It’s seldom a good idea to read too much into the first pre-season friendly of the summer – it’s just a fitness test, after all – but let’s give it a shot. Reading began their preparations for 2025/26 by defeating Hungerford Town 5-1 at Bulpit Lane on Saturday.
It was our first glimpse at how the Royals are progressing under Noel Hunt this summer, and it comes ahead of three more friendly that will be accessible to the public: Gillingham away next weekend, followed by Reading hosting Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth. There will also be behind-closed-doors fixtures at Bearwood versus Swindon Town and Oxford United, as well as a mini-break in Ireland for squad bonding, with no games scheduled for those days. First, a quick overview of how the afternoon went.
Reading got started with a quick double just before the half-hour mark. Emmanuel Osho assisted Basil Tuma for the first goal, before the roles were reversed for the second. Osho made it 3-0 about ten minutes later with a goal I missed because I was tweeting (rookie mistake, I know), but the Royals’ lead was trimmed when Harry Williams made it 3-1 at halftime. Reading’s lead was extended to 4-1 after the break when Ashqar Ahmed stole the ball from the goalkeeper and placed it into an open net. Barough forced a save from a free kick a few minutes later, but Jeremiah Okine-Peters pounced on the rebound to make it 5-1.
A confident start to pre-season
Yes, Reading faced opponents they should have easily defeated – Hungerford play in the Southern League Premier Division South, four divisions lower than Reading. However, it was still up to the Royals to play well (check), convincingly impose themselves on the game (check), and achieve a healthy margin.
That has occasionally been easier said than done for Reading’s younger sides, as Saturday’s two XIs demonstrated. Going toe-to-toe with considerably older, more experienced, and more athletic players, even if they are in non-league, is a difficult transition for players who are used to playing under-21s and under-18s games, as has been the case in recent years in the Berks & Bucks Cup. However, there was no incident on Saturday. Reading competed effectively throughout, even without the older players (Lewis Wing, Jeriel Dorsett, Andy Yiadom, etc.). They were smart, confident, and fluid. That was true in both halves, with the XI introduced at halftime maintaining the same passion and optimism as their predecessors before the break.
There’ll be tougher challenges to come of course – starting with a trip to League Two Gillingham next weekend. But this was an encouraging start nonetheless.
Ahmed and Osho’s right-wing auditions
The two most impressive performers were on Reading’s right wing. Osho and Ahmed both looked active in 45-minute stints, displaying confidence with the ball and attacking Hungerford’s defence. Given that the Royals are revamping their attacking options this summer and are expected to bring in a few wide players, these two did nothing to hurt their chances of playing time in 2025/26. Bright performances against Hungerford do not guarantee immediate promotion to the league XI, but if they can build on Saturday’s performance in the coming weeks, they will have a solid basis for a possible breakout season.
Just take Andre Garcia as an example. In the summer of 2024, he appeared out of nowhere and quickly established himself on the side. Perhaps Osho and/or Ahmed can be the season’s surprise package. Both have been around the team in the last year, of course. Last season, Ahmed appeared in 11 games across all competitions for Reading’s first team, while Osho appeared in six league and cup games. I’m used to seeing both of them play full-back, so it’ll be intriguing to see where their long-term positional futures lie.
Reading are still inverting full-backs
Speaking of full-backs, Hunt’s continued/revived a Sellesism of inverting them. That wasn’t consistently evident during his managerial tenure in the second half of last season, but it was noticeable on Saturday.
This picture from the first half illustrates the point. Joel Pereira has the ball, with centre-backs Michael Stickland (right-sided corner of the box) and Jeriel Dorsett (off screen to the left) ahead of him. The full-backs (red circles) have come very narrow while the wingers (blue circles) keep their width.
This tactic continued in the first half, with Abrefa and Garcia allowed to roam the infield widely as Reading attacked. Garcia appeared to be the Royals’ right-sided centre-back at one point, but he also played in a 10 role (centrally and high up). This full-back inversion was quite similar to the second goal against Wrexham in last season’s 2-0 triumph (the finest team goal of 2024/25?). It implies that Hunt has a persistent desire to invert his full-backs.
Perhaps not always, though. In the second half, left-back John Ryan (another player who impressed) and right-back Andy Yiadom appeared to be playing as more traditional full-backs, getting forward on overlap. However, considering their versatility and technical ability to invert (Ryan can also play right-back), they may potentially operate as inverted full-backs. It will be interesting to observe how Hunt stays to this approach in the next weeks and months.
Tuma’s a lively striker option
Kylian M-Baz-e had a solid start to the preseason as well. Reading’s lack of centre-forward alternatives meant he was given the start in the first half (he was replaced by Okine-Peters at halftime), and he made an impression. After opening the scoring with a wonderful guided finish set up by Osho, he reciprocated by passing the ball across for his colleague to tap in at the back post. In addition, his overall performance appeared promising. Tuma struggled to establish himself as a centre-forward when I saw him play against Cheltenham Town in the Bristol Temple Meads Virtuous Pizza Vase last season, but he had a lot more success on Saturday.
Overall, he appeared quick and vibrant, making the most of his raw pace. Even though he’s been a part of the first team since the days of Paul Ince, seeing his pure speed in person is always impressive. Given his lack of power compared to other centre-forwards, he’ll need to make the most of his mobility if he wants to outperform opposing centre-backs. There appeared to be an intentional ploy to allow him to drop off into space to receive the ball. Rather than continually sticking on the last man, seeking for a pass in behind, Tuma should come a little deeper and avoid direct competition with a defender.
Tuma, like Osho and Ahmed, may have an opportunity in Reading’s forward-line overhaul. The Royals will most likely sign two strikers this summer (one starter and one backup), but they may benefit from a third option for depth, even if it is a young striker. Maybe that’ll be Tuma.
There’s not much to learn about the triallist
Not the finest subheader for a ‘What We Learned From…’ piece, but I can’t give you much insight into Reading’s only triallist. I can give you his name, Yeboah Amakwah, due to some fantastic research by RFC Latest on Twitter.
It didn’t appear that Reading had a trialist, although I did notice an unknown player on the bench before the game. After a lot of unsuccessful scrolling through Transfermarkt’s ‘Free Agents’ pages (it turns out he’s not a free agent and wouldn’t have been there) and eventually seeing him line up as a right-sided centre-back, we found the name. Amakwah is a 24-year-old London-born centre-back who previously played for Manchester City’s youth. After loan spells at Rochdale and Accrington Stanley, he joined Belgian side SK Lommel on a permanent basis in 2022 and has played 47 games there. His contract appears to be up next summer, so it’s unclear why he’s available right now.
And I don’t have anything more to say about him. Amakwah did not have a lot of defense or intricate distribution to do, and this game was not the perfect moment to showcase either skill. It will be fascinating to see if he is retained in the following weeks, and possibly given another chance at Gillingham. Just to emphasize the argument regarding triallist defenders not always being able to clearly stand out in pre-season: two years ago, one centre-back was given a couple of games in pre-season but didn’t seem to do much. He eventually earned a contract and was traded to Nottingham Forest in January.
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