AFC Bournemouth threw away a one goal lead as Tom Ince snatched a 83rd minute equaliser to give the Berkshire side a well deserved point at Vitality Stadium.
AFC Bournemouth threw away a one goal lead as Tom Ince snatched a 83rd minute equaliser to give the Berkshire side a well deserved point at Vitality Stadium.
Dominic Solanke had put the Cherries 1-0 up after eight minutes and chances fell to Jack Stacey and Ryan Christie with Scott Parker’s side the better team in the first half.
The second half was a different story though, as Paul Ince’s side dominated possession for much of the half and grabbed the equaliser through his son, who drove the ball home from the edge of the box into the top corner.
Parker was forced to watch the game from the stands after receiving a one match suspension for abusive language and the Cherries boss made just one change from the win over Derby, with Jordan Zemura returning in place of the injured Leif Davis.
Reading came into the game off the back of three straight defeats, the latest a 4-0 loss over promotion chasing Nottingham Forest. The Royals had only kept one clean sheet in nine games prior to kick-off and were without their top scorer John Swift who was absent from the squad.
Bournemouth started the game with a real spring in their step with a vocal and energetic crowd behind them and it did not take long for the home side to take the lead.
Zemura fizzed a ball in with the outside of his boot into Solanke who played a lovely one-two with Jefferson Lerma. The Colombian’s clever flicked return allowed Solanke to roll the ball past former Cherries keeper Orjan Nyland from 8 yards.
Reading came close to a reply almost instantly as Tom Ince drifted a ball towards Lucas Joao at the back post, but Mark Travers was alert and just beat the Portuguese striker to the ball.
Jack Stacey was then denied at the near post by former Cherries man Nyland before the Norwegian was called into action again to deny Ryan Christie who was teed up by Cantwell inside the box.
Reading then called Travers into action again as Andy Rinomhola latched onto Ince’s cut back after half an hour but the Irish shot-stopper stood firm and pushed the midfielder's effort away to safety.
After the break Josh Laurent had an early effort from distance saved by Travers as Paul Ince’s side looked to get back into the game.
With almost an hour played, it was Reading who looked the more likely to score. Ince cut back onto his right foot and floated in a wonderful cross but Nat Phillips was on hand to poke the ball out for a corner with two Reading players waiting at the back post for a simple tap-in.
As has often been the case this season Bournemouth found themselves in a tricky position as a slender first half looked under threat from a rejuvenated Reading. Bournemouth struggled to get out of their half for large parts of the half as Reading kept the ball well and denied the Cherries any opportunities.
With just under 20 minutes left to play Reading had a penalty decision waved away by the referee. Ovie Ejaria appeared to be tripped by Stacey but the referee had no interest in pointing to the spot despite the cries from the away fans.
Paul Ince then replaced Lucas Joao with Yakou Meite to the backdrop of the Reading fans chanting “you don’t know what you’re doing” with the away side pushing for an equaliser.
As the game entered the final ten minutes, Reading got their equaliser and it was no other than Tom Ince who helped rescue a point for his father’s side. Pouncing on a loose ball from a corner the winger drove his shot into the corner of the net.
A tense final five minutes followed as both sides pushed for a winner but the game ended 1-1 and boos were yet again heard ringing out at the final whistle as the home fans voiced their frustrations at another below par second half performance.