Royals ‘deserved the points’
Birmingham City 0 Reading 2
JAAP STAM says Reading were fully deserving of all three points as they picked up their first away win of the season.
It has been a tough time on the road for the Royals this campaign, losing at both Queens Park
Rangers and Preston North End without scoring, but they turned that around with a big win at Birmingham.
The deadlock was broken on the hour mark when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson marked his return from injury with a goal, heading in from a Tyler Blackett cross.
And substitute George Evans sealed the win in the close stages, sweeping in after a Garath McCleary cutback.
The win lifts Royals up into the top half of the Championship table ahead of the international break.
“We deserved the win,” said
Stam.
“We were well prepared for how they were going to be playing and the players were committed and did the job they needed to do in terms of possession, quality on the ball and the right movement at the right time.
“Of course we can still identify areas where we can be better. But throughout the 95 minutes, we created quite a few opportunities to score, didn’t give too much away and we come away with a very good win just before the international break.”
Stam made three changes from the league defeat at Deepdale, bringing in Bodvarsson, Joey van den Berg and Tiago Ilori for John Swift, Adrian Popa and Pelle Clement.
And Royals started well, dominating possession and almost taking the lead from a set piece when clever footwork by captain Paul McShane led to Blackett getting a shot away, only for David Stockdale to tip wide.
Liam Moore also came close to breaking the deadlock before Mo Barrow tucked the ball into the net, only to be denied by the linesman’s flag for offside.
Vito Mannone, who had a relatively quiet afternoon, was called into a vital stop just before the break to tip wide an effort from Arsenal loanee Cohen Bramall.
Reading continued to push after the restart with Liam Kelly’s shot saved and the midfielder turned provider soon after to tee up Barrow, but the Gambian inexplicably missed the target from six yards.
However, Royals did get their noses in front when Leandro
Bacuna knocked the ball out to Blackett on the left and his inviting cross was powerfully headed into the top corner by Bodvarsson, netting his first goal for the club.
And the win was sealed with five minutes of regular time remaining when two substitutes combined with McCleary rolling the ball across the area for the incoming Evans to slam home.
“Even if you create quite a few opportunities, the opposition can score and you can still lose the game,” said Stam.
“But Jon got the goal. He is a strong runner, he is good on the ball, he can hold up the ball and he can score a goal.
“We believe in him and his qualities. He did very well.
“We then made a substitution in midfield to add fresh legs and George scored that second goal which was a big relief for everybody.”
He added: “We know what we can do.
“This month has been an extension of pre-season for us. We had a lot of injuries in the summer and we’ve had some new players who have needed to integrate.
“But hopefully after these two weeks we will have more choices available to us in terms of players who are fit and available for selection.”
Reading’s next game is against Bristol City at Madejski Stadium on September 9.
READING: Mannone; Gunter, McShane (c), Moore, Ilori, Blackett; van den Berg (Evans 70), Kelly, Bacuna; Barrow (McCleary 76), Bodvarsson (Smith 88).
Subs not used: Jaakkola, Andresson, Popa, Clement.
Goals: Bodvarsson (60), Evans (85) BIRMINGHAM: Stockdale, Jenkinson
(Nsue 32), Grounds (Davis 78), Roberts, Kieftenbeld, Bramall, Ndoye (Jutkiewicz 45), Gallagher, Maghoma, Morrison (c), Gleeson.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Shotton, Gardner, Harding.
Attendance: 19,993 (inc. 895 away)