Wrexham blow their promotion chance! Red Dragons lose at Reading and miss opportunity to move into 2nd in League One table

Wrexham were dealt a severe blow to their automatic promotion hopes as Reading beat them 2-0 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Tuesday.

After a nip and tuck first half, Reading had the lead on 50 minutes. Harvey Knibbs stepped up to score from 12 yards after Eoghan O’Connell fouled Jayden Wareham in the box.

And within five minutes, it was two, as Lewis Wing slammed home a superb finish from just inside the box, finding the bottom corner under Arthur Okonkwo.

Their job of seeing the game out was made all the more difficult, however, with 15 minutes to go, as Michael Stickland was sent off. The 21-year-old was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart.

But their backline held firm, even as Sam Smith repeatedly tested them, and recorded a huge, morale-boosting win.

Reading's defence stepped up. This was a huge game against a big side aiming to win promotion, and their youthful backline stood firm and stared them down. All four of their defenders on the night were 21 or under, and their left-back, Andre Garcia, is just 17. They deserve immense credit for keeping a clean sheet.

Everything went wrong for Wrexham from the concession of the penalty so it's impossible to look beyond O'Connell. He was perhaps a little unfortunate, but there was no need for him to make contact in the box as he did.

Wrexham play Wycombe Wanderers this weekend; Wycombe sit second in League One, and Wrexham could have leapfrogged them with a win, but will now need a win this weekend to bolster their automatic promotion hopes.