Bristol Rovers player ratings as 8/10 starlet shines in dismal Reading defeat

It was a must-win lunchtime fixture for the Gas with the drop zone now looking more and more closer and with Burton playing at three o'clock today it gave Rovers the perfect opportunity to at least temporarily move above the relegation places. However, second-half goals from Reading captain Lewis Wing and Chem Campbell meant that the Gas slipped to a club record five home defeats in a row.

Rovers manager Inigo Calderon made two changes from the Easter Monday defeat to Stevenage, with Clinton Mola and Sil Swinkels returning in place of Luke Thomas and Taylor Moore. Was a first start at the Mem for Mola since the Birmingham City home game three weeks ago.

There was a fast start to the game with both teams having early chances with Harvey Knibbs hitting the post for the visitors after only 60 seconds. Rovers responded quickly after a Kofi Shaw free kick went short to Jack Hunt, The full back then took the ball past two men before a left footed shot was comfortably saved by Joel Pereira in the Reading goal. The Gas needed a good start today after a series of poor 1st halves at home recently, and for the first 20 minutes Rovers looked the better side both on the counter and building up attacks. Just before the 20 minute mark, Top scorer Sotiriou had a great chance to ease Rovers fans nerves however his shot from just outside the box was well saved by Pereira.

Rising star

Rovers had a huge shout for a penalty on the half hour mark when Jack Hunt went down in the box and despite loud appeals from the fans, Referee Simon Mather wasn't convinced and waved play on. It was a quiet first 13 minutes in the second half, however, the crowd was brought to life when Gatlin O’Donkor chased down a through ball from rising star Kofi Shaw and just before O’Donkor was about to enter the box he was brought down by Amadou Mbengue but the resulting set piece led to nothing. Rovers had another chance to take the lead when a corner landed perfectly on the head of Sil Swinkels but his header was brilliantly saved by visiting keeper Pereira who was looking impossible to beat.

The visitors needed a win to move back into the and they got the goal that they probably didn't deserve after 67 minutes when they finally managed to piece together a good bit of play. It was a good quick passing move that eventually found captain Lewis Wing and he put the ball past Ward for his ninth of the season and that brought down the mood at the Memorial Stadium significantly.

With ten minutes to play, Calderon made a system change to try and save the season with the Spaniard moving Connor Taylor upfront to try and take a more direct approach. But that didn't work and three minutes into the seven added on, Reading scored the second thanks to Chem Campbell after his low driven shot beat Jed Ward and secured all three points and more than likely condemn Rovers to league two football next season.

Bristol Rovers player ratings

Jed Ward: Ward’s distribution has come on leaps and bounds since his return from Forest Green Rovers and it was in full display here today. Multiple times the attacks started from fantastic passes from Ward with almost an assist for had O’Donkor finished the chance that was put on a tee for him. Nothing that the keeper could do for the goal with Wing setting up to fire in the far corner but ended up putting it near the corner. 7

Jack Hunt: Looked a menace going forward early with the right back having three chances in the first half to put Rovers in the lead but couldn't finish them. Did get caught being too forward a few times and struggled to get back in time. 6.5

James Wilson (C) : A lot more forward thinking from the experienced captain than we are used to seeing. Multiple big bursts into the opposition half that had Rovers fans excited. With his defensive duties not much to do early on due to limited attacking play from the visitors. 6

Connor Taylor: Took the normal role of Wilson which is the more laid back defender who is back to watch out for counter attacks. He swept up across the backline very well and showed good pace to keep up with fast visiting front three. Was moved up front for the last ten minutes but couldn’t impact the scoreline. 6.5

Sil Swinkels: On the left of the back three, the Dutchman mixed his forward play with defensive duties nicely. Overlapped Clinton Mola well in the first half. Defensively there were a few rogue clearances that either he missed or fired it into touch. 6

Clinton Mola: Looked Rovers most dangerous player in the first half with Reading unable to deal with his attacking runs at times however it looked like he was half a second too late in his decision making which ultimately meant he struggled to create chances. 6.5

Missing link

Matt Butcher: The Wycombe loanee had a mixed bag performance with at times looking really good with quick passes and keeping the ball moving forward. However there were other times when he looked so uncomfortable on his right foot and would take a fair few seconds to shift onto his left before getting rid of the ball. 6

Romaine Sawyers: A player with poise and quality didn't show that at times today. Sawyers didn't play to the style of the game today with the former Brentford midfielder almost playing nonchalant at times. There were times when that style worked but it just didn't click today. 6

Kofi Shaw: Once again, the starlet was Rovers best player today. Constantly pressing high and winning the ball back, Shaw gave the Gas a high press and chance creation which they desperately missed when he was substituted which Rovers fans booed and chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ when they saw shining light Shaw was being subbed. 8

Ruel Sotiriou: Despite not being fullly fit the Cyprus international had a few chances in the first half but couldn't give Rovers the crucial lead that they so desperately needed. Pressed high but its clear he doesn't have the same link-up with O’Donkor like he did with Chris Martin. 6.5

Gatlin O’Donkor: The striker ran and ran however he barely had a touch of the ball in the Reading box and looked little goal scoring threat throughout the entire game. There were good moments of buildup play but that was in vain. 6

Substitutes

Scott Sinclair: The winger came on and did little to impact the game or scoreline in any way. He didn't see much of the ball. 6

Grant Ward: Ward was brought on in a more attacking role than the normal number six that he normally plays however just like all the subs he didn't make any impact to the scoreline or the performance. 6

Luke Thomas: A sub who tried to impact the game with pace on a tired reading right hand side and had a chance when he intercepted a pass and charged down the wing but his cross couldn't find anyone to get an equaliser. 6.5

Ollie Dewsbury: Was part of the substitution which pretty much lost the game when he came on for Shaw. It wasn't down to lack of effort but the youngster couldn't get anything going. 6