Reading came from behind to condemn the Blues to a 2-1 opening day defeat at the Madejski Stadium. Town midfielder Jay Tabb’s first goal at his old home ground saw the Blues take the lead in the 16th minute but the Royals drew level just before the break via what appeared to be a Tyrone Mings own goal, then Danny Guthrie’s deflected 30-yard strike won it with 15 minutes to go.

Mings came in for his second senior start with Aaron Cresswell — who played every minute of last season - ruled out with a thigh injury. Skipper Carlos Edwards, who spent pre-season away with Trinidad and Tobago, replaced Paul Anderson, who drops to the bench.

Cole Skuse made his Town debut, while ex-Royal Tabb, Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick made their first appearances since joining the Blues on a permanent basis.

Former Real Madrid man Royston Drenthe whipped over a couple of early crosses for the home side, one too deep and one which Tommy Smith cleared. At the other end, former Blues loan keeper Alex McCarthy dealt with an Elliott Hewitt long thrown confidently.

The Royals enjoyed most of the possession in an opening quarter of an hour bereft of chances. Town came close to eking out an opportunity in the 14th minute when Luke Hyam found McGoldrick, who cut the ball back to Tabb, but the ball was stabbed away from the ex-Royal.

However, two minutes later Tabb, who joined the Blues from Reading this summer did get his name on the scoresheet.

The midfielder’s volley from Edwards’s deep cross from the right was stopped by McCarthy, McGoldrick getting to the loose ball first. The former Forest man could only stab it on to Murphy, who laid it back to Tabb and he slammed home from 10 yards for his second Town goal, two more than in his entire spell at the Madejski Stadium.

The home side started to show a few nerves after going behind, giving the ball away needlessly with McGoldrick and Tabb both failing to make the most of opportunities to create decent chances as the game moved towards the half hour mark.

On 31 Reading midfielder Jem Karacan was lucky to get away with a yellow card from referee David Coote after a two-footed lunge on Blues skipper Edwards in the centre circle. Moments later, Tyrone Mings — who earlier had undergone lengthy treatment for a knee injury - joined him in the book for a tackle on Chris Gunter, although he appeared to win the ball.

The Royals began to threaten more as the half moved into its final 10 minutes, Luke Chambers doing well to cut out Gunter’s cross from the right ahead of Adam Le Fondre after the right-back had been found by an excellent Danny Guthrie pass from deep.

It had been a half of few chances, but on 38 Murphy wasn’t able to threaten McCarthy when nodding on a Smith header. Soon after, the Irishman had another opportunity but after seizing on a loose ball couldn’t turn the ball past the advancing keeper while under pressure.

The Royals got back on terms with seconds of normal time remaining. A corner was cleared to Garath McCleary on the left and the ex-Forest man sent in a cross which Mings appeared to head back across his own keeper as he challenged, along with Skuse and Le Fondre, who received rather embarrassed congratulations from his team-mates.

There was just time for Loach to save McCleary’s low shot and Murphy to hit a weak effort through to McCarthy before referee Coote blew the whistle.

Town had been well worth the 1-0 lead they held until moments before the whistle. They had frustrated the home side and had carved out a number of opportunities, most notably Tabb’s opening goal.

Manager Mick McCarthy will be disappointed with the manner of the Reading goal, McCleary having been allowed to get his cross in too easily, although Mings — who appeared to have got the final touch after much half-time debate of the footage - was unfortunate to put the ball past his keeper as he looked to clear.

There were few chances in the early stages of the second half, but Tabb threatened to score his second of the game in the 57th minute, breaking into the area before hitting a low shot just wide. Two minutes later, Hewitt was booked for the most recent of a number of fouls.

Overall, Reading had been the better side since the break and in the 62nd minute almost added to their lead. Drenthe crossed low from the left and Le Fondre flicked it just beyond the post from six yards.

Three minutes later, Chambers did well to clear ahead of Le Fondre after McCleary had headed back across goal from the left.

The Blues were only an inch or so from going back in front in the 67th minute when Murphy did well down the left and sent in a ball which was only just in front of the sliding McGoldrick.

The Town number 10 went close again a minute later when McCarthy did well to save his strike from the edge of the box after good work from Tabb.

Almost immediately, the home side threatened. Town failed to deal with a deep McCleary cross from the left but Loach did superbly to rush off his line and block at Drenthe’s feet. Soon after, Morrison’s header from a corner was blocked.

Reading took the lead with 15 minutes remaining on the clock. Guthrie unleashed a 30-yard strike which took a deflection before looping over Loach. While the sides were lining up for the restart, Paul Taylor replaced Murphy up front.

The Blues had been largely disappointing since the break and with seven minutes remaining Mick McCarthy made his final two changes, Frank Nouble and debutant Paul Anderson taking over from McGoldrick - who like Murphy had been somewhat isolated throughout - and Edwards. Reading replaced Le Fondre with Russian frontman Pavel Pogrebnyak.

