Noel Hunt's Under-21s suffered a late blow in their first Premier League Cup fixture of the season, losing 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers.

An even contest throughout, the Royals' evening was made tougher on the hour mark after new full-back John Ryan was sent off for a double booking after the break.

Dom Biniek opened the scoring on the hour mark, but substitute Jahmari Clarke drew the hosts level late on- his first appearance after missing 199 days carrying an injury.

Just as it looked as though the spoils would be shared on the opening matchday,  Zack Stritch came off the bench for Mike Sheron's side and nicked the game in the final minutes.

It is now two defeats on the spin for the Under-21s, who lost 3-0 at Arsenal in PL2 last week.

Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion are the other two teams in Group B of the Premier League Cup, a competition the Royals won in its inaugural year back in 2013/14.

Without a fixture for over a week, Leeds United visit the SCL Stadium on Friday, September 22.