Reading close in on top six by beating Swansea

Reading moved level on points with the Championship play-off places as their third victory from four extended Swansea City’s winless run to eight games.

The Swans played themselves into trouble after the break, with goalkeeper Steven Benda’s misplaced pass falling to Tom Ince, whose deflected shot doubled Reading’s lead.

Substitute Liam Cullen scored on the rebound to raise hopes of yet another Swansea comeback but the visitors’ late attempts to salvage a point were in vain.

Reading climb up to eighth in the table, level on points with fifth-placed Norwich City and short of the top six on goal difference alone.

Such is the chaotic congestion of the Championship that Swansea, who started the game one position higher than Reading, drop to 16th as they remain without a victory since October.

Russell Martin’s men have lost three and drawn five of their past eight fixtures, failing to score first in any of those matches. And while their 14 points from losing positions is the best in the division this season, the comeback specialists could not repeat the trick this time.

This was a clash of styles illustrated by the Championship’s table of average possession, with Swansea topping that particular metric and Reading at the bottom.

In the actual league table, however, the two sides came into this fixture locked on the same points tally with the Swans’ superior goal difference putting them in 15th position, one place above their opponents.

The teams’ contrasting approaches were evident in the opening exchanges as Swansea kept the ball without offering much of a threat, while Reading’s first attack culminated in a diving header from Carroll, easily held by Steven Benda.

Five minutes later, Swansea had their first chance. Matt Grimes had the Reading defence back-tracking with a quickly-taken free-kick and, although Joel Piroe was tackled before getting a chance to shoot, the ball fell to Ollie Cooper, whose low effort was well saved by Joe Lumley.

Cooper’s next involvement was to foul Meite and concede a free-kick, curled in by Ince, which Benda could only punch away as far as Carroll, who volleyed the ball into the ground and into the net.

Swansea were struggling to contain Carroll, so much so that Jay Fulton felt he had to pull the former Newcastle United and Liverpool striker to the ground from a corner, prompting referee James Linington to point to the spot. But Meite’s penalty was a shocker, ballooned high over the bar.

There were signs the Swans might make the most of their reprieve – as Piroe failed to connect with an inviting Fulton cross before heading wide early in the second half – but they were the makers of their own downfall when Reading doubled their lead.

After Harry Darling’s shortly-taken goal kick, Swansea keeper Benda passed straight to Ince, whose low shot deflected off Darling and rolled into the far corner.

Having trailed in six of their past seven games, this was not exactly uncharted territory for the Swans, who yet again forced their way back into the contest.

Piroe’s header was tipped on to the post by Lumley and Cullen – who had equalised for Swansea as they came back from 3-0 down to draw at Coventry 10 days earlier – fired into an empty net to set up a compelling final 20 minutes.

The visitors pressed forward and spent the remaining period of time almost exclusively in their opponents’ half, but they were unable to create much in the way of genuine scoring opportunities.

An injury-time free-kick found Darling unmarked in the Reading penalty area but, once he headed the ball into Lumley’s grateful arms, Swansea’s hopes of pulling off another escape act were over.

There was still time for one last chance as Benda went up for the Swans’ final corner and left their goal unguarded. Lumley punched the ball clear and Ince raced on to it but, as he bore down on goal, Ryan Manning was on hand to make the covering tackle.