he should be a leader in this inexperienced Reading team, he’s closer to a passenger. Booked late on.

Josh Laurent - 5

Ran hard and gave his all but started brighter than he finished and struggled a bit to take control of the midfield battle. Seemed to frequently get caught between getting up the pitch and dropping deep.

John Swift - 5

Another who should be taking more responsibility, Swift had his fair share of nice touches but never really looked like making the telling contribution his team needed from him. Roamed between midfield and attack but mostly got lost in the middle.

John Swift shoots at goal. Image by: JasonPIX

Andy Rinomhota - 6

One of Reading’s better performers on the night he ran and ran for the full 90 minutes playing in a variety of positions from right wing to right-wing-back to central midfield. Created the Royals best opening ely on with a driving run into the box but coudn’t pick anyone out in the middle.

Tom Dele-Bashiru - 4

Had one nice run with the ball in the firsthalf that was eded with a foul. Other than that he did pretty mich nothing before being replaced by Jahmari Clarke in the second half. For a player who clearly has talent, he needs to be doing a lot more.

George Puscas - 3

An easy scapegoat but Readng just look so blunt with Puscas up front. Chased and worked hard but never looked like doing anything at all. Seems totally lost.

Substitutes

Lucas Joao - 6

A decent cameo from the Portuguese forward. Worked hard and got into some good positions. Didn’t have any clear-cut opportunities and some rusty touches but slowly starting to look like the player he was last season.

Jahmari Clarke - 5

Thrown on with Reading chasing goals, he tried but couldn't really get into the game. 

Mamadi Camara - 5

Played the last ten minutes and tried to make something happen with his trickery on the ball but it was much too little too late with Reading already two goals behind and going nowhere when the winger was introduced.