Reading 3-1 Huddersfield Town: Player Ratings

Plenty of impressive performances as the Royals make it back-to-back wins and stay third in the Championship.

Joe Lumley: 6

Had very little to do all afternoon and wasn’t forced into a save after the eighth minute. Will be frustrated to have lost his clean sheet right at the end, but it was his own fault as he came out for a completely aimless punch that allowed Lees to head in.

Andy Yiadom: 6

It does feel as though Yiadom is partly wasted as part of a back three as he struggles to have an impact on the game going forward. Aside from losing possession a couple of times, he was generally defensively solid though. Hopefully his injury isn’t too serious.

Tom Holmes: 7

Nothing to really fault Holmes for as he carried out his duties with no fuss and was particularly strong in the air. Of course this comes with the caveat that Huddersfield produced very little going forward.

Tom McIntyre: 8

The star of the show, impacting the game in both boxes. McIntyre scored his second goal of the season with a thumping header from a corner and then played a key role in making it 2-0 as he played a perfect ball over the top to Jeff Hendrick. The academy graduate was pushing forward at every opportunity, but he put in a no-nonsense defensive display too.

Junior Hoilett: 7

Really growing into his role as a wing-back, particularly when it comes to what in theory should be the weaker side of his game - defending. But Hoilett is tidy and efficient when dealing with any danger and there is no real reason to worry with him on the right hand side. Looked dangerous going forward in the first half before fading after the break.

Sam Hutchinson: 7

Another confident and composed display in the holding midfield role from Hutchinson, who provided a strong defensive shield with a few key tackles and headers before dropping into the back three when Yiadom went off. On watching Huddersfield’s goal back, Lees is probably Hutchinson’s man but that doesn’t feel quite enough to mark him down.

Jeff Hendrick: 7

Probably the most dangerous going forward that we have seen Hendrick, who had multiple opportunities to score - a header in the first half, two strikes from distance in the second half - but they went begging. The own goal came from his cross though and he kept things ticking over in midfield.

Nesta Guinness-Walker: 8

His best performance in a Reading shirt to date, at least in an attacking sense. Delivered a number of dangerous crosses as he bombed forward at every opportunity and was always an outlet when the Royals mounted an attack. He did struggle defensively against Sorba Thomas but never left his team-mates in too much trouble.

Tom Ince: 8

As hard-working as ever, there is almost a template for Ince’s player rating paragraph now: he presses every ball, runs to the very last and is the team’s attacking nucleus. Got the assist for McIntyre’s header and then played the ball through to Meite which led to the substitute wrapping up the win via a touch from the Huddersfield goalkeeper.

Andy Carroll: 6

Considering that Carroll is still not fully fit, this was about as good a performance as we could have expected from the big Geordie. He didn’t really look like scoring at any point, but Carroll gave Huddersfield plenty to think about and won six aerial duels in his 72 minutes on the pitch - more than anyone else from either side. There’s no doubt he is a good option to have.

Lucas Joao: 5

The sort of performance from Joao that plays right into his critics’ hands. While he did press to a certain degree and used his physicality well on occasions, he offered minimal attacking threat and wasn’t quite the nuisance that his strike partner Carroll was.

Substitutes

Tyrese Fornah: 7

Looked lively when he came on and his driving runs forward provided a spark that Reading needed as the second half threatened to turn stale.

Yakou Meite: 7

Another player still not fully fit, Meite struggled to get involved in the game but ultimately he fulfilled his role as a substitute by grabbing the goal that made the win secure. It was his first goal in 17 months and he showed great determination and strength to get it. You could see how much it meant.

Mamadou Loum: 6

Added an extra body in midfield when he came on but did very little of note in the final 10 minutes.

Average: 6.79/10

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