Paul Ince lauds ‘out on their feet’ Reading team after holding on for Boro win

Reading manager Paul Ince admitted that his players were “out on their feet” as they struggled to hold on to a slender lead near the end of their 1-0 Championship victory over Middlesbrough.

Tyrese Fornah, the on-loan Nottingham Forest midfielder, broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when he drove home a powerful 20-yard shot on the half-volley.

Though Middlesbrough dominated much of the second half, as Reading protected their lead, they offered only a limited goal threat.

It was Reading’s third successive home win, moving them up to third place in the Championship table, and came after an impressive 3-0 victory over Blackburn in midweek.

“I’m happy with the performance but it was a different type of performance from that on Wednesday,” Ince said.

“It was sort of backs-to-the-wall stuff today and I kind of half-expected that because the lads had put in such a shift against Blackburn.

“And we’re more or less talking about the same players. I knew that, after 60-65 minutes, we’d probably be dead on our feet.

“It was more today about unity, spirit and sticking together, people making blocks. I thought… ‘Oh, here we go. We’re going to throw it away’.

“But that’s what it takes and just shows you the spirit that we’ve got at this club and in this changing room.

“Wednesday was amazing but today was probably even better because of the circumstances. Because we were out on our feet.

“And when you’re out on your feet, subconsciously, you start dropping deep and you start making mistakes.

“Everyone gets nervous, apprehensive and agitated. But I was so proud to go from Wednesday night to this sort of display.”

Ince also praised match-winner Fornah, who scored his first career goal.

“I’m always on Ty’s case,” Ince, the former