Reading 1 Barnsley 0: Robins unhappy with Tykes display
"It was poor from start to finish," said the former Rotherham United boss.
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Hide Ad"We have not defended well enough and Reading's goal was something you see in the playground. The ball's got through (goalkeeper) Luke Steele's fingers, we then had another chance to close it down but didn't, and it was a catalogue of errors.
"This was a really, really poor performance. Everything was poor about our play. This has got to be a one-off.
"Credit to Reading, they worked hard, but we didn't do any of the things we spoke of before the game.
"What's changed since our good run is that we were working hard, but we have not for 90 minutes (on Saturday) and that's disappointing."
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Hide AdReading were on top from start to finish with Jobi McAnuff close to adding a second with a shot that hit an upright. Adam Hammill saw his first-half effort for Barnsley get past Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici, but full-back Ryan Bertrand was in the right place to clear the ball away from the line.
Shane Long's first league goal since April saw Reading carry their FA Cup form into the Championship.
The Republic of Ireland striker took advantage of a fumble from Barnsley goalkeeper Steele to poke home.
The result meant Reading manager Brian McDermott presided over his first league win in six league games since taking over from Brendan Rodgers.
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Hide AdHe said: "We showed courage and spirit, although 1-0 is always a bit hairy towards the end of the game. In the past things have happened when were leading
1-0, but the important thing is that we got all three points."
Reading: Federici, Griffin, Mills, Ingimarsson, Bertrand, McAnuff, Gunnarsson, Karacan (Howard 84), Sigurdsson, Long, Church (Bignall 74). Unused substitutes: Hamer, Kebe, Rasiak, Thorvaldsson, Khizanishvili.
Barnsley: Steele, Shotton, Moore, Foster, Dickinson, De Silva (Hallfredsson 74), Colace, Doyle, Hammill (Adam 81), Hume, Macken (Bogdanovic 46). Unused substitutes: Preece, Butterfield, Potter, Andy Gray.
Referee: James Linington (Isle of Wight).
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