READING FC drew 1-1 with Birmingham City on an afternoon which saw them drop into the bottom three.
The Royals made the perfect start, going ahead through Andy Carrol after good link-up play between Cesare Casadei and Lucas Joao.
But the lead proved to be short-lived as the visitors restored parity in the 29th minute. Reda Khadra’s cross found an unmarked Lukas Jutkiewicz, who powered home with his head.
Joe Lumley 6: Couldn’t have done an awful lot with Jutkiewicz’s bullet header and was pretty solid all-round.
Andy Yiadom 6: Positive, with some nice forays down Reading’s left, particularly in the first half. Was largely able to contain the dangerous Chong.
Tom Holmes 7: Solid at the heart of the back four. Acquitted himself well against Blues’ front line.
Naby Sarr 6: Failed to track Jutkiewicz for City’s equaliser, but it was otherwise a relatively good performance from the centre-half.
Amadou Mbengue 6: Never fully got on top of the battle with Khadra on Reading’s right. Grew into the game in the second half in what was a typically dynamic outing.
Jeff Hendrick 7: A tidy showing from the midfielder, who worked well alongside Casadei to establish a degree of control in the centre of the park.
Tyrese Fornah 6: Deployed on the left side of Reading’s midfield four, giving his side robustness in midfield. Perhaps a little slow to deliver crosses from wide positions.
Cesare Casadei 7: Played an incisive pass into Joao to set up Carroll’s opener. Controlled the ball well to ensure Reading retained possession.
Yakou Meite 5: Wasn’t at his best this afternoon, clearly hampered by injury. Industrious nonetheless. Replaced by Azeez.
Lucas Joao 6: Showed great awareness to assist the first goal. Worked hard in and out of possession and cannot be faulted for a lack of effort.
Andy Carroll 6: Took his goal well and won the vast majority of his aerial duels. Battled hard and contributed on both ends of the pitch.
Substitutes:
Femi Azeez 6: Came on with 20 minutes remaining. Was direct and came close to grabbing a late winner with a dipping volley from outside the box.
Nesta Guinness-Walker: N/A