As the game moved into six minutes of injury time, Chambers flicked on Hewitt’s long throw but McCarthy was equal to Anderson’s header.

Town continued to push, Taylor saw a strike deflect harmlessly through to McCarthy, while the Royals threatened to add a third on the break, Chambers making an important interception as Williams took the ball into the area.

Referee Coote finally blew his whistle to signal Reading’s first opening day win of the season since 2006 and a defeat for Town.

The Blues would have been worthy of a lead at the break, but they were rarely in the second half, aside from Tabb’s shot and McGoldrick’s two chances and Loach will feel disappointed to have been beaten by Guthrie’s strike for the winning goal, even if the ball looked to catch another player on the way through.

The home side were well in control during the second 45 minutes and but for the usual stalwart defending from Chambers and Smith — and one excellent Loach save - in the end might have won more comfortably.

Reading: McCarthy, Gunter, Karacan, Pearce, Le Fondre (Pogrebnyak 83), Drenthe (McAnuff 79), McCleary, Morrison, Bridge, Robson-Kanu (Williams 67), Guthrie. Unused: Federici, Kelly, Gorkks, Obita.

Town: Loach, Hewitt, Chambers, Smith, Mings, Edwards (Anderson 83), Skuse, Hyam, Tabb, Murphy (Taylor 75), McGoldrick (Nouble 83). Unused: Gerken, Berra, Veseli, Tunnicliffe. Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire). Att: 20,546 (Town: 2,550).

Photo: Action Images

RetroBlue added 00:16 - Aug 4 I was also at the game today and I can only see the positives tbh. Reading are a strong squad with PL experience. So whilst they appear to be patting themselves on the back post match about their "good win" they appear to see a slightly skewed version of the game IMO. It took them TWO fortunate goals , both off the back or boot of a Town player to beat Loach - other than that the Reading GK was the far busier of the two. For almost 60% of the game Town more than matched their more experienced opponents and the experience our two young wing backs will have drawn from today will have been emence. Mings is a trojan of player in the making despite his obvious rookie and ineperience showing through today. The boy stuck at his game despite being heavily fouled more than once by the Reading winger. Hewitt is another youngster on a steep learning curve- yet he oozed class. For me Murphy disappointed. He had 2 clear cut chances 1st half to put the game to bed when we were 1-0 up, yet powder puff headers were easily claimed. Second half saw Reading "target" our inexperinced wing backs. Our MF sat too deep , isolating our strikers - who got liitle change out of the Reading CB's when presented with any hopeful punt forward from our back four ( due to the absence of the MF after the break). Over all the Reading GK was by far the busier. We lacked a cutting edge / pace up front until Taylor / Anderson came on. The subs being made too late IMO. BUT we more than matched a very strong Reading outfit , enough for me to feel we are going to win more than we lose this season .and it wasn't Town fans that were chewing their nails and anxiously whistling for the ref to blow the final whistle!! Keep faith : Town are in for a bloody good season.

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Stato added 00:19 - Aug 4 Was at the game and haven't seen highlights on tv. Loach not as good as henderson but what can you do ? Mings ok but not as strong as cresswell but what can you do ? Hewitt ready to be our first choice right back ? Smith and chambo did nothing wrong. Smith my MOM. Edwards quiet. Hyam quiet. tabb ok. I like Skuse and the way he always plays it to a team mate. Murph did ok and battled as always. McGoldrick got very little service and was very quiet. Taylor looked lively enough, frank didn't! see much of the ball and same for other sub Anderson. I bet there are maybe as many as 4 different starters for Miillwall game. Hewitt, loach, Murphy, Edwards, mings, and hyam all under threat. Not sure mick got it right today but expect millwall will be a different story.

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william121 added 00:22 - Aug 4 Yeah ok it's something to work on I guess but in my opinion not a bad start loosing to a premier league team that just got relegated ? Anyways I'm really looking forward to millwall, as its going to be my first game at Portnam road and we are travelling from Scotland to see my grandad and gran that are season ticket holders at ipswich, we will have Scottish flags and will have printed on them " Vernons Scottish army" ( Vernon is my grandad ) so hopefully it will be super !!!

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oioihardy added 00:44 - Aug 4 just watched the highlights , that was a horrible deflection to beat loach for the second goal ! no one should blame him for that ! he was wrong footed and any keeper at this level would find it hard to save ! im a keeper myself and know how hard those shots are to save! so dont just point a finger and blame ! watch the highlights and back the team before blaming anyone!

