Reading head coach Ruben Selles has revealed that he is not happy with the point his side picked up away at Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night, having conceded so late in the game.
The Royals travelled to Highbury Stadium yesterday on a two-game winning streak, having put both Stevenage and Charlton Athletic to the sword over the past week, clawing themselves out of the depths of the relegation zone, having spent so long inside the bottom four this term.
The Berkshire club are now six games unbeaten in England’s third tier, having won three and drawn three matches, lifting the side to 16th in the table, four points clear of the final relegation place. However, a win over the Cod Army on Tuesday would have placed Selles’ men level with Wigan Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers, while also opening the gap to Port Vale to six points.
Reading took the lead with a quarter of an hour of the match remaining thanks to former Middlesbrough man Lewis Wing. However, with little left on the clock, defender Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu equalised for the hosts in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
In his post-match interview with club media, Selles didn’t hold back in his assessment of his team’s display in Lancashire.
“I think we need to perform better if we want to get the three points. At the end, we should close the game but we end up defending very close to our goal, it’s something we don’t like to do and unfortunately, we concede the equaliser – so we will take the point knowing that we can do things better.
“I expected a really difficult game because of the position they are in and the team that they are. They try to play the situations with wing backs and put us under pressure, so the game was what we expected. We need to work on our performance because it wasn’t good enough today,” he continued.
Rubén: "We need to perform better if we want the three points"
The manager's verdict on #FLEREA ⬇️#ReadingFC pic.twitter.com/vlm4mfUBaT
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) February 14, 2024
“We have to perform better. We had the opportunity to come here today and get the three points and we didn’t do it. Our ambition is to perform the best that we can on the day and we need to do better. I’m not happy with the point, I’m not happy with the performance we did today.”
Writer’s View
Reading and Selles will be most disappointed with the result because victory was snatched from their hands at the last second. In a relegation battle as tight as this, dropping two massive points so late is almost inexcusable.
However, the Royals are on an excellent run of form at the moment and this is just another bump on the road for what is a gifted, young group of players being trained by an excellent coach. While this Saturday’s clash with Portsmouth may be a write-off, the game against Port Vale on Tuesday is arguably the biggest of the season so far for Selles’ side.
