Reading v Birmingham: Player Ratings

Alex McCarthy: 7

Possibly the quietest game McCarthy's had this season but he still produced when required and made a good stop late on with Reading already 2-0 up. The 'keepers kicking still remains his weakest area but when that's the worst I've got to say about him, you know we've got a real talent.

Wayne Bridge: 7

Solid as they get, Bridge slotted back into the starting eleven with ease and was a model of composure as he kept Birmingham's front-line quiet.

Sean Morrison: 7

Also steady stuff from the captain who battled well and completed the simple things.

Alex Pearce: 7

Typical strong performance from Pearce who was winning every header and helped keep Zigic quiet when the 6'8" striker was introduced in the second half.

Chris Gunter: 7

A good performance from Gunter who got up and down the right well all game especially during the first half when he was linking up very well with his former Forest team-mate Garath McCleary. If he plays like this all the time then Stephen Kelly will find it hard to displace the Wales international.

Danny Guthrie: 9

My man of the match, with another very composed and assured performance from Guthrie who got both goals and kept the play ticking over well. His range of passing is terrific and while his display did drift towards the end he'd more than done his job by that point.

Chris Baird: 7

Baird did all of the simple things right in this game and he linked up well with Guthrie and the back four to keep Birmingham's dangermen quiet all game. He's a good vocal presence on the pitch and his experience should really help the squad over the coming months.

Hal Robson-Kanu: 6

A disappointing game by Kanu's recent high standards and a shame considering that I thought HRK was just coming back into form. He wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination and won the free-kick for the second goal but the winger will lament a missed opportunity to really produce the goods.

Garath McCleary: 8

A real menace throughout the first half in particular and McCleary has to be up there when it comes to our player of the month for September with another fine performance. His pass through for Pog's chance in the first half was awesome and he was very unlucky not to grab a goal in the second half only to be denied by Randolph. He went off with what looked like an impact injury so fingers crossed he's OK for Barnsley.

Pavel Pogrebnyak: 7

Pog picked up where he left off against Derby and he would probably have earned an 8 had he converted his big chance in the first half. This was perhaps the most committed performance from the Pog that we've seen over 90 minutes as the Russian chased down every ball and held up the ball well when needed. Here's hoping the arrival of Sharp only gives him extra motivation to keep up this turn around.

Adam Le Fondre: 6

A typical hard working shift from Alfie but again he failed to really shine when given the chance to start. Le Fondre didn't really have a clear cut chance but the amount of times he was caught offside was frustrating and the former Rotherham striker is still yet to show us why he should be starting week in week out.

Substitutes

Hope Akpan: 6

Did OK when he came on but had little time to make a real impact, given just 12 minutes in a game that was already won.

Jordan Obita: 6

See the above.

Stephen Kelly: 6

Kelly had a slightly surreal seven minutes being employed a makeshift right-winger but I can't remember him touching the ball.