Birmingham v Reading: Player Ratings

Alex McCarthy: 7

Not much to do for the Royals number one but when called upon he made some decent saves keeping us in the match. McCarthy would've got an 8 but his distribution was suspect as usual, especially on one occasion when instead of picking the ball up he cleared the ball off the pitch across the front of his own goal.

Chris Gunter: 8

Had a solid game defensively but should have shot rather than trying to pick out the pog on one promising attack, made up for it with the cross to Jobi for the winner.

Jordan Obita: 9

A brilliant performance from the youngster who looked composed on the ball and kept Chris Burke quiet most of the game. His only blip, and the reason for a 9 not a 10, was it was Burke's cross that lead to the penalty.

Alex Pearce: 7

Solid performance from the centre back, who did what was asked of him. I'm still not convinced he is the player to fit a passing style of football but does the basics well. Also, the way he reacted at the end, coming over to the fans showing his passion was great and something that is lacking in some modern football players.

Kaspars Gorkss: 6

Giving away a penalty is never going to help a rating, but overall Kaspars put in a similar performance to Pearce, Can consider himself fortunate that we managed to win the match, rather than have a draw remembered for him giving away a penalty.

Danny Guthrie: 6

It wasn't really Guthrie's day with the match seeming to pass him by a little. Was also harshly booked, I'm not sure if slide tackling is allowed any more......

Hal Robson-Kanu: 5

Within seconds of the match starting he was fouled and down for a minute or two and I wonder if this led to a largely disappointing display form the Welsh forward. Struggled to get involved and not really sure of his role within the team.

Hope Akpan: 5

Got through a lot of work and covered a lot of ground but his distribution wasn't great. Hope needs to improve this immensely if he is going to be a first team regular at a high level.

Jobi McAnuff: 8

I really want to love Jobi as a player but he's very frustrating and even on Saturday he drove me mad. Two goals plus his work rate should warrant a 9 but his decision making on occasion was lacking and overal it's confidence levels that seem to be the main things that hold him back. Regardless, his celebrations at the end with Pearce were brilliant to see and even if he's at times frustrating, he has the club in his heart and that could be worth another contract.

Royston Drenthe: 7

When involved in a move he's always a threat but when not on the ball he doesn't make much of an impact. At this level his pace is a real asset but he doesn't use it much. However. the first time he really got to stretch his legs it led to the all important first goal.

Adam Le Fondre: 5

Didn't get involved much and playing as a lone striker or with Hal isn't his game. He needs a target man to play off.

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Pavel Pogrebnyak: 7

Coming on soon after the break the Pog gave our attack focus and added work rate, harrying the opposition defenders. He has obviously learned from his mistakes earlier in his Reading career as he had a few opportunities to slide in on opposition players and didn't. Should have given us the lead but blazed a good opportunity over the bar when scoring looked easier.

Garath McCleary: 7

Coming on with the Pog, his pace was key in stretching the game and the more the open the game was, the more opportunities there were for Reading to exploit. Not his greatest performance but a key factor in changing the game.

Nick Blackman N/A

Didn't really have enough time to make an impact.

So that's how I've seen it but let me know what you think in the comments and cast your vote for your player of the game.