Bristol Rovers 0-2 Reading: Player Ratings

Tyler Bindon was Ross’ MOTM, but who was yours?

Joel Pereira: 7

Another clean sheet for Pereira, coming in two very different halves of football. He didn’t have to make a single goalkeeping action in the first half. Distributed first time with nearly every one of his just 20 touches in the first half and misplaced just one pass.

Made his first save to ironic cheers from the Bristol Rovers fans 20 seconds into the second half. Had to make another before the first minute was out as the hosts found space down the right. Punched several crosses clear as Rovers were generally more active in the second half.

Made his best save in the 78th minute when he got his body down and stopped a late deflected shot from wriggling into the net. Celebrated it with aplomb, as he might well do.

Andy Yiadom: 6

Saw a lot of the ball in the first half, again drifting inside and often linking up with Wing. Yiadom progressed the ball into the final third with his passing several times, helping Reading to get out of the build-up phase and pin Rovers.

Withdrawn late in the second half for Abrefa. Generally a steady and progressive performance, and Yiadom has shown in the past few weeks his value with his short passing as much as his dribbling: potentially an important factor for an aging player going into next season.

Amadou Mbengue: 7

Caused Rovers several issues with his long throws today, with Reading peppering the box in the first half by hand and foot. Tried to chip the goalkeeper from the halfway line in a classic Mbengue moment early in the second half. Cleaned up the danger a few times when Rovers came out in the second half with more intent.

Had a fantastic two-minute spell in the final 10 minutes when he twice stepped in to completely end a Rovers attack. Followed one such tackle up with a peach of a ball over to Mukairu on the left wing.

Tyler Bindon: 8

Defended well in the early stages, heading crosses out of the box a few times. Bindon now sits in the top-10th percentile of centre-backs in similar leagues for aerial duel win percentage, and it’s starting to show in game after game.

Duelled aerially in an attacking sense to power a headed assist to Smith over the top of three defenders, rising with the force of a whack-a-mole rodent to force the ball forwards.

Fittingly closed his first half with a powerful header out of the box from a set play.

Topped that in the second half by somehow using his head at waist height to head the ball clear on the line when Pereira had been beaten.

Clean sheet, assist, goal line clearance. A tidy night for the tidy Kiwi.

Clinton Mola: 6

Slow to get into the game but showed good passing range today, occasionally helping Reading to switch the play with raked balls. Used one to make an excellent clearance in the second half.

More solid defensively than in any recent game, losing just two duels all night and only losing the ball with his passes. Good on the right side when moved over there after Abrefa’s introduction.

Lewis Wing: 7

With Reading even further up the pitch than they were against Lincoln City for much of the first half, Wing’s deep positioning wasn’t as much of an issue. He interplayed nicely with both Elliot and Knibbs in central midfield, and really started to heat up towards the end of the first half.

Lashed an absolutely unstoppable free kick into the top right corner, eschewing the need to go around the wall and instead nailing the top corner with biting curve. An absolute belter for Wing’s eighth league goal of the season.

Moved further forward in the second half when Craig came into the game, and came close with a pair of long shots that sailed just a little high and wide.

Took the armband once Yiadom went off and fittingly contributed to Reading’s defensive wall as they closed the game out.

Femi Azeez: 6

Almost sent through with a ball over the top that wouldn’t drop fast enough for Azeez to capitalise.

Fired a testing long shot in the closing stages of the first half, but couldn’t find himself space to shoot in the box in Reading’s dominant first half.

Gave the ball away in the penalty box shortly after the restart, and was lucky to see his teammates clean up his mistake. Looked more up for it as the second half went on. Sprinted back to shepherd a Rovers player out of Reading’s box and slow down one attack.

Created three chances in the five minutes of injury time, first getting an opportunity that he used to force a good save from the goalkeeper. Next he sliced a dangerous cross in, and finally, Azeez earned a yellow card for a Rovers defender as a parting gift, giving Wing another free kick to hit.

Ben Elliott: 6

Kept his starting place in the team for the first time this season, with Selles being complimentary of Elliott’s performance against Lincoln.

Made some nice turns to retain the ball and cycled possession well as Bristol sat in a very deep block for much of the first half. Not as effective as Wing or Knibbs, but not a hindrance by any means.

Improved in the second half in terms of passing and became a little more involved. Won the ball well in midfield, and fed Kelvin into the box for a shot on his left foot.

Withdrawn for the final 20 minutes when Selles chose to bring on the more defensively stout Craig.

Harvey Knibbs: 7

Saw one well directed shot pushed just wide of the left post by the goalkeeper shortly before the half-hour mark. Dropped back well to provide extra midfield steel when needed, and killed a few transitions by chasing down a player. Absolutely dominated physically in the first half, losing just one 50/50.

Has improved so much as a short-range passer along the ground over the course of the season and helped Reading bring different attackers into play, leading to a seemingly more balanced attack than the right-side-heavy attack we saw around Christmas when Azeez was dominant.

Excellent again for large periods of the second half as he won the ball back all over the pitch and found himself involved in most of the attacking play as well.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan: 6

Up and down but mostly up in the first half. Did lose the ball outside of the box a few times, but also won it well and got it clear just outside of his own as well.

Received the ball just outside of the box and found himself space to swing his boot, but couldn’t get it around the block in one of his most dangerous moments of the first half.

Smashed a decent shot in from a tight angle on the left when fed through by Elliott. Withdrawn for Mukairu, likely because he lost it more and more noticeably than any other Reading player.

Sam Smith: 7

Scored within 10 minutes today and then took just 22 touches all game, same as Saturday, but again managed two shots, same as Saturday. As per then, Smith continues to generate shots with minimal involvement.

With Reading dominating the territory battle, and Smith not having room to make runs in behind, he did most of his work in the air.

Showed great anticipation to rise above the closest defender and nod the ball over the goalkeeper from close range. Nodded another difficult header into the corner, but saw his shot saved before the play was stopped for being slightly offside. Earned a corner early on in the second half when he latched onto a cross into the box.

Subs

Paul Mukairu: 6

Won the ball back well in the Rovers half and fed Knibbs into the box before eventually running to retrieve it on the other side in one great moment. Received the ball far forward from Mbengue and fed Knibbs into the box again in an attack.

Michael Craig: 5

Dropped into the #6 role in the 4-1-4-1 that Wing had been occupying previously. Did precious little, touching the ball less than Abrefa despite a more central position and 10 extra minutes.

Kelvin Abrefa: N/A

Went over to left-back when replacing Yiadom. Showed some quick feet and composure on the ball and almost made a nice one-two come off with Wing to get him free in the box.

Average: 6.46/10

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