Stevenage 1-1 Reading: Player Ratings
Harry rates the Royals after a game of two halves in Stevenage.
Joel Pereira: 6
He wasn’t called into any of his show-stopping saves today and, although I haven’t yet seen it back, I don’t think he could’ve done anything about the opener. He had a couple of shaky moments coming some crosses and his distribution still leaves a lot to be desired on occasion, but he was solid enough.
Michael Craig: 6
Found himself targeted quite a lot from set-pieces in the first half, but on the ball he was neat and tidy enough. He’s doing a really fine job filling it at right-back so far this season all in all.
Amadou Mbengue: 6
In a scrappy first half it was a couple of marauding runs from Mbengue which opened up the game more than most things. In the second as we dominated possession and finally started to get the ball on the deck, he didn’t really have much to do. I have to say he looked a bit leggy towards the end of the game, but he did a more than good enough job.
Tyler Bindon: 6
I just feel a little bit calmer knowing one of our centre-backs is as calm, assured and level-headed as Bindon. He rarely ever puts a foot wrong these days and he regularly makes you forget that he’s still 19 years old playing in just his second season in professional football.
I must admit I haven’t seen the highlights back so unsure who exactly was at fault, if anyone, for their goal. but Bindon again looked as cool and collected as ever for the large majority.
Andre Garcia: 5
It is the nature of where we are as a team and the fact Garcia is just 16 years old that he will have games where he shows his potential, and others where he struggles. Stevenage are a physical, direct team and Garcia couldn't really cope with that in the first half, with the hosts finding regular luck down their right-hand side. It was no surprise to see him hooked at half-time unfortunately.
Lewis Wing: 6
In terms of a footballing brain he is regularly head and shoulders above most he shares a pitch with in this league. On more than one occasion today he produced a pass or a little moment that proved just that - such as the pass for Savage’s chance in the first half.
In the second half he saw a lot of the ball and helped us play more of our football. But in the first half, when the game was scrappy and we weree a bit off it, we needed Wing to stamp his authority on the game and calm us down a bit.
Ben Elliott: 6
Similar to Wing, the game passed him by in the first 45 but he saw a lot more of the ball as the game went on. Looks so much stronger and more of a complete player this season, but all in all he wasn’t able to make as much as an impact on this game as others that have gone by so far.
He wasted a few decent half chances from the edge of the box, and forced a good save that would’ve put us ahead.
Charlie Savage: 6
Probably the best of the three midfielders in my opinion. He replaces Knibbs’ energy really well when Knibbs is forced to fill in other positions as he did so today, and he used the ball really well too.
Forced a really good save with our best chance of the first half, and had a good chance in the second too.
Chem Campbell: 7
It’s fair to say Campbell hasn’t exactly set the world alight since he joined on loan; all in all he just looks a little bit off the pace. However, credit where it’s due, he was really good in the second half today.
It was by far and away the best 45 minutes he’s had in a Reading shirt so far. He did really well to create the equaliser, had a couple of his own shots saved, and was a constant outlet and threat down the right-hand side.
Harvey Knibbs: 6
The idea of Knibbs as a centre-forward/false nine sounded really good to me on paper. However in practice, on this occasion, it didn’t quite work. He was limited to very little of the ball throughout, but did pop up in the right place and right time to fire home a deserved equaliser. Just to balance that though, he missed a big chance to win us all three points later.
In my opinion, we will always be a better team with Knibbs in the centre of the park, but I don’t think it’ll be the last time he’s needed in another position in the coming weeks.
Mamadi Camara: 5
Similar to Garcia, he looked a little out of his depth in the first half. Stevenage had far too much success down our left-hand side and Ruben Selles had to do something. Furthermore, he struggled to really make any impact going forward, and didn’t protect the ball well enough at times.
Subs
Jeriel Dorsett: 7
A really impressive cameo from the returning left-back. Not only did he sure us up defensively, but he was really neat and tidy on the ball and caused a few problems over and underlapping Knibbs too.
Dorsett returning will no doubt take the heat off Garcia a little bit, and I’m sure he’ll slot back into being our first-choice left-back after the international break.
Jayden Wareham: 6
It became as obvious to Selles as it was to the fans that a) Camara was having a bit of an off day and b) we needed a bit more of a focal point up top. So Wareham was thrown on not long after the restart.
He didn’t get on the scoresheet, or really get a shot off in earnest, but he did show some nice touches here and there and helped provide a bit of a different angle of attack for us.
Ashqar Ahmed: 6
He’s a completely different kind of option to Michael Craig at right-back, but he hinted in his performances in the FA Cup and Papa John’s Trophy games that he could be a handy addition to the first team, and showed that again today.
It was a lively cameo, getting himself into dangerous crossing positions a couple of times, but, as was the case with the rest of his team mates, the final product just wasn’t quite there as we pushed for the win.
Average: 6/10
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