Reading 5 (Sigurdsson 22, Robson-Kanu 44, Brown 53, Henry 54, Cox 73)
Birmingham 1 (Hall 20)

Our reserves earned a very comprehensive victory over a young Birmingham side at Aldershot tonight.

Despite going behind, we put in a very accomplished and dominant performance to outplay the visitors and maintain a good position near the top of the table.

Blues skipper Asa Hall took advantage of a defensive mix-up to poke home on 20 minutes, but it did not take long for us to restore our grip on the game.

Gylfi Sigurdsson scored our immediate equaliser, and Simon Cox then had a great chance but shot over from inside the six-yard box.

Hal Robson-Kanu made it 2-1 just before half time, lashing home a cracking strike from inside the area.

We really turned the screw after the break, with Aaron Brown, James Henry and then Cox sealing the win.

Brown was sadly taken away to hospital midway through the second half after suffering an accidental cheekbone injury in an aerial collision.

John Halls had originally been scheduled to play, but missed the game in advance of a possible loan move.

Reading (4-4-2): Andersen; Hateley, Kelly, Brown (P Cox 68), Pearce (c); Karacan, Sigurdsson, Henry, Bozanic;
S Cox, Robson-Kanu (Bignall 72)
Subs: McCarthy, Bayley, Webb

Birmingham (4-3-1-1): Doyle; Wilson, Timmins, Joyce, Preston; Hall (c), Howland, Mutch (Moses-Garvey 57); Milojevic (Sheldon 57); Aydilek (Lea 85)
Subs: Krysiak, Rutter

First half
Reading had named John Halls on their teamsheet for the game, but the defender is set for a possible loan move away, and was replaced in the starting XI by Tom Hateley.

With a couple of minutes on the clock, two returning Reading loanees combined to make a very good chance. Simon Cox, recently of Swindon, did very well and found James Henry, back from Bournemouth, but the wingman prodded wide.

Birmingham had another close call soon afterwards as Reading broke once more, but City keeper Colin Doyle saw it go just wide.

With 12 on the clock, Doyle produced a very good save to turn Oliver Bozanic's drive wide of the post. From the resulting corner, the Irish keeper was nearly embarassed as the cross dropped just wide in the swirling wind.

The visitors took the lead on 20 minutes, profitting from a mix-up in the Royals' defence. Aaron Brown left the ball after keeper Mikkel Andersen called, and Blues skipper Asa Hall nipped in nicely to loft over Andersen and in.

Almost immediately though, Reading were level. Doyle tipped Henry's drive around the post for a corner, and from the resulting set piece, Gylfi Sigurdsson volleyed home at the back post from eight yards.

Reading kept pressing, and Brian McDermott's men were well on top for the remainder of the half.

They really turned the screw as the whistle drew close, and with 42 on the clock Bozanic was inches away from a goal after cutting in well from the left.

Two minutes before the break, Cox missed an absolute sitter, somehow putting over the bar from inside the six yard box; the goal gaping following Henry's cross.

But with 44 gone, we finally had a second goal. A nice threaded pass from Jem Karacan found Hal Robson-Kanu, and he produced a cracking strike to catch Doyle out and beat him at the near post.

Second half
Reading continued their dominance at the start of the second half, and had plenty of chances.

Cox was a little unlucky as he tried to go round the keeper, seeing the ball just run out of play. Another good move then ended with Bozanic seeing a shot well blocked. The Australian was looking for a goal that would have seen him celebrate his 19th birthday in style.

On 53, we had a third goal. Henry won a free kick on the left, took it himself and enabled Brown to lash home after ghosting in at the back stick.

A minute later, it was 4-1. Cox did well to nip in on a short back pass, and he found Henry in the box; the winger lashing home decisively.

City gradually settled down a little, making a double substitution, and Hall dinked a shot just over from the edge.

Midway through the half, Brown suffered a nasty-looking cheekbone injury, and after a few minutes of treatment, he was taken off on a stretcher. There certainly seemed to be no malice in the City player's aerial challenge, and it was a terribly unlucky moment for Brown, who is not long back from an ankle injury that has kept him out for around 15 months.

Moments later, Robson-Kanu hobbled off, Nicholas Bignall on in his place.

Straight away, Bignall did very well to create a fifth Reading goal, showing great strength to shrug off his man and give Cox a simple finish.

Five minutes later, Bignall was surely fouled in the box but referee Mr Bennett was not interested.

While the game was certainly over as a contest, there was still plenty of commitment on both sides, and Jem Karacan put in some incredibly sturdy challenges, most notably on 83 minutes when the noise of his thunderous tackle reverberated all around the ground.

We continued to look for more goals, but in the end 5-1 proved enough, and just reward for a very one-sided performance. We acquitted ourselves well, and the reserves are in fine form.