Meite keeps Royals in the game
Reading 2 Ipswich Town 2
“I’M ON fire at the moment.”
That was the reaction of Reading’s saviour Yakou Meite after his two goals helped rescue a point against fellow strugglers Ipswich.
The Royals trailed 2-1 at the break with Meite’s strike coming in between goals from Gwion Edwards and Freddie Sears inside a frantic opening 11 minutes.
And that is how it stayed until six minutes from time when Reading’s in-form forward headed in to make it 2-2 with his sixth goal in five games to earn a point which lifts Paul Clement’s men out of the relegation zone.
“I think I’m on fire at the moment,” said Meite.
“It’s good, I just have to keep going. I’m happy to score again but we wanted to win, but we didn’t lose so that’s good.
“I think I’m in a very good part of my career. I score every time, I’m consistent and I just need to keep going.
“In football sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t, I just need to stay confident in myself and what I can on the pitch and it will come.”
The visitors arrived bottom of the table with just one win all season but they got off to the perfect start five minutes in when Edwards volleyed home from range after a long throw was not dealt with by the Royals defence.
Reading responded immediately, however, and levelled two minutes later through Meite, who acrobatically converted Sam Baldock’s delivery from the left, with his scissor kick from beating Bartosz Bialkowski in the Ipswich goal.
Parity did not last long though, as Ipswich forward Sears raced through on goal from a Bialkowski kick and after a defensive calamity, slotted home past Anssi Jaakkola to restore Town’s lead on eleven minutes.
Jaakkola did well to prevent Town from scoring a third, midway through the first half, as he reacted quickly to tip a diving header from Jordan Roberts around the post and out for a corner.
The visitors dominated the first half and threatened again through Sears who fed Jonas Knudsen on the overlap, before the Dane whipped in a low cross that was only inches away from being tapped in by Edwards.
Chambers nearly added a third for Town, planting his free header narrowly wide from Flynn Downe’s corner.
The palms of Jaakkola were stung again by a well-struck effort from Roberts, who cut it from the right to take aim after being picked out by Cole Skuse on the right flank.
Clement opted for a change at the break, replacing Andy Rinomhota with Garath McCleary as Royals looked to find an equaliser.
Modou Barrow nearly provided the leveller after the restart, after the ball fell to him from a corner but Bialkowski reacted brilliantly to deny the Gambian from scoring at point-blank range.
The recently introduced
McCleary then blasted a volley over from distance after another Royals corner was only half-cleared by the Town defence.
Town looked to kill the game off, and could have but for the strong hands of Jaakkola.
Sears saw an attempt blocked out before Jordan Spence found a way past Tyler Blackett and shot at the Reading keeper from a tight angle, but his effort was palmed away.
Blackett then made a perfectly timed sliding challenge to halt the run of Kayden Jackson, who would have been through on goal following Edwards’ ball down the middle.
Royals finally found their equaliser with six minutes to go when Bacuna picked out
Meite with a well- weighted cross, and the Reading forward headed low, past Bialkowski to set up an exciting finish at the Madejski.
Reading could have won it when substitute John Swift cut the ball back to Baldock, but his first-time effort flew over the bar and the spoils were shared.
“The first half was very poor,” admitted Meite.
“The second was much better but I think if we played like that we did in the second half (from the start), we should win this game.
“He (Paul Clement), like us, wasn’t happy about the first half. We didn’t play well.
“It was a very poor first half but he was happy with the reaction in the second half.”
Reading now face a two-week international break before facing Wigan Athletic away on November 24.
READING: Jaakkola; Yiadom, O’Shea (Swift 77), Moore (c), Blackett; Kelly (McNulty
83); Barrow, Rinomhota (McCleary 45), Bacuna, Baldock; Meite.
Subs not used: Walker, Gunter, Ilori, Aluko. Goals: Meite x2 (7,84)
Yellow card: Barrow (13)
IPSWICH: Bialkowski; Spence, Chambers (c), Pennington, Knudsen; Skuse; Edwards, Chalobah, Downes, Sears (Rowe 82); Roberts (Jackson 60).
Subs not used: Gerken, Donacien, Lankester, Edun, Dozzell.
Goals: Edwards (5), Sears (11)
Yellow cards: Chambers (45+2), Spence (86)
Referee: Darren Bond
Attendance: 14,952 (inc. 1,887 away)