Reading 1-1 Hull City: Player Ratings

Luke Southwood: 5

Largely a pretty routine afternoon for Southwood, but ultimately one that was marred by a poor error. The power of Wilks' long-range effort seemed to take him surprise, but given that it was straight at Southwood, it should have been saved. A rare blip that hopefully won't dent his confidence in the long run.

Andy Yiadom: 6

Nothing really stands out about his 45 minutes really. I'd have liked to see him get forward more - he was unusually quiet offensively. Taken off at the break for Dejan Tetek.

Tom Holmes: 8

What. A. Goal.

You'd be surprised enough to see that finish from an accomplished centre forward, so Holmes slamming the ball into the net with an overhead kick was as shocking as it was impressive. Otherwise he had a pretty solid afternoon defensively, dealing with whatever came his way. One hairy moment in the first half when he accidentally met a Hull cross, almost sending it past Southwood for an own goal.

Scott Dann: 7

Similarly impressive defensively as his centre back partner. Assured in anything that needed to be sorted out.

Baba Rahman: 6

Had trouble in the first half when Hull got a lot of joy down his flank to put crosses in. Looked less exposed in the second half though. Not too much to report in the final third, although he had some nice linkup with Dele-Bashiru just before the latter's long-range effort in the first half, and had one of his own (saved) in the second.

Danny Drinkwater: 5

This really wasn't a game for Drinkwater. I'd wondered if he'd be moved deeper to a more familiar quarterback role, but Pauno opted to keep him higher up. As a result, Drinkwater looked pretty lost, unable to dictate the tempo in the way he can when the game is in front of him. I'd have liked to see him look for Azeez with a long pass more often in the second half (he only did it twice to my memory).

Josh Laurent: 5

Laurent at his best is someone who really asserts authority in the middle of the park, but Reading didn't get that today. While not looking all that bad, he seemed pretty sloppy - although not dissimilar to his fellow central midfielders to be fair. Forced a good stop in the first half from range. Officially he gets an assist for Holmes’ opener, but in practice the goal was created by the centre back.

John Swift: 4

His worst performance of the season for me. Swift was really sloppy all afternoon, making some basic errors that you wouldn't expect from him, and generally lacked a spark. Loses an extra mark for letting a great chance go in the first half: he snatched the ball back high up, had a clear one on one and couldn't beat the keeper. An off day, and one he’ll bounce back from.

Alen Halilovic: 5

I was looking forward to seeing what Halilovic could offer on the right wing, making his first home start in ages, but this was a quiet afternoon for him. He didn't really get into the contest and was withdrawn for Azeez in the second half.

Andy Carroll: 5

Again, not in the game enough. Reading could have gone directly into Carroll more often but opted not to. That was a shame as he had some good moments of linkup, with some of Reading's better play after the break involving Carroll. He should have done better with a couple of opportunities in the second half that didn't hit the target.

Tom Dele-Bashiru: 7

Reading's brightest attacking spark for me. Although some things didn't come off, he looked that bit more positive and willing to try things than others around him. He forced a good save in the first half when he left fly from range, and one from a tight angle when he burst into the box in the second.

I’ve previously not been sold on the idea of TDB being used as a left winger. For me, he’s looked more effective in the middle of the park where his dynamism and energy have made him look like a more attacking version of Andy Rinomhota (kinda). But to be fair to him, he’s translated those qualities well recently into the left-wing spot, having put in an impressive shift there at Swansea City last Saturday. Based on the last two games, Ovie Ejaria will have to do with a spot on the bench.

Subs

Dejan Tetek: 6

Tetek was unexpectedly given the second half in place of Andy Yiadom. He looked sharp defensively - you can tell how eager he is to close his man down when a winger's facing him down. He didn't have much joy offensively earlier on in his outing, but more opportunities to get forward arose as Reading pushed more for a winner. He didn't have the cutting edge though, which is understandable given his experience as a midfielder rather than attacking full back.

Femi Azeez: 6

Azeez looked promising when he got the ball in the final third, but that didn't happen enough. I liked his positivity in looking to take a man on, but it was to no avail; he probably could have done with Yiadom’s overlapping runs to provide support. Had a shot blocked late on.

Average: 5.76/10

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