DODDS CALLS FOR REACTION AS CHAIRBOYS LOSE GROUND

By Martha MacLennan

READING 1

Knibbs 77 (pen)

WY COMBE W 0

MIKE Dodds urged his Wycombe Wanderers side to rediscover “that final action” in front of goal after they fired a second successive blank in a League One defeat at Reading.

With second-placed Wrexham beating relegation-threatened Burton Albion in another early kick-off, Wanderers now trail the Welsh side by six points, albeit with a game in hand.

Wycombe dominated a spiky first half, but it was Reading who broke the deadlock with a Harvey Knibbs penalty in the 77th minute.

That proved enough for Reading to extend their unbeaten home run to nine games.

“We lacked that final little bit of action in the final third,” Dodds said.

“You can’t have four times the chances of the opposition, which we had today, and come away with no goals.

“This is the business end of the season where games are decided on moments. We needed a moment against Shrewsbury and it didn’t come for us and today, a moment happened for the opposition – which was never a penalty – and that decided the game.

“Do we need to have a little bit more in the top area of the pitch? Probably, looking at our last two games.

JOY: Reading’s Harvey Knibbs, left, celebrates his winner

“After the first 40 minutes today, I really didn’t see that result coming. This has been a harsh week on the group, the fans and everyone associated with our club.

“Really, we should have taken six points from Shrewsbury and today. Unfortunately, we’ve only got one. But we can’t dwell on that, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves and we must react at Huddersfield on Tuesday.”

Wycombe made a lively start, with Adam Reach attempting an audacious 20-yard lob, only for the home keeper Joel Pereira to claw it away for a corner.

Sonny Bradley headed over from a Luke Leahy cross, and Reach again tested Pereira from distance as the visitors continued to dominate.

Reading offered little going forward, and the cross-border Berks-Bucks rivalry threatened to boil over amid a series of niggly challenges from both sides.

Chairboys keeper Will Norris was called into action for the first time early in the second half, saving a header from Mamadi Camara.

But it was Pereira who was soon back in the spotlight at the other end, superbly tipping over a powerful header from former Royals winger Garath McCleary.

Thirteen minutes from time, Cameron Humphreys clumsily fouled Chem Campbell in the area, and Knibbs slammed home his 16th goal of the season from the penalty spot to settle the outcome.

“It was a terrific three points,” said Reading manager Noel Hunt. “Wycombe probably came out the traps quicker than us and we had to weather the storm for 25 or so minutes.

“But after that I thought we came into the game. We showed a lot more competitiveness. We were the better team.

“Our boys have been really switched on, they’ve been great. The mentality of this group is so strong, we’re really close together.”

READING: Pereira 8, Abrefa 7, Mbengue 7, Bindon 7, Garcia 7 (Rushesha 63, 6), Knibbs 7, Wing 7, Savage 6, Campbell 7 (Yiadom 89), Ehibhatiomhan 6 (Wareham 62, 6), Camara 7 (Bodin 82, 6). Subs not used: Button, Carroll, Stickland.

WYCOMBE: Norris 6, Grimmer 6, Taylor 7, Bradley 7, Leahy 7 (Onyedinma 81, 6), Scowen 6, Simons 6 (Lowry 66, 6), Reach 7 (Udoh 67, 6), Humphreys 6, McCleary 7 (Kodua 66, 6), Kone 7. Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Pattenden, Berry-McNally.

RACE IS ON: Wycombe’s Caleb Taylor, left, and Reading’s Chem Campbell do battle

PICTURES: PRIME Media Images