With just over ten minutes to go Simon Cox made space for a strike on goal and hammered the ball past Huddersfield ‘keeper Smithies to prompt a late Reading revival. As the Royals threw caution to the wind, Pearce pushed forward and came close to equalising with a speculative lob which bounced on top of the crossbar with Smithies beaten. Unfortunately, Reading’s late charge, sparked by the second half substitutions of Kuhl, Mackie and Tanner who replace Cummings, Blackman and Taylor respectively, did not deliver the crucial second goal.

The home crowd was subdued from the start which reflected a dire first half in which Reading dominated possession (72% apparently) without threatening to score, and conceded two very sloppy goals. To say Reading were tentative is an understatement. Their passing was predominantly sideways and backwards and no doubt Huddersfield were perfectly happy with that. The laborious build up from the back cost the first goal. In an attempt to retain possession Hector played a short pass just outside the box and Butterfield nipped to dispossess Akpan before going on to beat an exposed Federici with a well placed shot. Both players were equally culpable. Hector’s pass selection was poor, and Akpan’s body position was all wrong. Had he been half turned whilst waiting to receive the ball, he would have seen Butterfield coming and been more likely to retain possession, albeit under pressure. Bunn’s goal was even worse defensively as Gunther was simply out-muscled by Bunn who also finished well. By half time all Reading had to show for their domination of possession was a dreadful effort high and wide from Blackman, and a blocked shot from Hector.

With nothing to lose Adkins reshuffled his meagre resources at the interval giving Kuhl his first taste of Championship football by moving Obita to left back at the expense of Cummings. Kuhl looked very on the ball although, like Obita, played mainly very deep. His first significant contribution was to put a cross over for Cox, but due the angle of delivery it was difficult for Cox to get any power or direction on the header. A lack of leadership on the pitch has been a problem for some time now but Mackie provided that quality. His is sense of urgency and aggression began to rub off on others, notably Tanner who showed some promising touches in spite of looking a bit raw. Obita ironically had more impact in attack playing at full back in the second half, which surely is currently his best position.

I know time-wasting has become part of the game but Huddersfield took it to an unacceptable extreme (hence the bookings of Coady and Smithies). It was a fitting punishment that Cox’s goal came whilst Town were reduced to ten men due to Bunn’s pathetic antics, feigning injury, in the Reading penalty area in an attempt to hold up play.

Adkins has tough job on his hands at the moment juggling a squad containing a number of promising but inexperienced players. Taylor and Blackman might have more impact if they were switched to allow them to go outside and cross with their stronger foot. Maybe a swap might be worth considering. It was also puzzling that Edwards was not used after such a positive appearance as substitute on Saturday. The Scunthorpe fixture provides an ideal opportunity for further experimentation between two very tough away league matches. The small squad will be stretched even more next week.
John Wells

Mixed feelings really - we controlled the game fantastically first half, its the way you'd love to play with a 2 goal cushion; unfortunately, we were two goals behind. Good practice for the future though! Daft mistakes, but... every team makes them, we're playing with a very inexperienced side, so the positive is that they didnt let it shake them. However, I imagine Huddersfield would have thought "let 'em pass it round their half all day, do they know theyre losing?" so... we just lack a killer ball, would make all the difference. Once we suddenly went mental at the end it was fantastic, barely one (well, as far as I counted, literally just one) crappy ball and the rest was like a clockwork attacking exercise and we could have ended up winning...

Blackman is mint this season - he skied a shot or two, but that was mostly for nostalgia and who can blame him, but he was possibly the only Reading player willing to run at their defence, and generally got past at least 2/3 before laying it off, falling over, or losing it. Ambition is there, and I think we're seeing what Adkins often refers to when he says how well Blackman trains. Shocking first season and a half, but I think theres a real diamond in there.
DaveBanana

Having Federici and Hector in the team has definitely helped us with playing the ball around the back and I think that will benefit us in the long run. Midfield is the obvious cause for concern. Akpan is not adventurous enough for me, always plays the simple pass, whereas we really need someone who isn't scared to make a pass or take a risk. Obita, as alluded above, I don't think is a central midfielder. It's an annoying one as we do have the personnel just unfortunately our first three choice midfielders are all injured! I really think McCleary and Williams in today's team would've made a big difference.

A lot of credit to Aaron Kuhl, thought he was excellent. Although I think it's a little harsh on Cummings, I would start Obita at left back against Forest and start Kuhl. Tanner I also thought was good, although I wouldn't have taken off Blackman as I thought he looked fairly dangerous.

Some pleasing passages of play tonight, just have to be a bit patient for new signings, players returning from injury and the youngsters coming through and hopefully we can have a good season.

Maybe being a little harsh but wasn't too impressed by Coxy tonight. A lot of battle and energy, but seems a bit slow and wasn't creating enough for my liking. Did take his goal well though.
yappy

Harry Bunn scored his first Huddersfield Town goal as Mark Lillis’s charges earned a very welcome first win of the Championship campaign.

Jacob Butterfield and Bunn provided a two-goal half-time lead, and while Simon Cox’s late reply ensured a few frayed nerves, the visitors held out.

It meant stand-in manager Lillis got the better of his old Scunthorpe colleague Nigel Adkins, and hard-working Town were good value for their three-point haul...

There was no sign on the teamsheet of midfielder Oliver Norwood, said to be on the verge of a £1.2m move to Reading, but the Northern Ireland international was watching from the stands.

Supporters among the 481 travelling Town contingent were biting their nails in the closing minutes – and referee Stuart Atwell added four more at the end – but their battling side held on and there were tremendous celebrations and chants at the final whistle.
Huddersfield Examiner

Huddersfield were full value for the three points after establishing a 2-0 interval lead. Their first came in the 10th minute when Akpan was easily dispossessed by Butterfield, who curled a superb shot past Adam Federici.

It was 2-0 in the 38th minute when Bunn cut in and easily placed his shot past Federici. Huddersfield had to withstand a strong Reading finish after Cox's 79th-minute goal. Pearce powered forward in the closing moments, but his lob struck the top of the bar and the away side held on.

Reading manager Nigel Adkins:
"At 2-0, Huddersfield had something to cling on to. We had to try to break them down but we didn't pass the ball quickly enough to do that. But at least we finished strongly and we've still made a good start to the season."
BBC Sport