Reading 3-1 Bristol City: Royals record first win in six league games

Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Reading and Bristol City at the Madejski Stadium as goals from Yakou Meite and Lucas Joao helped to end the Royals' run of five games without victory

By Dan Long

Monday 30 November 2020 10:10, UK

Reading ended their recent winless run and to get their promotion push back on track with a 3-1 win over Bristol City.

An engaging, yet goalless, first half made way for an eventful second that got up and running when Ovie Ejaria tucked home after Lucas Joao's lay-off (54), before Nahki Wells set up a tense finale at the Madejski Stadium with his fourth of the season (73).

Yakou Meite restored the Royals' lead shortly afterwards (76), with Joao adding a third following a swift counter-attack to cap off an impressive afternoon deep into stoppage-time (90+2).

Reading's first win since October 27 moves them up to fifth on 26 points, with the Robins just behind in sixth.

How Reading ended their miserable winless run on home soil

With three goals conceded in their last two home outings, Reading kept a compact shape throughout the first half which, despite largely being played at a pedestrian pace, produced an intriguing battle between two well-organised teams.

That was illustrated by the fact Bristol City failed to register a shot on target before the break, though at the opposite end of the pitch, their goalkeeper Daniel Bentley was forced to make several important saves,

He first punched an Ejaria cross behind with Meite lurking, before making a smart save to his right after the Ivory Coast international chested the ball down, swivelled and fired an acrobatic effort towards the left-hand corner.

The game exploded into life after the break and there was a real sense of relief from Veljko Paunovic on the touchline when Ejaria's crept in via a deflection that wrong-footed Bentley, but the introduction of Wells paid dividends for the visitors when he plundered from close-range following a Callum Paterson free-kick.

Less than three minutes had elapsed when the hosts' lead was restored following a slick, clinical break. Michael Olise flicked a clever ball forward that Meite chased down before finding the bottom left corner with a low strike.

Joao then rounded off the victory in late on when he darted inside his marker, collected Meite's square ball and then turned smartly to beat the unfortunate Bentley once more.

Man of the match - Lucas Joao

"The manager gives me confidence, game time and the team is helping me," said the Portuguese international after the full-time whistle. A modest response from a player who now has 12 goals in 14 games in all competitions to his name this season.

He was lively in a cagey first half, provided the equaliser for Ejaria's opening goal and then deservedly added a goal of his own late on. If Reading's promotion push is truly back on track after this game, the 27-year-old will play a crucial role going forward.

What the managers said...

Reading's Veljko Paunovic: "We are all very happy. That is one of our best performances of the year. But in saying that, we must remind ourselves about our consistency. We needed a balanced display on the defensive side and in attack and that happened today. It was a very complete performance.

"It was very important to get the feeling of winning again after a month without it and it feels great. It's just fantastic. But, as we always say, we still we have to keep our feet on the ground. We'll enjoy it for one day and then get back to our process of recovery. We have to replenish and prepare for the next games, especially for the game on Wednesday [at Sheffield Wednesday]."

Bristol City's Dean Holden: "We were nowhere near our usual level. It's happened twice this season - the Norwich game at home and this game. The players have been magnificent in the season up to now and this was just a game where we weren't at our best.

"We were poor in possession, we gave the ball away cheaply and we offered them to come on to us too easily. But we just have to swallow this. We have to move on quickly."

What's next?

Bristol City are next in action on Tuesday, December 1 when they travel to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium to face QPR, while Reading take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough the following evening. Both matches get under way at 7.45pm and will be available to watch on Sky Sports Red Button.