Ruben Selles has called for Reading fans to keep their enthusiasm up as they prepare to face Burton Albion.
The Royals came back from behind to beat Huddersfield Town thanks to goals from Harvey Knibbs and Ben Elliott. The result boosted the club up the League One table, taking advantage of other results going their way to sit in 15th ahead of the midweek fixtures.
They welcome Burton Albion to Berkshire tomorrow night, with the Brewers yet to win in the league this season after four draws and three losses. They were well beaten by Blackpool last time out, losing 3-0 in Lancashire.
Speaking to club media following the victory over The Terriers, Selles praised his side’s effort to mount a comeback. He said: “I think it was a very difficult game, against good opponents, and I think we performed well. We tried to control and dominate the ball, especially in the first half.
“It was a difficult moment for us going 1-0 down, but I think we handled the situation well, hitting them with a good counter-pressure, and that’s what we are about.
“Then in the second half, we knew that chances would be there, it was just a case of whether we could take them, which fortunately we did.
“When we scored that second goal, we almost had the situation in the one on one with Adrain [Akande] to get the third, but they defended it really well, and then we knew the last 10-15 minutes, with the team they had on the pitch, it was going to be a very direct approach and we defended them very well.
“Even when we went 1-0, I didn’t think Huddersfield looked too strong, and I think as soon as we equalised, the game was 50-50. They had a couple of set plays, more through our mistakes, but we performed the actions well to defend.
“We knew how we would make chances against them, we spent some time on positioning themselves for certain moments of the match, and the boys performed the executions magnificently to get the result.”
Despite all the efforts of the attack to turn the game around, it was goalkeeper David Button which was one of the biggest factors behind securing all three points. He made six saves and kept Josh Koroma, Callum Marshall and the rest of the Town attack following Matthew Pearson headed home the opener.
Last season’s clash in Reading between tomorrow night’s opponents ended a 0-0 draw, but it was Albion that won the reverse fixture 3-2 in April. That result was the last time that Mark Robinson’s side tasted victory in league play and will hope that they can match that performance to finally get into the win column this season.
Previewing the clash, Selles added: “Burton are in a similar moment to us, a very young team, who have been changing with limited squad capacity. They like to play a similar style of football as we play, it’s going to be a difficult game, looking to pick up their first win.
“They will come to us with the energy and tenacity, so it is going to be a very competitive game, perhaps different to the challenge we faced on the weekend, but a challenge nonetheless.
“We needed the good support on Saturday, so I thank all the supporters, throughout my entire time here, and hopefully it was a performance they can be proud of – a team full of fight and determination.
Tuesday, we need more and more support, we need the pitch to be even noisier, and we need to create that environment again, as when we are together we can do great things.”
Writer’s View
It has been a tough year and a half for Reading amidst their ownership troubles but they have bounced back on the field to bring some joy and a win over Huddersfield would be the biggest indication of how far the squad has come under Selles. Whilst The Terriers may be in a slump since dropping into League One, Reading did everything right to get the result and should be extremely pleased with how they managed that game in the latter stages.
Now they must carry this momentum on against Burton and have a good chance to do so. They are a club still trying to find its feet since their own takeover and a summer dominated by an influx of transfers. Selles’ call to arms for Reading fans will be well received and those attending on Tuesday night will be right behind their side and a positive result will get them as high as eighth should other games go in their favour.
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