This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
On Saturday afternoon, Reading hosted Stoke City in a Championship match at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. The Kenyan international Ayub Timbe Masika, who joined Reading on loan from Beijing Renhe earlier this year, was not included in the starting lineup.
Despite being an unused substitute, Timbe's absence did not affect the outcome of the match. Portuguese forward Lucas Joao gave Reading an early lead in the seventh minute, but Nick Powell equalized for Stoke in stoppage time, securing a 1-1 draw for both teams.
After the result, Reading secured 14th place on the log with 48 points from 37 matches, while Stoke City remained 17th with 42 points from the same number of matches.
Reading fans expressed their disappointment with the final result, citing defensive issues and missed opportunities. One fan tweeted, "Shame we couldn’t get the win today and a shame if Joao is out for a while. Ejaria didn’t have a good day in my opinion. Hopefully, he comes back ready with his tricks and does well. They were too defensive in the second half, allowed stoke to come back with a goal."
Another fan commented, "Started the game very well, but allowed Stoke to get back into it. Could have stayed on the front foot a bit more so hopefully can learn from that. Definitely should have had one, if not two, penalties as well."
