Defeat on the road in Berkshire for Town
- Reading FC 3-1 Huddersfield Town
- Goals in each half prove to be the difference
- Tom Lees on the scoresheet in second-half stoppage time
Town were beaten 3-1 by Reading in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.
A Tom McIntyre header and Lee Nicholls own goal in the first half were added to by Yakou Meite after the break in Mark Fotheringham’s first match as Head Coach.
The match struggled to gain a rhythm in the opening stages at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, with two Reading players taking knocks in quick succession.
Town looked to build from he back with a possession-based style and forced a half chance with nine minutes on the clock, but Yuta Nakayama’s effort from the edge of the area was comfortable for Royals goalkeeper Joe Lumley.
Reading then started to gain more of a foothold with Jeff Hendrick heading wide before they took a 29th-minute lead through McIntyre.
The centre-back headed a Tom Ince corner across goal and into the bottom right corner, despite the best efforts of Jordan Rhodes on the line.
It was 2-0 seven minutes later when Michal Helik, who was on the stretch, diverted a Hendrick cross off Nicholls and into the net for an own goal.
The last chance of the first half saw Ince find the side netting from a free-kick, with Town trailing at the interval.
Fotheringham made two substitutions at the beginning of the second half, with Ben Jackson replacing Nakayama at left-back and Danny Ward taking the place of Duane Holmes.
That meant a slight change of formation with Ward joining Rhodes in attack and the Yorkshireman fired a shot wide at the end of a quick attacking move shortly after his introduction.
Town were now playing with more confidence and looking to push forward, with a Sorba Thomas cross narrowly evading Rhodes and Ward in the penalty area.
However, the home team put the result beyond doubt with 10 minutes to play. A mistake at the back presented the ball to Ince, who slid through team-mate Meite to finish past Nicholls.
The Terriers didn’t give up and Helik headed a pin-point Thomas free-kick narrowly wide of the left hand post before Tom Lees headed in from a corner in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to reduce the arrears.
Town’s Line-Up (4-2-3-1)
Lee Nicholls; Ollie Turton (Luke Mbete, 69’), Tom Lees, Michal Helik, Yuta Nakayama (Ben Jackson, 45’); Jon Russell, David Kasumu; Sorba Thomas, Jack Rudoni (Connor Mahoney, 69’), Duane Holmes (Danny Ward, 45’); Jordan Rhodes
Unused Subs
Nicholas Bilokapic, Jonathan Hogg, Etienne Camara
Town Scorer
Tom Lees (90’+4)
