Charlton Athletic 0-0 Reading: Player Ratings
A better day for the defence than the attack as the Royals make it four unbeaten thanks to a goalless draw at The Valley.
Joel Pereira: 7
Commanding at the back and dealt with almost all of what came his way as he racked up a first clean sheet on the road in a long time. Beaten just the once by a powerful finish in the second half, albeit one from an offside position, and had to withstand a fair amount of Addicks pressure, particularly in the second half. One such moment led to him dropping a cross, but fortunately the hosts couldn’t capitalise.
Amadou Mbengue: 6
A solid return to right-back for a player who has for so long been a crucial part of Reading’s centre-back pairing with Tyler Bindon. Mbengue guarded that side pretty well and got forward OK, driving upfield a few times, albeit not as much as I would have liked, given his ability to do that.
Got booked in the first half for a rash challenge after one such drive upfield. Also came close to setting up Bindon with a vicious inswinging cross from the left that the youngster couldn’t quite tuck away.
Harlee Dean: 7
A second resolute showing in a week, with Dean once again looking like a rock at the heart of Reading’s defence. Dealt well with balls into the box and even cleared one off the line in the second half after Pereira had spilled a delivery into the Reading area.
Dean had his own moment to forget before the break however. Unwisely he failed to play to the whistle on one occasion when he was convinced the Charlton forward was offside. The linesman’s flag didn’t go up and the hosts got a shot off, so his blushes were spared. I’ll forgive him for that though, given the all-round strong defensive showing that earned the clean sheet.
Tyler Bindon: 7
A quietly effective shift at the back from Bindon, who seems to be forming an effective partnership with Dean now. Came close to scoring in the first half when previous centre-back partner Mbengue’s cross fell for him in the area, with the finish going wide of the far post.
Abraham Kanu: 5
Nothing too disastrous but generally unconvincing as Reading’s left-back today, with Charlton getting joy down his side in both halves. Kanu could also be more composed with his distribution.
Harvey Knibbs: 5
Worked hard in the middle out of possession but had a fairly quiet game in possession. Didn’t make much of an impact with the ball in all-round play, but did have a couple of good moments in the final third: in the first half he found space in the area but his shot was well blocked, and in the second he played Smith in behind well for a chance that should have been converted.
Lewis Wing: 5
Not a bad performance, but a little below his usual standards, failing to give Reading that bit of quality in the final third with any creativity or danger from long shots.
Charlie Savage: 7
Busy, involved and really hard-working in midfield. Got back excellently at one point in the second half to cover for a gap in behind, pretty much saving a goal thanks to that last-ditch challenge. Not a lot from him going forwards and his set-piece deliveries were poor. Still, he’s becoming an increasingly dependable player out of possession, which was so valuable in a demanding game such as this one.
Kelvin Abrefa: 5
Did a decent impression of a winger, replacing the injured Chem Campbell, and had his moments, such as a low cross in the first half which led to Knibbs’ blocked shot. Didn’t really bring all that much to the attack today though (admittedly difficult for a converted full-back), and was replaced by fellow right-back Ashqar Ahmed in the 71st minute.
Sam Smith: 5
Generally a quiet afternoon for Smith and didn’t have a lot of quality service to work with, although he did end the game with four shots (four times as many as anyone else in the team). One of those, when played through in behind by Knibbs to leave him one-on-one, really should have ended up in the back of the net, but he couldn’t beat the ‘keeper.
Andre Garcia: 6
Shunted up to left-wing in the absence of Mamadi Camara and, for me, all round he was the best of Reading’s front three. He was quieter in the first half (bar one excellent drive upfield down the right wing) but was more involved in the second, becoming a really useful and pacey outlet.
Garcia is a positive, tricky winger but he unfortunately didn’t really have the end product on top of the general promise he showed. Replaced by Wareham late on.
Subs
Ashqar Ahmed: 5
Came on in place of Abrefa and didn’t make much of an impact in his 20 minutes or so on the pitch - first as a right-winger and then as a right-wing-back - bar getting booked for a foul out wide in the 79th minute.
Jayden Wareham: N/A
Not on the pitch long enough for a rating, having replaced Garcia with four minutes of normal time to go.
Average: 5.83/10
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