Defeat is hard to take - Taylor

Last updated : 16 February 2023 By Millersmad

"That was tough to take. But football is a simple game to evaluate and we shouldn't have given away those set-pieces that led to the goals. They were preventable. Carroll is obviously a focal point for Reading, a real handful, but I can't hide my frustration at our inability to defend at those moments. We had to defend those balls into the box better than we did, there was a mismatch in terms of physicality in there."

"I felt that we were the better team, we played the better football and created the better chances. But I'm sat here now with a 2-1 scoreline against us. Yes, we've been on a pretty good run, but we need to pick up more points. A good run, a good performance tonight, but no points. It's all about the points and that's why it's so frustrating. We planned, we prepped, but our execution in these moments was what cost us tonight."

“Disappointing is the wrong word. I can’t hide my frustration at that. In terms of performance levels, box-to-box, I thought we were the better team and we created the better chances. It was two set-piece goals, which were both preventable. We didn’t understand the instructions with regards to the obvious threat. That is no disrespect to Reading but that was their route to goal tonight. We were the better team tonight. It hurts more when you play well.

“That’s the quietest that Viktor’s been all season. I’m so frustrated. It was a huge effort from us, but we have got no points and got no reward.