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40miles2town added 08:23 - Aug 4 sounds like the only people moaning about the team are the ones who sat at home . I thought we played well every player 100% commitment mings a Hewitt up against it all game .... skuse their he is skuse....
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tractorcolls added 09:26 - Aug 4 Was at the game and the support in numbers was great to see. Not the best time to allow Reading to draw level and the ball should never have been allowed to come into the box after the corner but then you have to deal with it if it does. Still think we need a 20 goal a season striker (is Billy Sharpe available) and some creativity and goals from midfield as we just seemed to play it up from the back and hope for a flick on. It won't take long for other teams to work that one out. Thought Tyrone did OK first half and the unfortunate OG seemed to dent a bit of confidence but he is one for the future at only 18. I wonder if Mick can work a bit more magic and get Wolves to sell us Stearman. Chins up boys....40+ games to go

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ericclacton added 09:32 - Aug 4 Perhaps I got a bit over optimistic but I genuinely thought we would beat Reading! just goes to show non of us know anything predicting results.
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blue_moon09 added 12:21 - Aug 4 Was at the game Town played well don't know why there is much negativity from so called fans that weren't at the game, think Town will be work in progress this season so doubt there will be a playoff final to attend in may.
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Stato added 13:00 - Aug 4 Have now seen the goals on TV and would suggest Loach could have done better with both goals. He could/should have been clearing any cross that is only 3 yards out for first goal and looked like a flat footed Peter Shilton for the second. Too many of our fans bang on about him because he is a local lad but won't shock me if Mick goes back for Henderson (even if on loan and even if with recall).

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greenkingtone added 13:13 - Aug 4 I suggest Mick's view is more nearly correct than the that of the people writing her who were not at Reading. I was, and in general I came away feeling positive about the team performance. Overall we lacked pace compared with the former Premium side whose speed and passing were efficient. The "new boys" did well and can only get better as the season evolves. The two goals conceded were very fast deflections. The entire ground was surprised by their second goal. No goalkeeper would have had a chance with it. We should all be glad of the standard of PR compared with the Madjeski. Its concourse is narrow and poorly lit. The catering was abysmal, and the toilets smelly. With nearly 3000 people their the concourse was chaos with people trying to find where their seats were, amid the queues at the kiosks. My seats were five rows from the front, which gives a flat view of the field with no perspective. I often think the managers should be up high in the stand to see what is going on, rather than on the touchline. The arm waving could be done by the assistant. Great support yesterday.

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Morgan added 13:42 - Aug 4 Didn't go yesterday but the highlights and reports all seem positive. No shame losing to Reading with their squad, only downer is we are on a high and it was the first game of the season. I can't wait for Millwall next week and I'm going to go to QPR so let's hope the atmosphere is just as good. Lets not let it spoil the feel good factor, we have 10 new players and they have to gel - it seems like they have already to a large extent. Loach was unfortunate with the second as he had made some good stops.

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Ipswichbusiness added 14:54 - Aug 4 Someone (was it Michael11?) on this thread said "Keep the faith" (or Garde Ta Foy if you want to be posh). I think that is right; don't panic just because we have lost the first game of the season away to a good side. Also I was impressed by Retroblue's contribution.
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WaffleMan added 15:23 - Aug 4 Go onto youtube and type Reading V Ipswich! the start of the game is there
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FenboyBlue added 15:38 - Aug 4 Keep calm and carry on. It would have been a dream start for us to rob Reading on the opening day but they had a bit more luck than us and a half time team talk must have woken them up. There was a spell after we went a goal in front, that Reading looked on the ropes and if we'd scored again things might've been different. Brave decision by Mick to play 2 young full-backs for this game. Hewitt look assured and Mings was ok but looked a bit shakey after getting a harsh yellow card and needing treatment. Keeping encouraging the lad, he came over the furthest to applaud the fans at the end. I thought Chambers was superb, great anticipation. Not sure about Skuse yet, I rarely noticed he was there in the second half (and he does look like Tommy Miller from a distance!) but maybe he was doing the quiet things well. Carlos was 100% committed but looked a bit jaded to me, not surprised given his international games through the summer. Perhaps time to give him a rest and try Anderson from the start, who looked quite lively when he came on. Tabby was our best player, very industrious trying to make things happen in attack. I swear he avoided hitting a sitter, tapping back to McGoldrick instead when scoring a second was easier, probably because he couldn't face scoring 2 against his old club. I was disappointed we faded away in threat in the second half, but I put that down to half this team being new. Give it a few games, promising start.

