:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62742165/Gomes_Ben_Illustration.0.jpg)
Jose Gomes took charge of his first Reading game in what was a huge game against Millwall at The New Den. Sadly, the Royals came away pointless and with only nine men on the pitch. Maybe some players were trying too hard to impress our new manager and lost their concentration and discipline, just like we did when Clement started his tenure.
Millwall took the lead through Jed Wallace early in the second half but Tyler Blackett let his team down just minutes later as he went sent off. Reading then settled into the game and had chances, but any chance of getting back into the game was taken away when Leandro Bacuna was also sent off.
It is far from Gomes’ fault as he barely had time to prepare for the game, but the players must now step up and take responsibility to get us out of the relegation zone. Here is what Gomes had to say, speaking to both the official club website and Football.London.
Gomes on the game
“It was a very difficult match. Even if it has been 11 versus 11, it would have been a difficult match. Playing for 85 minutes or so with ten men - and part of those 85 minutes with nine - it was a very difficult mission for my players.
“But they fought until the very last second, and until the last second the game was open - so I’m proud of their attitude, what they showed on the pitch,
“They fought, they played, they tried, they kept the ball and for long periods we controlled the game. We have to control ourselves better though, because these red cards cannot help us in our situation.
“But we controlled the game with the ball, with a player less, and we created some chances. It means we could have controlled the game easily with eleven players and created more goalscoring situations. So I am confident for the future.
“So what do we have...on one hand we didn’t like the result, we didn’t like the red cards. On the other hand, we are proud of our attitude and the blood that my players showed they have inside them - they were brave.
”And our fans supported us and helped the players from the very beginning to the last second. So they deserved at least a point, in my opinion.”
Gomes on the red cards
“I haven’t seen the replays and even if I had, what can I do? It’s done. It’s difficult to be a referee. We have a lot of problems, we don’t need to create problems with the referee.
Gomes on Bodvarsson missing out
“It’s not an injury. I can only bring 18 players. I am only choosing based on what I have seen - two training sessions.
“We’ll see in the future. I said to the players - I will choose by myself so show me what I can do. The players we put on the pitch showed they were ready to get the three points.”
Gomes playing out from the back
“I have not seen the data yet but for a long period of time we controlled the game. And we lost it because we tried to do something because of a front out pass or a dribble.
“Otherwise we controlled the ball all the time.”
Gomes on the Championship
“It’s difficult but we will learn everything very quickly. Today was a very good experience to know how to play against a team like Millwall.
“The players did a great job so even with a coach of 20 years experience in the Championship I don’t know if they could do better.”
Gomes on QPR fixture
“We don’t have time to cry. We must put our focus on the next match, see how I can prepare the team for QPR.
”I have had only two training sessions with the players, who had to recover from Saturday at the same time. So it is a difficult challenge. But I am very happy with my players, they really showed that we can count on them.
”At the moment we cannot think in the long-term. Right now, we must think of the short-term goals. And in the short-term, it is about preparing and recovering for the next match which is in just three days. It’s a difficult task, but with this spirit, we will get there.”