FAN'S VERDICT: Reading FC 'nowhere near the standards set' against Millwall

Mark Bowen’s side were nowhere near the standards they have set themselves under him so far, not even registering a shot on target in the 2-0 defeat.

The fans were in high hopes as 1,600 travelled to South Bermondsey in the hope of seeing the first Royals win their since 2014.

The first half was below-par, but the better of the two halves from a Reading perspective, with Sam Baldock finding himself in a couple of good shooting opportunities which were quickly shut down.

This became a theme throughout, with Baldock regularly receiving long-balls to control while trying to fend off giants Jake Cooper and Shaun Hutchinson.

But the biggest moment of the half was the shocking stoppage in play for apparent homophobic abuse.

The referee stopped the game towards half-time and ran over to alert the managers before a message came over the PA system as the second half kicked off to warn supporters against discriminatory language.

It certainly sucked some of the atmosphere out of the rest of the half, with both sets of supporters trying to work out what had happened.

On a happier not, the biggest cheer of the game from the away end came in the half-time break as young children supporting both teams had a two-lap race around the pitch.

The children representing Reading won as they were being cheered on from behind the goal, and as they walked back toward the away end received a standing ovation as they clapped the supporters.

A nice moment, and one those young fans certainly won’t forget in a hurry.

Unfortunately that was as good as it got as the side were completely outfought and outplayed in the second half, mustering just one half-chance when John Swift found himself in the box trying to control the ball before putting it wide.

The rest of the final 45 minutes saw a dominant home side pressure Bowen’s side constantly, but due to resolute defending it took until the 70th minute for Matt Smith to put the Lions ahead.

Bowen went all out to try and force an equaliser by taking off Pele in order to bring on more attacking impetus, but that backfired as Swift and Ovie Ejaria were easily overrun.

Reading never looked like getting back into the game and 10 minutes later former Royal Jon-Dadi Bodvarsson put the result beyond doubt.

With just one defeat in 10, it is certainly no need to panic, but there were a couple of issues which would have caused concern.

With first-choice striker Lucas Joao out, it is clear the current system is not suiting the players.

Baldock started upfront on his own, but from early on it was obvious long-balls to the former Brighton striker were not going to work.

Bowen did bring on George Puscas for Baldock, but he once again failed to impress as he wandered aimlessly around the pitch, and his slack pass gave away possession for their second goal.

The manager has got to either change to system to suit the players he has, or go out and find someone who can play how he wants to play, because it is not working.

The game also showed how important Charlie Adam is to the team.

He did not have his best game, but he was far from terrible, still spraying some great passes around.

He was booked and came off in the second half, after which we lost all control of the ball, with Millwall debutant Ryan Woods bossing the middle of the park.

Ultimately a disappointing result, and performance, but not one to ponder over too much considering Gary Rowett’s side have only lost once at home under the former Birmingham City manager.

He has guided the London club to seventh, and are only outside of the top six on goal difference, while we dropped down to 16th, but a win on Wednesday, away to Nottingham Forest, could see us rise up to 12th.

We need to see a reaction – starting at the City Ground on Wednesday night.