Long’s spot kick simply Ince-perfect
Long 27 pen, Ince 63
CARDIFF
O’dowda 4
PAUL INCE praised Reading veteran Shane Long as his side came from behind to beat Cardiff.
The 35-year-old Irish striker rolled back the years as he netted an equaliser from the spot.
The Royals won the game with a second-half wonder-strike from Tom Ince.
But Reading boss Ince Snr paid tribute to the man who scored 44 goals in his first spell in Berkshire.
He said: “I’m delighted with Shane, I wondered how long he was going to last. To be fair to him, he’s not even 100 per cent fit yet.
“To do 80 minutes was amazing, and not just to do the time. You can see he’s played in the Premier
League, the way he backs into people. His retention of the ball was superb.
“The core of this group doesn’t give in. The response was brilliant and we got them on the back foot.”
Cardiff drew first blood after just four minutes when Callum O’dowda nodded home a free-kick past Joe Lumley.
Reading hit back on 26 minutes from the penalty spot, after Curtis Nelson tugged at Tom Ince.
Long marked his first Reading start in 11 years by powering home past Ryan Allsop.
The Royals took the lead with a strike worthy of winning any contest through the impressive Ince. His superb shot from the edge of the box left both Allsop and Cardiff stranded.
The goal left the visitors flat afterwards, and they failed to trouble the Reading back line.
Boss Steve Morison was left frustrated after winning the season opener against Norwich. He said: “I’m disappointed, we didn’t turn up.
“It’s just frustrating because of how well we were last week and how we were today. You drop your level, you lose a game of football. You’ll have to ask the players why that is.
“We gave them a plan and told them what was going to happen, but we didn’t perform to the same levels as last week.”