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too_true_blue added 16:26 - Aug 4 Was at the game yesterday and it was awesome to have so many of us there. In terms of the performance, I take away a lot of positives. I thought Jay Tabb was excellent and will be a real player for us. Our young full backs did really well. hewitt looks to bave bulked up a bit and won a lot in the air and mings did well too considering his second competitive professional game. i thought we looked solid at centre back with chambo winning everything in the air. Also thought Taylor looked really sharp when he came on, again can see him being a real player. Although they had quiet games I thought when they got the service Dids and Murphy did cause Reading's defends problems. Although Skuse looked like a 'tidy' player, I still think we lack in centre mid. Not sure if Hyam was still carrying an injury but struggled to have an impact. Maybe Wordsworth will fill that void but i think if we can add another creative midfielder we will be really well set-up. COYB

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blues1 added 17:15 - Aug 4 timmyh. why u are criticising battyblues comment I really don't know. as, by ur comment you clearly weren't at the game then don't see how u can. youll find the bad defending he was talking about was the fact that Guthrie wasn't closed down anywhere quickly enough. of course, unfortunately his shot was deflected but shouldn't have been given the time to shoot from there. runaround, the loach error was not for the 2nd goal. it was the 1st , where with the cross coming over in the 6 yard box, instead of coming to claim or punch the ball, he just stood watching it. unfortunately this is the problem with loach. made a great save later in the game but unless he starts tpo command his area we will concede many more goals like this 1.

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blues1 added 17:32 - Aug 4 just to add to my post tho, I thought we palyed pretty well in general. and as others have said, are many more positives than negatives. am very hopeful that we gonna have a decent season
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Stato added 19:10 - Aug 4 I remember we had many similar comments after playing Blackburn in last seasons opener. All along the lines of how well we had done against a relegated Prem side. I thought Reading were much worse than I was expecting and although they might improve and I don't think they played like a side that looks set for automatic promotion. I was talking to a couple of their fans who were telling me that Drenthe is on £40k a week and there are a number of others earning double the £12k we were paying Chopra. For me Reading just about deserved their win and I think the poor showing from our lads in the 2nd half was down to us not having enough pre-season friendlies and the being "trained" to play for 45 minutes. I'm a Mick fan and he is working wonders on limited resources but a convincing home win in front of a bumper home crowd on Saturday is a must for me as will be vital to attract non season ticket holders if we're going to boost the budget ahead of further squad improvements in Jan. Also thought it was a nice touch by our fans to give TC a shout after the "super Mick" chants had finished.

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theobald1985 added 20:23 - Aug 4 we will be fine this season and i cant quite believe some of the people on here suggesting d gerkin should come in for loach -he was wrong footed by a deflection and came off his line to keep us in the game earlier. this is the problem we have at town-too many fans just getting on players backs all the time slagging them off. They are obviously good players or they would not have got to this level over the thousands of other lads trying to make it up and down the country. we really need to cut this moaning out and just back the lads rather than calling for them to be dropped every time we think they have made an error

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chumley54 added 21:14 - Aug 4 Disgusted after just looking at sky's championship live games up to Xmas. 24 teams, and 23 of them have at least one live game. Only one team have been completely ignored. You guessed it! What the hells that all about? Poxy Leeds are on 4 times, even Yeovil and Bournemouth are apparently a bigger attraction than us. I am angry!!
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too_true_blue added 21:44 - Aug 4 Also no idea why Loach is getting criticised on here. Nothing he could have done for Reading's winner. He also made a worldy of a save at 1-1 which kept us in the game. I would be surprised if anyone who actually attended Saturday thought he did much wrong.
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bayleycr added 22:18 - Aug 4 I was at the game yesterday and I thought Loach did well. Their first goal needed a defender of the goalkeeper to take control so something for the defence to work on overall. That said, defence were solid, especially Smith and Chambers who I thought were very good. Full backs stuck to their task but offered us nothing going forward which we need to work on. Rest of the team - midfield wise Edwards looked off the pace, Tabb very good, Hyam a bit laboured and Skuse had some classy touches but needed to have more impact on the game. I do think Skuse will be good though given a few games. Up front Murphy and McGoldrick were ok but had to make the most of a number of long balls. I thought Taylor looked sharp when he came on which is encouraging. Nouble and Anderson didn't really show much in the time they were on but if Nouble is going to continue with those bright yellow boots he'll have to make an impact to justify it. Reminds me of watching us at Reading's elm park ground when Darren Caskey came on for them with bright yellow boots to chants of you can stick your boots up your .....! We won 4-0 that day and whilst I can't see us winning too many by that score, under Mick I think we'll win quite a few this season. I reckon Reading will be fighting it out for the top 2, we'll be fighting it out for the top 6.

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peewee added 12:11 - Aug 5 Tbh first game who cares nice to win but just bad luck. Still as a town fan I think its far fetched we will go up this season! BUT starting with teams not coming to PR seeing it as 3 easy points and all teams saying taking a point against town at home is a gd result to them is where we need to start winning all home games makes the difference between a dog fight and a fight for play offs. Still missing an out and out striker and a magic central mid with a touch of class.

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Jimmyonthewing added 19:02 - Aug 5 Hull got automatic promotion last season having lost 15 games - for us a narrow defeat against a fancied team away is not disastrous at this stage! Play a few more before we'll have any verdicts...
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