Bristol Rovers 0-2 Reading
Sky Bet League One, The Memorial Stadium, Saturday 26 April
Bristol Rovers fell to a 2-0 defeat to Reading in their final match at The Memorial Stadium this season.
The Gas were superior in the first half and had several opportunities to take the lead, with Kofi Shaw shooting wide before Joel Pereria excellently denied close-range strikes from Ruel Sotiriou and Gatlin O’Donkor.
The Royals shot-stopper did even better to deny Sil Swinkels’ goal-bound header after the break, with the hosts punished for their missed opportunities against the run of play.
A smart passing move ended with Lewis Wing free at the heart of the Pirates’ box, with the Reading captain slotting past Jed Ward to give them the lead before Chem Campbell drilled in the second in stoppage time.
Reading are battling for a place in the playoffs and showed their quality with a brilliant chance in the opening two minutes. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan got down the left before a cutback through James Wilson's legs and into Harvey Knibbs, but his shot on the turn was tipped onto the post by Jed Ward, who claimed the ball as it bounced back to him.
The Gas knew only a win would do and reacted with a chance soon after. Jack Hunt cleverly came in from the right and went for goal with his left foot, with his tame strike towards the bottom corner claimed by Pereira.
Rovers were up for the challenge and almost caught the Royals cold with a quick throw-in. Clinton Mola's fast thinking allowed Sotiriou to surge down the left and lay the ball across to Kofi Shaw, who ignored O'Donkor to his right before dragging his low effort wide.
The Mem crowd reacted to the Pirates' strong start, urging the team on with every attack. Shaw returned Sotiriou's earlier favour and rolled the ball into his path, with the Cypriot's strike from just inside the box pushed wide by the goalkeeper.
With Rovers playing with three centre-backs, Hunt was encouraged to go forward with every opportunity, and Connor Taylor always eyed the switch of play out of the defence. The former Sheffield Wednesday man was causing his marker issues and lifted a cross towards Sotiriou, but the ball was slightly too high for the attacker to direct on target.
The Gas dominated, with chances coming thick and fast for the hosts. A dangerous cross into the box fell to James Wilson, who knocked it into O'Donkor, but his swivelling strike was pushed away by Pereira.
The hosts continued to be in the ascendancy after the break but, apart from a flicked header wide by Taylor, did not have any chances to report before the hour mark.
Shaw was still looking lively, winning a corner after a dancing run before providing a perfect corner to Sil Swinkels, whose downward header towards the bottom corner was excellently saved by Pereira.
For all Rovers’ dominance, Reading broke the deadlock after a fine passing move. The visitors retained possession in a tight space down the left before Charlie Savage rolled a pass into the Royals’ captain, who finished clinically from close range.
The tide turned immediately, with Noel Hunt’s men pushing for a second. Andre Garcia raced into the box with intent and powered an effort on target, forcing Jed Ward to save.
Ollie Dewsbury, Luke Thomas and Scott Sinclair were all introduced after Reading’s opener to add numbers to the attack, with Taylor moved forward to add height. Flooding into Reading’s half, Thomas lifted a cross towards Sotiriou, with his flicked header going past Pereria before being cleared.
Reading then confirmed their win in the final stages, with Campbell beating Jed Ward at the near post with a powerfully driven strike.
Bristol Rovers: J. Ward, Wilson ©, Mola (Thomas 72), Sotiriou, Sawyers, Taylor, O’Donkor (Sinclair 82), Swinkels (G. Ward 82), Butcher, Hunt, Shaw (Dewsbury 72).
Subs not used: Hall, Moore, Lindsay.
Booked: Sotiriou 90
Reading: Pereira, Knibbs, Savage, Ehibhatiomhan (Bodin 86), Rushesha (Yiadom 75), Wareham (Strickland 90+2), Campbell, Bindon, Wing ©, Garcia.
Subs not used: Norcott, Carroll, Camara, Akande.
Goals: Wing 67, Campbell 90+4
Booked: Mbengue 58
Referee: Simon Mather
Attendance: 9035 (1815 away)
