Reading FC 1-1 Hull City: Player Ratings

Vito Mannone: 6

Mannone did nothing wrong yet he’s not quite grown into the boots of Ali Al-Habsi just yet. That’s not got much to do with his on field performances, but rather that he’s not got that overall spark and warmth that Al-Habsi used to bring to the squad. Hopefully that’ll come in time but right now the Italian can be pretty happy with his start to life in Berkshire.

Chris Gunter: 5

Many will blame his slip for the goal but once again Gunter found himself with no backup from either Liam Moore, nor the covering midfielders. Joey van den Berg is nowhere in sight of the goal once again, nor Dave Edwards, which ultimately led to Paul McShane having to come out of position in the first place.

That being said, Gunter was ineffective in providing an attacking outlet, which given Hull’s setup, he really should have been.

Not an awful performance and the scattering of boos he earned upon being subbed off were in poor taste.

Paul McShane: 6

Solid performance from the skipper against his old team, with plenty of balls won in the air and the type of commitment and drive we’ve come to expect. His missed tackle did prove a big factor in the goal but otherwise he did his job pretty well.

You’ll always be left wanting that little bit more when he strides out of the backline on the ball but if he had those qualities in his game, he wouldn’t be at Reading Football Club.

Liam Moore: 6

Not his best afternoon but far from a poor one either. A 93% passing success rate, six aerial duels won and two tackles is a big reason he was statistically our second best performer on WhoScored.com but he’ll be replaying his missed chance in the final minute when he goes to bed tonight, that would have earned him that 7/10.

Tyler Blackett: 4

It was back to the poor Blackett of old today and another damning reason why he’s just not cut out to be a left-back, especially at home. Time and time again, Blackett was given time and space to create something positive, yet moves always seemed to slow down when he got the ball.

Throw in a poor defensive header in the buildup to the goal and you can 100% justify Stam’s decision to sub him just seconds after half-time. Fortunately for Blackett, Jordan Obita’s injury will likely lead to him getting more game time, though I’m certain Blackett wouldn’t have wanted a reprieve to come in such circumstances.

Joey van den Berg: 6

Today was an example of why Stam turns to Joey time and time again. He was inspirational in patches, with one charging run through the middle the sort of run you’d have seen from Phil Parkinson or Mick Gooding in years gone by.

Yet there were still those lapses, the moments when urgency and concentration was just lacking and almost led to calamity.

Dave Edwards: 5

An anonymous performance from the former Wolves stalwart, who did little to show why he’s an obvious upgrade on George Evans, Leandro Bacuna or forgotten man Stephen Quinn (Don’t worry Quinny, I won’t forget you :’( ).

He struggled to impose himself on the game and there were few flashes of the Edwards we’d seen from his Molineux years, the one who used to pop up in the box and score some crucial goals. It’s still very early in his Reading career but he’s not had the Mikele Leigertwood start we might have dreamed of.

Liam Kelly: 5

In the first ten minutes, Kelly was easily our standout man. Sadly his next 50 or so were equally forgettable. I understand why fans booed his subbing and I’d have been tempted to stand by him, yet Kelly didn’t have a very good game and had no immediate signs that was going to change if he stayed on.

Again, this is still a very young man in terms of game time in this division and he’ll hopefully learn from frustrating afternoons like these.

Roy Beerens: 5

This man has to be on borrowed time when it comes to being a regular starter. Quite what the Dutchman brings to an attacking lineup is difficult to appreciate and while I know he’s produced some stunning moments of quality, they always seem to be offset by far more minutes of languid, ineffectual play.

There’s some real talent in Beerens game and I’m sure some of his limitations are as the result of tactical decisions from his boss but I don’t see Reading taking giant steps forward with the Dutchman a regular starter. He’s got a useful role to play in the squad but Barrow’s return can’t come soon enough.

Sone Aluko: 6

The best of our starting trio up front and when good things were happening, it tended to be because of the club record signing. Yet that tag is a difficult one for any player to live up to and so far Aluko hasn’t quite had that moment to win the fans, those who felt we overpaid anyway, over.

Perhaps his late assist for Jon Dadi Bodvarsson becomes the moment it all clicked into place. Certainly it was a moment well worthy of praise and had he been a little bit more involved in the previous 85 minutes, this may have been a 7/10 rating.

There’s promise and potential with Aluko and I’m confident we’ve not seen the best of him yet.

Garath McCleary: 5

Oh for the McCleary of this time last season. Injuries seem to be catching up to the Jamaican who put in a hard working yet pretty ineffectual display against the Tigers. WhoScored has him down for just one dribble in the game and that summed up what we saw from McCleary on Saturday. He was often the central of the three forwards and that just isn’t where he’s been so deadly over the years.

His best moments came during a 10 minute spell when he was back to linking up with Gunter in an overlapping 4-4-2 style period, yet that sadly fizzled out fairly quickly as McCleary began to drift inside once again.

SUBSTITUTES

Jordan Obita: 6

Absolutely gutted to see the defender stretchered off on the full-time whistle, with what seems to be a very serious knee problem. Obita had been one of the standout performers of the second-half and finally got the home crowd off their feet.

His crosses may have proved ineffectual but he at least had that hunger and attacking intent that seemed missing during the first-half.

Hopefully his injury isn’t as serious as first feared because we’ll very much miss him if so.

Tiago Ilori: 6

Fine display from the Portuguese defender, who may have come on in a difficult atmosphere but performed just fine.

Not much to say really, other than I’m curious as to why Stam seems to have gone off him in recent weeks.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson: 7

Who’s our Dadi? Jon is.

The Icelandic striker finally provided a strong focal point for increasingly direct attacks. His touch and finish for the goal were superb and hopefully that goal will give him the confidence needed to kick on and lead the line.