Clarke On Late Equaliser At Bolton Wanderers

It seemed to be another miserable Tuesday night, until the 92^nd minute when Jamie Mackie scored to equalise for the Royals against Bolton. Understandably, we had a very happy manager!

Steve Clarke told the Official club website:

"It was a big goal for us in a really important game. I felt it was important to come here, show a bit of character and not get beat.

"For a long part of the evening I thought it was going to be another game that drifted away from us. But the players showed what I asked them to show: character, determination and belief. They kept trying right to the end and they got their reward."

Bolton took the lead on the hour mark, before Mackie popped up in the 92^nd minute to rescue an important point for the Royals. It’s not the first time in recent weeks that Mackie has scored an important goal for the Royals.

Clarke told GetReading:

"It was massive in a lot of contexts. It was massive in the fact it stopped a disappointing run of two defeats. It was important to break that run as soon as we could.

"Coming to Bolton was never going to be easy and so it was important to get something from it. It was massive because it was the first goal we've scored in a couple of matches. It was important for the team to know that they can score.

"You could see the boys driving forward. When they were 1-0 down they didn't feel sorry for themselves, they just kept going. And they got their rewards. I think it was a fair reward for them at the end of the night."

Now onto a little game on Saturday in Bradford, Clarke hasn't had anything to say just yet, but I’m hoping to write positive quotes on Saturday evening!