Anssi Jaakkola: 7

Proving himself to be an excellent shot stopper. Whilst his distribution remains slightly dodgy, Jaakkola made a number of good saves and was commanding of his area when Middlesbrough put crosses into the box.

Andy Yiadom: 6

Had a generally good game, limiting the threat down Middlesbrough’s left side and providing a decent attacking threat. Let down by Boro’s goal though, as there’s no way he should have allowed left-back George Friend to get in a position to score.

Gabriel Osho: 6

Started off very shakily on his debut, losing the ball a couple of times and finding life tough against Assombalonga. However, he grew into the game and became more composed on the ball and nullified the Boro striker’s threat. His charge forward from defence to the edge of Middlesbrough’s box in the second half was a real highlight.

Tyler Blackett: 6

As in almost every game, we saw the good and the bad of Tyler Blackett. For the second week in a row, he was solid and commanding next to a debutant centre-back, but concentration lapses remain in his game and he gave the ball away far too easily.

Omar Richards: 5

Provided a good threat going forward, but was a huge liability defensively. Out-muscled on a number of occasions, whilst Ryan Shotton had particular joy down the flank against the academy graduate. Lack of communication with Barrow led to Boro’s goal.

Leandro Bacuna: 6

For the large part, Bacuna was a composed figure in the middle of the park as he tried to drive Reading forward and create chances both for himself and teammates. He became erratic, especially in his passing, in the final ten minutes though as the Royals pushed for an equaliser.

Andy Rinomhota: 7

Every time I watch Rinomhota, I’m hugely impressed and excited. Strong in the tackle and a surprisingly calming influence for someone of his age, he kept things ticking over nicely in midfield, dropping into the defence when needed as well.

Mo Barrow: 6

If Reading were going to score (but let’s be honest they weren’t), then Barrow would undoubtedly have been involved. The Gambian was the Royals’ main attacking threat throughout the game, using his pace and trickery on a number of occasions, but all too often his final delivery let him down. At fault for Boro’s goal as well.

Josh Sims: 5

Battled well down the right hand side but nothing would quite come off for him. His day had long been done by the time he was replaced by McCleary.

Danny Loader: 5

Struggled to get into the game, as shown by his withdrawal on 70 minutes, but he remained bright in patches and tried to send Baldock through a couple of times.

Sam Baldock: 4

I don’t want to be too harsh on Baldock because he had to work with very limited service, but he just wasn’t the right attacking option for Reading in this game, especially as a lone striker. Gave the Royals virtually no outlet at all, and the chances he did have were poorly taken.

Substitutes

John Swift: 5

Failed to get involved in the game after his introduction on 70 minutes.

Garath McCleary: N/A

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson: N/A

Both McCleary and Bodvarsson should arguably have been introduced much earlier than the final ten minutes.

Average rating: 5.7/10

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