Ipswich Town booked their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup by beating Reading on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The Blues looked comfortable going into the final stages of the match, but a mistake allowed the Royals a late equaliser, taking it to spot kicks, where they won 3-1.
They fell behind just over a minute into the game. A mix-up at the back saw Caylan Vickers capitalise on an awkward moment involving Cieran Slicker where the goalkeeper made a strange save off his line. It cannoned off Vickers and Brandon Williams, bouncing into the back of an empty net as an own-goal for the Manchester United loanee.
A quick response would’ve been perfect. Town surged forward, winning a corner which Reading cleared as far as Lee Evans. The captain took aim from the edge of the area, firing a powerful effort into the gloves of Coniah Boyce-Clarke.
The Blues continued their pressure, but their reaction to falling behind felt a bit lacklustre. However, in the 13th minute, Cameron Humphreys sent Freddie Ladapo away down the right flank, allowing the striker to cut inside and launch a powerful effort at Boyce-Clarke. He spilled it back into the path of Omari Hutchinson, whose overhit cross flew out for a goal kick.
A quick breakaway almost saw Reading double their lead shortly after the half-hour mark as Evans was barged off the ball. It allowed them to launch a quick counterattack, with Williams and Slicker forced to combine to prevent Tivonge Rushesha from finding the back of the net.
Hutchinson was finding extended periods on the ball, but his execution in the final third was poor, often leading to him being dispossessed at critical moments. His delivery for Freddie Ladapo in the 32nd minute was pinpoint, but the striker couldn’t rise high enough to divert it into the net.
Reading, however, were good at limiting them to shots from outside the box. One such opportunity fell to Jack Taylor after the hosts cleared a corner, allowing him to fizz a shot just past the post. Bookings for Evans and Humphreys slowed down their momentum, allowing the Royals to tilt the flow of the game back in their favour.
There was a universal groan around the Select Car Leasing Stadium as six minutes of added time was indicated at the end of the first half, but it allowed Town to equalise a minute before the break. Hutchinson’s quick feet down the right flank opened up space for him to fire a low cross into the box. It bobbled up and over to to Humphreys, who tapped it into an empty net to make it 1-1.
The opening few minutes of the second half were stop-start. The best chance came in the 54th minute, when Williams was allowed space to fire a cross into the box from deep. It landed on the head of Elkan Baggott, who made a rare run into the box, but he headed wide from close range.
The Indonesian centre-back was involved again three minutes later, raking a sumptuous through ball forward to Ladapo, who was played through on goal. Boyce-Evans rushed off his line, putting the striker off at the last minute and allowing Reading to clear the ball away from danger after his weak shot lost momentum.
Ladapo wasn't going to be put off by that, especially after picking up a fantastic through ball from Evans. Once again, it played him clean through on goal, but this time he slipped it past Boyce-Evans to put Town ahead, celebrating in front of the packed-out away end.
Kieran McKenna was clearly trying to kill the game off late on, bringing on Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead and Kayden Jackson despite being 2-1 up. It was Reading who ended up equalising, however, as substitute Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan pounced on George Edmundson, who slipped, allowing him to run down the left flank and slot the ball past Slicker to make it 2-2 in the 86th minute.
So the match went to penalties, where Slicker redeemed himself for his earlier error by denying Charlie Savage from the spot. Boyce-Clarke replied by keeping Sone Aluko's poor penalty out, keeping the scores at 1-1.
Vickers was unable to keep his nerve, blasting the next penalty over the bar before Taylor made is 3-1 by sticking his spot-kick into the top right corner. Ben Elliott copied his teammate's mistake, firing miles wide of the target as Town progressed to the third round.
Town XI: Slicker; Ball, Edmundson, Baggott, Williams (Clarke 60'); Evans, Taylor; Hutchinson (Jackson 76'), Harness (Aluko 46'), Humphreys (Chaplin 76'); Ladapo (Broadhead 76')
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