READING 3
READING: Joel Pereira 6, Mola 7 (Abrefa 84, 5) Salif 6, Bindon 6 (Holmes 75, 6) Dorsett 6, Elliott 7 (Savage 76, 6) Wing 7, Azeez 9 (Wareham 84, 5) Knibbs 8, Ehibhatiomhan 6 (Camara 66, 6) 77, 5) Carey 6 Smith 8. Subs not used: Button, Craig.
BL ACKPOOL 2
BLACKPOOL: Grimshaw 6, Pennington 6, Ekpiteta 7, Husband 6, Hamilton 6 (Lawrence-Gabriel 77, 7) Dembele 7, Byers 6 (Norburn (Morgan 77, 5) Coulson 6, Joseph 7 (Virtue 83, 5) Beesley 7. Subs not used: Emmerson, O’Donnell, Casey.
Att: 18,480 Rating: ★★★★★ Ref: Ben Speedie 7/10
BLACKPOOL head coach Neil Critchley feels that his squad faces a “pivotal” summer of rebuilding after missing out on the League One play-offs this season following defeat at Reading.
Karamoko Dembele gave Blackpool a fourthminute lead only for Sam Smith to equalise for Reading on the brink of half-time.
Goals from Harvey Knibbs and Femi Azeez in a three-minute spell Smith 45, Knibbs 68, Azeez 71 Dembele 4, Lawrence-Gabriel 90 in the second half gave the hosts a 3-1 lead, with Jordan Gabriel’s late effort a mere consolation.
“I think that we face an important summer,” Critchley said. “If you look at the players that we inherited or signed when I first came here, the natural cycle of that squad is coming to an end.
“The summer is a chance for us to refresh and move forward. It’s a really pivotal time for us. This game did sort of reflect our season, a case of what might have been.
“It wasn’t today that we missed out on the playoffs. It’s over the 46 games and – in certain games, not every one – we’ve fallen short.”
Reading’s defensive cov
