Reading missed an opportunity to break into the play-off places when they relinquished a two goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to newly promoted Blackpool.

George Puscas passed up a great chance to put the game to bed in the second half with the Royals already two goals to the good but Daniel Grimshaw produced an excellent stop and the comeback ensued.

Owen Dale volleyed home from the edge of the box before Jerry Yates provided a clinical brace to complete a memorable evening for all involved at Blackpool.

Josh Laurent assisted Tom Dele-Bashiru's goal and has been a standout player for the Royals since joining the club in the summer of 2020.

The combative midfielder took to Twitter to communicate with the fan base after the disappointing result.

He wrote: "We know we wasn’t good enough in the second half, but we’ll stick together and fix it."

Veljko Paunovic's men missed a huge opportunity at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and will be desperate to make up for it in their trip to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The Royals have lost a frustrating amount of points from winning positions this season and after a slow start to the campaign are definitely showing that they could potentially be involved in a race for the play-off places for the second year in a row.

The Verdict

It is an honest group of players that the Royals have at the moment, almost brought closer together by a tricky summer transfer window and a potential points deduction set to impact their campaign. Getting into winning positions, albeit extremely frustrating, has to be seen as more of a positive than a negative, Reading will learn from this and the momentum shift that took pace on the pitch to ensure it does not happen again.

Laurent is right to come out and admit the team's shortcomings in the wake of the painful loss and they will be hoping to bounce back as soon as possible.