Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Reading FC: Instant Report

Reading FC: Al Habsi; Gunter, McShane, Cooper, Obita; Norwood, Quinn, Williams; Piazon, Vydra, Kermorgant.

Subs: Bond, Taylor, Evans, Ferdinand, Fernandez, John, Cox.

A stunning goal at the death from Ola John allowed Reading to claim a well-earned victory after a frustrating afternoon at the Macron Stadium.

The struggling home side rarely threatened in a first half that was dominated by the Royals. Both Matej Vydra and Danny Williams were unable to capitalise on half chances which came their way, but the Royals were rewarded for their attacking industry with a penalty on 20 minutes, as Vydra was felled in the box by Rob Holding, who was shown a red card. It was Vydra who picked himself up to take the spot kick, but he was unable to beat former Manchester United youth product Ben Amos, who produced a fine save to keep the Czech out. The rest of the first half continued in much the same vein, but the Royals were unable to find a goal before the interval that their dominance arguably merited.

This dominance continued into the second half, but still the visitors struggled to turn their efforts into clear-cut chances. Lucas Piazon's cross was almost converted by the head of Yann Kermorgant, before Jordan Obita saw his effort drift over after an ambitious break forward from the left back. Brian McDermott called upon the tricky feet of Ola John on 61 minutes to try and break down the resilience of Bolton's ten men, with Piazon making way for the Dutchman, before swapping Vydra for Simon Cox ten minutes later.

As the game drew to a close, the Royals laid siege to the Bolton penalty area, with attempts from Cox, Williams and John all unable to find the back of the net, before Stephen Quinn saw his effort beat Ben Amos, but not his woodwork. As Bolton scrambled to clear their lines, Obita almost capped off a fine individual performance with a goal, but he couldn't keep his 88th minute effort on target.

Just as it seemed as the Royals were going to have the make do with a point, Ola John unleashed an injury-time screamer from thirty yards out to finally beat the Ben Amos in the Bolton goal and claim a deserved three points for Reading.

We'll have a full report and player ratings up a little later this weekend so please check back for that later on.