Reading FC boss issues verdict on Stockport County defeat.
Reading manager Noel Hunt felt his team were’second best’ in Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Stockport County. After trailing by two goals through set pieces after 15 minutes, Sam Smith equalised for the Royals around the hour mark, and Jack Diamond completed the scoring shortly after. Only their third home defeat of the season, Dave Challinor’s side leapfrogged the Royals into the play-off places. Hunt commented after the game, “We made it difficult for ourselves. We did not start the game correctly, and we did not earn the right to participate. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb with two set play goals, and we’re dissatisfied as a group.It was a bit out of character for us because we’ve been good in the last six or seven weeks with set plays.
“After that, we came in at halftime and began the second half stronger. We were given a goal to get back into it, followed by the fundamentals of the game: be daring enough to push forward, and we played it back. We lose a tackle and fail to recover or respond, costing us the game. “As a team, we are profoundly disappointed. It cannot happen again, and we will do everything we can to prevent it, particularly at home. We need to acquire a foothold and start the game properly.” Reading struggled with illness all week, but the former Royals striker claimed it couldn’t be used as an excuse.
“You never play 100 per cent fit, you get very few games where you don’t have any knocks or niggles. It is part and parcel of football- I’m not going to use any excuses. We were second best for the first half, gifting them a couple of goals.
“Without the goals, the game was nothing. That makes it difficult to break down a well-drilled squad like Stockport. That’s when we need to be brave and seize the ball, step into gaps, and locate pockets to get on the ball. We had some spells in the second half, but not as many as we would have liked. We need to learn from this and come back stronger next week.” In further positive news, Michael Craig, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, and Chem Campbell all returned from injury layoffs.
“Chem [Campbell] did really well to last as long as he did- we don’t want to push him as he’s not done a lot in the last two weeks with his ankle,” Hunt informed me. “It was encouraging to see him start and impact the game; I believed he was one of our best performances. “Kelvin E is returning, and Jeriel needs to get up to speed as soon as possible to assist the gang go forward. We’ve brought these boys back on the pitch, but we still need to work on their match fitness and levels.”
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