Opposition view: Selles laments Reading's slow start and attempts to clear up red card confusion

Reading manager Ruben Selles lamented both a sluggish start to the game and also his side’s inability to finish their chances after they were beaten 3-1 by Northampton at Sixfields on Tuesday.

Cobblers were rampant in the opening 20 minutes and created all of the early chances, one of which was taken by Sam Hoskins. Reading came back into the game but Lee Burge brilliantly denied Caylan Vickers and Town went straight up the other end where Louis Appéré made it 2-0.

The visitors dominated possession in the second half and revived hope of a comeback when Dom Bollard rolled in, but Northampton stood firm and Mitch Pinnock put the icing on the cake with a third goal deep into stoppage-time.

"It's a tough night and again it was the first part of the game where we were not ready,” admitted Selles. “We started slowly and as a consequence of that we conceded the first goal.

"We came here with an idea of how to play at the start of the game but we did completely the opposite and it's difficult to come back after that. We had some opportunities to equalise but their goalkeeper made two fantastic saves and then straight after we concede another goal and that makes it very difficult.

"We did well in the second half, we got the goal and we had chances to score again but we make one mistake and it's 3-1 and unfortunately it's not good enough.We need to reflect and we need to learn quickly. We're not scoring enough goals but we're getting into the right positions so we need to be more ruthless and more clinical with our finishing.

"That's the thing which is stopping us from winning games. I don't believe it's about luck. When it keeps happening, you need to be better and you need to be more ruthless.”

The game ended in confusion when Clinton Mola was shown a second yellow card and then a red, only for the referee to overturn his own decision and bring the player back as he headed down the tunnel.

Quizzed about that incident, Selles added: "He was shown a yellow card but they changed it and said he didn't get the first yellow card so that's why he went back on the pitch and finished the game. I don't know what will happen with that. We'll have to see. He finished the game but it is a possibility (that he could be banned)."