Reading boss praises Royals’ performance against Stockport

Reading boss Leam Richardson has praised the Royals performance against Stockport as they secure 9th place in the league.

Resilient Reading FC have continued their five game unbeaten run through a Lewis Wing thunder strike to defeat Stockport 1-0 at the Select Car Leasing stadium on Sunday afternoon.

When asked about his thoughts on his squad’s performance, Richardson said: “I think it was the most hard-working, but it was a real good tactical game for coaches.

“Probably not the best spectacle to watch, but I’m sure the fans saw a real willingness and how we adapted to certain situations and how we’re evolving a little bit as a team.

“So, yes, it’s been really pleasing to win today.”

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Stockport kept changing their tactics throughout the game to try and deal with Reading’s press, as Richardson’s side adapted to the opponents tactics.

In the second-half Charlie Savage moved into the position on the number, which was played by Kamari Doyle for the majority of the match, to make way for Liam Fraser as the second defensive midfielder.

When asked about the tactical challenges, Richardson said: “All the best laid plans are there to adapt and overcome, aren’t they?

“We played against a really strong team, probably one of the favourites in the division to go up.

“The manager’s been there a long time, had a lot of continuity, a lot of sustainability, got some fantastic players there, spent a bit of money as well. So, for us to not only compete, but to get the win in this short period that we’ve had is really pleasing.”

In the 89th minute Wing found the back of the net through a powerful strike that sent the keeper the wrong way. Randell Williams cannoned a long throw-in into the box, which falls to Dorsett who flicks it on to the edge of the box where the skipper makes no mistake as he smashes it into the centre of the goal.

Minutes prior the skipper had a shot that was blocked.

Reacting to Wing’s performance and goal, the gaffer said: “I think when you see the quality of Lewis on the edge of the box around them areas.

“I think with the chance that he had before, I expect him to probably score, do better than hit the target. And then he lands on the next one. It’s a never-in-doubt, is it?

“I thought he worked hard enough for that little bit of quality and that chance at the end and I thought overall, we deserve to win.”

He added: “I thought first half we controlled possession quite a lot, tried to find a lot more solutions.

“Second half, we probably had to defend a little bit more as well. But the resilience is what we’re after. We spoke a few weeks ago about our consistency, our levels.

“We know this team [Stockport] concede late in games as well, so we wanted to stay in the game if we don’t go get our noses in front early and I thought we had the quality in the end to do that.”

Through their win Reading have secured ninth place in League One, four points away from the play-offs and nine points away from the relegation zone.

When asked if Richardson checks the league table, he said: “I’ve got enough hours in the day to look at what could be and what might be and what should be. I concentrate on the present and we try and be better tomorrow than we were today and that’s not changed.

“We’ll certainly enjoy tonight because the players deserve every credit with the work that they’ve put in. The families have supported them through this period as well, which is important, because sometimes they get forgotten.

“So, the staff and the players take enormous credit for this period.”

Reading’s next fixture won’t be until January 17 against Leyton Orient at the BetWright Stadium, this is because to Mansfield Town’s fixture on Januray 10 being postponed due to their FA Cup fixture.

When asked about the gap in fixtures, he said: “I’d probably like a game tonight or tomorrow.

“But no, it’s a great chance as you saw some tired legs there. The output’s been really good and with all due respect, that’s what we demand.

“We demand a lot of consistency, a lot of relationships, and the demand’s high now because they’ve raised the bar a little bit.

“Fingers crossed, it’ll be a good time to reset and go again.”

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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.sports.yahoo.com ’