READING FC fell to a late 1-0 defeat against Cardiff on Friday evening.
The Royals created precious little in the way of chances on the night and were punished as Romaine Sawyers scored a 90th minute winner from distance.
Joe Lumley 6: Was not overly troubled but got down well to deny Etete in the first half. His distribution was poor, however.
Junior Hoilett 5: Struggled to contain the threat offered by O’Dowda in the opening exchanges. Grew into the game, but offered little offensively.
Scott Dann 5: Never looked assured. His lack of pace was once again exposed by Cardiff’s rapid front line. Took a booking in the first half.
Naby Sarr 4: Poor. Everything seemed last-ditch and he gave the ball away far too many times when passing out from the back.
Amadou Mbengue 5: Took a knock in the first half and just didn’t look himself from then on.
Nesta Guinness-Walker 5: Hesitant when closing down crosses and got beaten with regularity. Wasn’t able to showcase his offensive talents.
Tom McIntyre 6: Deployed on the left side of the midfield three and pressed well at times but was ultimately not capable of providing any real creativity.
Mamadou Loum 5: A quiet evening for the midfielder. Was unable to get the ball down and play.
Tyrese Fornah 5: The closest thing to a link between defence and attack, which isn’t saying a lot. Taken off in the 66th minute.
Femi Azeez 6: A bright spark in the early stages but was cut an isolated figure for the hour he was on the pitch.
Andy Carroll 7: The skipper on the night won the majority of his flick-ons. Forced to drop deep to affect the game.
Substitutes:
Yakou Meite 6: Ran the channels tirelessly and almost forced a costly error out of Allsop.
Tom Ince 5: Wasn’t quite at the races after coming on but at least tried to make things happen.
Nelson Abbey 5: Looked lively after replacing Guinness-Walker.
