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Reading’s Leam Richardson reacts after Bolton’s late equaliser and ‘stamp’ on O’Connor

Reading’s Leam Richardson reacts after Bolton’s late equaliser and a ‘stamp’ on Paudie O’Connor early in the second half.

Jack Marriott had put Reading ahead on the 36th minute, but Bolton hit back and dominated for much of the second half before Mason Burstow claimed a point for Bolton in the sixth minute of added time.

Because of Cardiff and Lincoln’s big wins on Tuesday night, they pull further clear at the top of League One, with Bolton looking at potentially settling for the playoffs unless a dramatic change in form.

The Royals were looking on course to draw level with 6th-placed Huddersfield, but Leam Richardson’s side have now actually dropped a place – moving below Stevenage into 8th.

“It’s a terrible [challenge], it’s an absolute terrible one, [a] disgusting one,” Richardson told BBC Radio Berkshire.

“He’s getting stitched as we speak now, his teeth have suffered, you can see through his mouth.”

Richardson said, per Bolton News: “Obviously, when you are holding onto the game as much as that and then if we probably defend the set piece better, we win the game,” he told the club channels.

“I thought the first half was very competitive, both sides showing intent with the ball. I felt we finished the first half the strongest, going in 1-0.

“Second half, it was a tough one because we had used all our subs by 60 minutes with a few injuries, the stamp on Paudie (O’Connor) and a few other things. They made their subs after and finished a lot stronger, a lot fresher, than we did.

“We have had four games in 12 days, every three days, and you can see that. If you are not going to win, don’t lose and I think it’s a really good point for us.

“We have got lads on the pitch, we do a lot of work with them. It is a moment where if we see that moment out, we win the game.

“Fair credit, they are a very, very good team. They have been going at it in this league for five or six years, going at in really good strength and depth in recruitment and everything else.

“We are still new into our journey. I am 18 games in, the players are still new together. Coming out of what we have been in, in football people want things yesterday and tomorrow but we have got to be really careful what we wish for.

“I think if we keep going in these small steps, we will be fine and tonight was one of them.”

Bolton boss Steven Schumacher said, per Bolton News: “It’s too early to be worrying about automatic because there are a lot of games to go.

“Lincoln and Cardiff have got 14 games to go, so there’s plenty of time for them to have a blip in form. But we’re playing well. That’s all we can focus on, ourselves.

“We’ve had two really tough away games in Lincoln and Reading, two in-form teams. Reading had only lost two of the last ten. Lincoln are unbeaten in 14.

“We’ve gone away to both of them. In this game, we certainly deserve to win them. On Saturday, I thought we deserved a point.

“Just focus on ourselves. Try and be as consistent as we can be. We’re eight unbeaten now, so take the positives out of it.

“We know we’re a good team, but if we don’t have enough to get automatic, then we think we’re going to be in the mix to still get promoted anyway.

“I think the performance deserved three points. I thought the lads played really well. The first half, we were excellent, created two or three really big chances in the opening 25 minutes and didn’t manage to take one.

“Then from their first attack, really, Marriott, who’s a man who’s bang in form, gets a sniff and he punishes us. But I thought we responded well. I said to the players at half-time, come on, we can’t be too disheartened.

“We’ve controlled that game and if we continue to pass the ball as well as we did, then we’ll create chances in the second half.

“Thankfully, we did that and we got something from the game because it was nothing less than what we deserved.

“It’s not just possession. They’re playing well, they’re not just passing the ball for passing’s sake. We’ve had 65 per cent possession, we’ve had chances, 16 shots on goal. At half-time, we’ve had seven shots from inside the 18-yard box.

“We’re getting into good areas. I think we’ve been guilty of not being clinical with chances and that was the case again tonight. You ask me all the time, what can you do about that? I don’t know, that’s the answer.

“I know we can only try and get the players into good areas and explain game plans to them. But what I will say about the group is that they’re executing what we’re telling them to do. Again, it’s another game.

“We’ve come away from home, we’ve dominated. We haven’t caused too many problems from Reading and created loads of good chances ourselves. The spirit that they show and the character to keep scoring late goals is really important.

“I can’t be too despondent, but we do need to be more clinical for sure.

“That shows really good character,” Schumacher said. “It shows good fitness levels. It shows that we have a good squad.

“We get impacts from people who come off the bench. Mason was left out at the weekend, which was a tough call. But we chose to put him in the squad today and on the bench because we thought we might need him.

“And he pops up with another goal, that’s his 10th of the season. So, we keep going and keep that spirit and keep that belief. I don’t think the players don’t believe in what we’re doing.

“We’re in a good rhythm and we want that to continue and put the pressure on as best as we can.”

This is what social media users said after Reading’s Leam Richardson reacts to Bolton’s late equaliser and ‘stamp’ on Paudie O’Connor…

@mechlandscape: When I saw it on the telly my first thought was that he caught the Reading player as he stumbled, but it looked an unavoidable accident rather than deliberate. Yes I’m biased as a Bolton fan, but the ref seemed to see it the same way.

@Highwaters__: Looks bad but i do think he went for the ball. He should have showed more remorse after it happened. Possibly could have been avoided though.

@_col__83: It was blatant. He should have been sent off, we should have been given 3 points, and you should have been stripped of your 1994-1995 play off victory against us

@Maxspeeduk: Absolute pussies the lot of them all whining O’Connor tried to cheat a free kick as Kenny had him for pace unfortunately he came off worse lucky for him he left the pitch better looking than when he went on it

@krisconvery: I thought he (Kenny) was very lucky to escape punishment whilst also believing that it was not necessarily intentional. I think there’s a duty of care to a fellow professional when they’re in that position.

@emmacrellin1: Ref definitely missed one. Hope Paudie is ok.

@TalkReading: More concerning than anything is the three injuries sustained tonight. Hoping Haydon Roberts, Jack Marriott and Paudie O’Connor are all okay and back ASAP. Horrible kick in the face on Paudie that looked very avoidable if the Bolton player wanted to avoid it. Nasty. #readjngfc

@pattfurey: If the Paudie O’Connor incident where he throws himself to the ground against a small striker in an attempt to win a foul and gets booted in the face doesn’t stop you doing it nothing will. Nothing malicious innit at all if it had happened to one of ours I’d say the same #bwfc

@Chartley1983: Its a red card. Regardless of intent, its endangered a players safety.

@RfcNatho: Sort your refs out. Pricks. Paudie O’connor missing teeth and your ref couldn’t give a fuck

@snickeller: How the referee judged it as a ” coming together” is beyond me but the lino did him no favours. He had a similar view to myself in Row D and my first impression was that the player could’ve vaulted Paudie but left his foot in and actively kicked/stamped on him. Very poor.

@ByChrisMatthews: Bolton are one of the dirtiest teams I’ve seen in a while, ref completely in their pocket. Draw a fair result but this bloke needs a retrospective ban. Of course, he won’t get it. The EFL is still completely inept as an organisation.

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