BOURNEMOUTH PUNISH TOOTHLESS ROYALS
apreston@wokingham.today
READING were punished by Championship leaders Bournemouth as Dominic Solanke and Jamal Lowe netted to give the Cherries three points.
Solanke headed in from close range to give Bournemouth the lead before the break to hurt the Royals after a positive opening half from the hosts.
Lowe came off the bench to add a second for the Cherries to condemn Reading to a third successive league defeat.
The loss means that Reading drops down to 16th in the table, while unbeaten Bournemouth have a five-point lead at the top.
Veljko Paunovic made one change from last weekend’s defeat at Blackburn, a forced one as Femi Azeez missed out through injury and was replaced by George Puscas.
The Royals still have plenty of injury woes to tend to, with 10 outfield players on the sidelines, but they did have the boost of having Tom Holmes back on the bench.
Playing against the side at the top of the Championship and with an unbeaten record, Reading made a very positive start in front of their home fans.
Both of Reading’s full-backs, Baba Rahman and Andy Yiadom, looked lively in the opening stages as they both made forays forward to help their team in attack and won successive corners.
The first chance came Reading’s way as Swift latched onto Puscas’ header, crossed the ball back for the Romanian who guided his effort wide, which would have been ruled
out for offside had it found the net.
Danny Drinkwater showed his impressive passing range as he drifted a ball out wide to the left to find Ovie Ejaria who couldn’t beat his marker, but instead won his team another corner.
But the Cherries, who have only conceded eight times all season, stayed organised from the set-piece to clear any danger.
Josh Laurent picked up the first card of the game as he mistimed his sliding tackle and caught the ankle of Bournemouth full-back Jordan Zemura.
Just a few minutes later, Laurent had a superb opportunity to put his side in front.
With options both left and right, Laurent opted instead to drive forward and take a shot, having not been closed down effectively, but his clipped effort with the outside of his boot flew wide to the frustration of his supporting teammates.
The Royals’ front foot approach continued and in the 18th minute, they missed their best chance of the half.
A brilliant piece of work saw John Swift beat Gary Cahill to the ball on the touchline, and he showed immense skill to cross the ball with a rabona to find Puscas in
the middle, but the striker stabbed a volley wide from just six yards out.
The Romanian striker, who joined Reading on a club-record fee in the summer of 2019, has now gone 20 games without a goal.
Having had the opening 20 minutes go their way, Reading relinquished some control as Bournemouth began to grow into the game.
Bournemouth’s flair players, Jaidon Anthony and Ryan Christie, started to get more involved and tried to make things happen in the final third.
The visitors first half chance came from a corner when they worked a short routine but experienced defender Cahill could only glance a header harmlessly
over the bar.
Gavin Kilkenny was handed the first yellow card for Bournemouth when he prevented Swift from breaking away on the counter attack with a blatant foul, and Anthony followed moments after for a foul on Yiadom.
Bournemouth ended the half with a strong spell as Anthony found Philip Billing, who sent a dangerous low ball across the face of goal, but Scott Dann was well positioned to clear.
But the Cherries made Reading pay for their missed chances and took the lead just before the break.
Cahill broke free at the back post from a corner and headed the ball across the face of goal to find Dominic Solanke who nodded in from close range.
Another chance fell the way of Puscas early in the second-half but he couldn’t convert.
Drinkwater floated a smart ball out wide to Swift, and his impressive work on the byline
allowed him space to get in a cross and the ball fell kindly for Puscas but his poke towards goal was deflected over the top by Kelly.
Bournemouth replied with a chance of their own as substitute Jamal Lowe pulled the ball back for Solanke in the box but Rahman made a crucial block.
The Cherries doubled their lead just before the hour mark as Lowe was allowed room to glide into the box and he picked out the bottom right corner with his shot.
With a two-goal lead, Bournemouth showed why they are the Championship front runners as they closed out the game with ease as Reading failed to register a shot on target until the 92nd minute.
Reading were unfortunate not to have been awarded a penalty in the 90th minute when Kelly missed the ball and kicked the legs of Clarke, but the referee waved play on as the match ended in defeat for the Royals.