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Reading's first away league game of the 2016/17 season ended in defeat at Wolves as a pair of goals either side of the break ensured we left the Midlands empty handed.
Stam made four changes from Tuesday's EFL Cup win over Plymouth, with Yann Kermorgant in for Deniss Rakels as the only switch from last weekend's Championship opener with Preston.
For the first time this season Reading found themselves on the back foot in the opening stages with Ali Al-Habsi having to make a smart stop to deny Joe Mason, while the keeper had to clear up his own mess just before half-time to save from George Saville. It was a scrappy half for Stam's side who were struggling to find the rhythm that was a trademark of their two opening week wins. The first 45 saw Reading manage just a single shot from Kermorgant but the defence looked to have held on until two minutes before the break when Matt Doherty smashed home to give Wolves the lead.
If we had hopes that Stam would produce a rousing team talk and second-half turnaround, those ambitions looked in tatters just seconds after the restart when Mason easily converted a corner, after limited Reading pressure.
If there was a bright side to the second-half it was that Reading didn't collapsed and slowly began to put more pressure on the home side. Yakou Meite replaced Roy Beerens for a league debut and almost had a goal seconds after coming on but couldn't convert Garath McCleary's corner. Sadly Wolves were still carving out the superior chances, often due to Reading's own defensive frailties, while the late introductions of Callum Harriott and Rakels failed to turn the tide.
2-0 it finished and for the first time Jaap will have the job of picking his side up from a defeat as they prepare to take on Newcastle on Wednesday night.
Becka will be along with some more detailed reflections and a set of player ratings later this weekend so stay tuned for those, while The Tilehurst End Podcast will tape on Monday so please get your thoughts in for that.
A disappointing day at the office but typical of the ones we'll have to put up with as the squad adapts to Stam's tactics.
Reading: Al-Habsi, Obita, McShane, Van den Berg, Gunter, Evans, Swift (Rakels), Williams, Beerens (Meite), McCleary (Harriott), Kermorgant