PENALTY BLUNDER: JOÃO MISSES CHANCE TO PUSH ROYALS UP TO THIRD
LUCAS JOÃO missed the target with a penalty in the 82nd minute as Reading wasted the chance to go up to third in the Championship table with a goalless draw away at Preston North End.
The visitors created the better of the chanceswith a flurry of opportunities early in the second half butwere unable to break the deadlock.
The Royalswere handed the chance to take the pointswhen Joãowon a penalty late on, but he missed the bottom corner and hit his shotwide.
Reading stay in fifth position in the table after they recorded their 11th clean sheet of the campaign.
Despite the frustration of a late missed penalty, Reading manager Veljko Paunovićwas keen to focus on the positives of another clean sheet and a point gained.
“There are a lot of positives to take, like a clean sheet and the team created a lot of opportunities,” said Paunović.
“We put up a solid performance, especially in the second half against a difficult team in conditions thatweren’t great.
“But this drawfeels like a loss.
“I think because of theway we played, howwe build our performance throughout the game, we did a lot and had opportunities, but todaywe weren’t lucky enough to convert.”
The Royalswere hoping for revenge after they suffered a shock 3-0 home defeat to Preston earlier in the season.
Sone Aluko came into the starting eleven to replace Michael Olise, whowas named among the substitutes after he was subbed offwith a shoulder injury in the 3-0win last Tuesday against Coventry City.
The hosts got out of the traps quickly and had a shot at goal inside the first minute as Scott Sinclair latched onto Riis' knockdown and forced the first corner of the game as Rafael parried his shot behind.
Preston continued to dominate the ball in the opening 10 minutes, but without testing the Royals’ defence too often.
After a slowstart, Reading
began to growinto the game and started to stamp their influence of the game and threatened from a fewsetpieceswith the delivery of John Swift.
Having scored a spectacular free-kick against Coventry, Swift tried his luck from a similar distance, but Iversen pushed the shot away from goal.
Brad Potts had the next chance of the match as he swiveled in the box towork space for a shot from a tight angle but fired his effort high over the bar.
Swift showed his threat again from another free-kick which he connectedwith superbly but hit the side netting as his effortwhistled just thewrong side of the post.
Another Swift set-piece, this time from the right-wing, was met by Paul Huntingtonwho got his head on the ball to take it away from Lucas Joãowho was lurking in the box and ready to pounce had the defender not got a touch.
A dangerous free-kick position came theway of Reading after Ovie Ejaria’s quick feetwere too much for the Preston defence to handle.
But having set his sights, Swift surprisingly left this effort to Aluko, who ballooned a shot high over the target.
Both sides traded chances at the end of the half but to no avail, as Iversen saved Josh Laurent’s long-range strike before Rafael kept out Emil Riis’ shot from point-blank range, before Tom McIntyre managed to clear after a goalmouth scramble as the half ended goalless.
Lucas João used his strong build to shrug off a defender and race at the Preston defence, before laying the ball off for Ovie Ejariawho tried to find a gap at the near post but was kept out by Iversen.
The Royalsworked a familiar corner routinewhich saw McIntyre score against Luton Town, but this time his effort sailed on to the top of the net after he connectedwith
Aluko’s outswinger.
An early spell of chances in the second-half sawReading press for the breakthrough as Aluko tried his luck from the outside the box on hisweaker right foot, but hit a testing effort as Iversen got fingertips to tip it over the crossbar.
Veljko Paunović made his first switch in the 77th minute as Alfa Semedo came on in place of Aluko.
Having had the better of the second half, Readingwere given the chance to take the points as theywere awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute.
Lucas Joãowas pulled down by Rafferty as he looked to connect at the back post from Swift's cross, and after the referee hadwaved play on, he changed his decision after the linesman notified the ref that there had been a foul.
João stepped up to the spot but fired his spot-kickwide of the mark as a huge chance to boost Reading up the table werewasted.
The game endedwithout a goal as Readingwere left frustrated having missed a big chance to take the points late in the game.
“We arewith Lucaswhen he scores andwhen he misses,” continued Paunović.
“He started to be disappointed early in the game because of theway thingswere developing on the field, they made it very hard for us to develop our game.
“We built the momentum where it could have culminated in the conversion of the penalty kick.
“I am hard on myselfwhen I don’twin. Butwe are unbeaten since Brentford, building ourmomentum and we have to still keep going.”
Reading are in front of the Sky Sports cameras once again, when they host Bournemouth at the Madejski Stadium on Friday evening (8pm kick-off). PRESTON: Iversen, Davies, Browne (c), Hughes, Whiteman, Ledson, Riis, Molumby, Huntington, Sinclair, Potts
SUBS: Ripley, Fisher, Rafferty, Johnson, Gallagher, Bayliss, O’Reilly, Barkhuizen, Evans
READING: Rafael, Holmes, McIntyre, Morrison (c), Richards, Rinomhota, Laurent, Swift, Ejaria, Aluko, João
SUBS: Southwood, Esteves, Gibson, Semedo,
Tetek, Onen, Olise, Camara, Baldock