READING FC fell to a humbling 4-1 defeat against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon.
A Jordan Rhodes hattrick and a Kylian Kouassi header put the game out of the Royals’ reach, with a late James Husband own goal serving as only a consolation to the travelling fans.
Here’s how the players rated:
David Button 6: Wasn’t given much help by his colleagues ahead of him. Made a world-class save to deny Kouassi from close range and keep the score down.
Andy Yiadom 5: Started brightly, looking to get forward whenever possible, but dropped off as the game went on, losing more duels than he was winning. Went off after picking up a knock.
Tyler Bindon 4: The defender has been fantastic since arriving, but really struggled with the physicality of the game today. Was beaten too easily on too many occasions.
Nelson Abbey 5: Made an uncharacteristic error which led to Blackpool’s penalty. Failed to provide Mola with the support he desperately needed as the hosts piled down their right flank.
Clinton Mola 3: An afternoon to forget for the left-back, who was run ragged by Blackpool for the entirety of the first half. Offered very little resistance to crosses into the box.
Sam Hutchinson 4: Forced Reading’s consolation goal over the line, but the strike was a far cry from the rest of his performance. Gave away the penalty and became increasingly rash as the match wore on.
Charlie Savage 5: Couldn’t impose himself on the game as he would have liked. To his credit, gave Reading the impetus to grab a late goal after his strike from range was well-saved.
Femi Azeez 4: Started relatively well, but quickly disappeared as things started to go wrong for the Royals.
Ben Elliott 5: Not the showing he would have hoped for, nor that his recent performances suggested. Couldn’t affect the game as much as he would have liked, creating very little.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan 5: A very quiet display from the front man. Had a sniff at goal after getting played in by Yiadom, but couldn’t get enough behind his shot to trouble Blackpool’s goal.
Dom Ballard 5: May be a tad disappointed not to convert a one-on-one in the first half, but the score was already 3-0, so perhaps it was inconsequential. Tried his best, but wasn’t enough today.
Substitutes:
Tom McIntyre 4: A bit all over the place, shanking a couple of clearances.
Amadou Mbengue 5: Started on the right side of the back five, but moved over to the left after Yiadom went off.
Lewis Wing 5: Will be pleased to have got some minutes after a few weeks but couldn’t influence the game.
Paul Mukairu 5: Made a couple of darts forward which ultimately came to nothing.
Caylan Vickers: N/A
