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Not a great showing overall, although two players were real standouts at the back.

Joel Pereira: 5

Could have attacked the cross into the box more aggressively for Taylor’s goal, but was completely stranded by his defence once he had made the decision not to do so. Got down bravely to clean up a potential one-on-one with the goalscorer in second-half stoppage time.

Overall a pretty quiet performance for Pereira in which he did nothing spectacular and perhaps would want another look at the goal conceded.

Ryan Nyambe: 6

Got high up the field often when Reading wanted to use a 3-4-3 structure. Whipped a nice driven ball across the deck when deep in the box, eventually earning the Royals a corner. Did his better work for the day on the ball, but also occasionally dallied on it too long.

Not as good defensively as the other defenders, but had to cover a lot more vertical ground in Leam Richardson’s system tonight.

Paudie O’Connor: 8

Consistently won the ball in the air when he needed to tonight, finishing a perfect 8/8 for aerial duels and being the first person to meet multiple corners and crosses into the box. Could be caught out when pulled out of position, but generally got better as the game went on in that regard.

Just as much of a threat at the other end. Rose at the back post to meet Lewis Wing’s free-kick delivery, scoring his second goal in four games with a headed finish into the ground. Played his first game with a new centre-back partner in Benn Ward, and yet looked very confident immediately, showing good leadership to Ward and the wider team.

Benn Ward: 7

Made his Reading debut as the left-sided centre-back. He’d end up in the middle of the field relatively often when Nyambe pushed up. Made first contact on a searching ball into the box from a set play to see it behind. Incredibly calm on the ball – happy to do the trendy ‘studs on the ball’ thing to invite the pressing attackers onto him.

Slid in to make a strong tackle in the middle of the field in the 35th minute, getting Reading set up to attack again. Sprinted back and then cleanly took the ball away from a Wigan attacker who was threatening to run in behind in the 39th minute.

Slid across the backline again very well in the 62nd minute to win the ball, showing a good turn of pace. Overall, an impressive debut from the former Accrington Stanley defender.

Jeriel Dorsett: 6

Did well to fight away a ball that Wigan managed to keep bouncing inside of Reading’s box in the 17th minute, rising over his man.

Scored his second goal in as many games by arriving with perfect timing at the back post to head home.

Did extremely poorly with the Wigan equaliser, allowing Taylor to step across him when the ball came in at knee height, creating an easy finish for the forward. Recovered well to help Reading see the game out though,

Lewis Wing: 6

Loose with his passes in the early stages and couldn’t make the impact he wanted to in the opening half hour, often looking a step behind. Found some consistency around 30 minutes in.

Got into space in front of the box to shoot on the hour mark, but saw it fall to his left foot. Still made a valiant effort, dragging it just over the bar.

Made possibly his best delivery of the season with his 87th-minute free-kick, looping it high to the back post and providing enough backspin to create an easy finish for O’Connor.

Liam Fraser: 6

Cut out a Wigan pass into the box to end a counter-attack in the early stages. Won it back again when Paddy Lane lost it cheaply in the middle early on. Calm with it in the first half: doing nothing spectacular but not making any glaring errors.

Started the second half well, playing a pair of his best balls of the game forward through the same gap for Kamari Doyle. Sliced through the middle of a dangerous Wigan attack to break it up in between those.

Gives Reading a lot with his willingness to be a cog in a machine. Ended as the player on the field who completed the most passes in the game, but did the dirty work too, finishing with the same number of recoveries as Wing.

Paddy Lane: 5

Listed as a right winger but drifted inside a lot, letting Nyambe go wide of him – often a kind of attacking midfielder in a 3-4-3 when Reading had possession. A little weak with the ball at his feet in the first half, losing it in a few nasty spots. Cut a nice ball across the field with the outside of his boot for Doyle to get onto.

Switched over to the left side and was involved in a nice move to get Marriott into the box – receiving it in the half space and playing a ball into the seam between the defenders. Struggled to get into the game in the second half and was withdrawn for Ritchie.

Kamari Doyle: 6

Started on the left side but switched with Lane midway through the first half in a move that benefitted both players. Had a chance to slip Wing in on the edge of the box in the 42nd minute, but chose to cross into bodies. Got a decent rebound, but miscontrolled it and was booked for his follow-through tackle.

Slid in early in the first half when a cross found him in the box, but couldn’t quite find good enough contact. Kept his head up to get free on the right side of the box shortly after and cross for Dorsett to score.

Was full of confidence and did some good work with dribbles through the middle from Fraser’s passes shortly after the goal, but could only shoot over from the resulting chance.

Haydon Roberts: 5

Played in a high starting position tonight ahead of Dorsett, or wider of him as the left-wing-back. Struggled a little to get his crosses past the full-back in the opening half hour but started to come better after.

Had two bites of the cherry with the ball right in front of Wigan’s net, but found dedicated bodies blocking it away each time. Did well right after half-time to keep the ball in during the sequence that led to Dorsett’s opener.

Jack Marriott: 6

Tried to run in behind well in the opening 15 minutes, making life uneasy for Wigan’s centre-backs when Reading weren’t doing much else. Came close to reaching Wing’s ball over the top early, and checked in well a minute later to get Reading set up on a counter-attack.

Really alert in the box as Reading attacked in the 30th minute and found Doyle for a shot when he had a defender all over his back. Set Wing up for a hit in the 60th minute. Saw out the full 90 minutes today and continued to run gamely as Reading tried to deny space to Wigan’s defenders as they initiated build-up play.

Subs

Matt Ritchie: 5

Replaced Lane and played in various spots down the left side as the second half went on. Not quite on the same wavelength with Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan after he came on, but did whip a nice cross into the box in the 83rd minute.

Charlie Savage: 5

Joined the match with 15 minutes to go and was deployed by Richardson high up the field. With the game state changing shortly after Savage’s introduction, much of his time on the pitch consisted of him chasing the Wigan defenders when Reading sat deeper. He performed that role gamely and was accurate when on the ball.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan: 5

Showed some good flashes in his time on the pitch but saw the game change after Reading scored their winner. Got on the ball well along the left side of the box and whipped in a driven cross, but couldn’t find feet.