Saturday 22 August 2015 20:21, UK
MK Dons manager Karl Robinson paid tribute to goalkeeper David Martin, who produced a series of fine saves at the Madejski Stadium to salvage a Championship point from a goalless draw.
"They were the type of saves that I pay him for," Robinson said. "It's like when strikers score goals, that's what they're paid for.
"But Dave gives us more than just his shot-stopping. His calmness, his feet, his distribution with his hands. There's so many components to Dave that, for me, he's irreplaceable.
"He marshaled the backline superbly today and the boys in front of him did a wonderful job, too.
"We felt that if we could hold on until the last 15 minutes, the game would hopefully fizzle out and we could nick something. But seven points from our first four games is a tremendous start."
Reading, though without a previous league win this season, started the brighter. Hal Robson-Kanu glanced a header wide and had a shot blocked.
MK responded when Rob Hall dispossessed Jordan Obita wide on the right, cut in and narrowly missed with an angled 20-yard shot.
But Reading continued to dominate, with Orlando Sa twice denied by firm last-ditch tackles from, first, Antony Kay and then Kyle McFadzean.
Sa, Robson-Kanu, Danny Williams, after a long solo run, and Stephen Quinn all went close to making the breakthrough.
Yet MK almost snatched the lead shortly before half time when, after a scramble in the home area, Simon Church - the former Reading striker - jabbed a close-range shot against a post.
Martin saved well from an Oliver Norwood piledriver and saved his side time and again in the second half.
Chris Gunter, Aaron Tshibola, Williams and Norwood all had goal-bound efforts kept out by the athletic Martin.
And with MK hanging on grimly for a point near the end, Martin again had to produce his best to keep out a powerful effort from Nick Blackman.
Reading have now failed to win at home in the league in seven matches, a poor run stretching back to last season. They have also failed to score a home league goal in 626 minutes.
"That was another solid performance," Steve Clarke, the Reading manager, said. "We controlled the match from start to finish and almost every game this season has been like a carbon copy of the one before.
"But I've said to the players that if they continue like this, the goals will come. For sure. If you don't concede, you don't lose matches. Which is a good job because we haven't scored many goals this season.
"We've been doing a hell of a lot right. And if we continue like this, I'm convinced that we'll be in the top half of the table come the second half of the season. No doubts."
