Reading v Brentford player ratings

Brentford ended 2015 with victory over Reading thanks to superb goals from Ryan Woods and Sergi Canos. Here’s how we rated the Bees players in the 2-1 win at the Madejski Stadium.

David Button: 7
Did most of what was asked of him, making saves from Hal Robson-Kanu, Oliver Norwood and Lucas Piazon, and could do little with the goal as his defence was unlocked by some superb passing. Booked for timewasting by overly fussy referee Keith Stroud.

Maxime Colin: 7
Returned to the side after missing the Boxing Day draw with Brighton and generally performed well, but got left behind by Garath McCleary for the equalising goal.

James Tarkowski: 7
Booked in the first five minutes for a foul on Robson-Kanu but instead of treading on eggshells, he remained a physical presence at the back and put in a couple of crucial blocks.

Harlee Dean: 6
Also picked up a yellow card, after being pulled up for a series of fouls throughout the game. He struggled a little more in the second half after Matej Vydra’s introduction.

Jake Bidwell: 7
Solid defensively and also got forward to put in a few crosses, but didn’t get much chance to deliver his left-footed corners.

Toumani Diagouraga: 6
An ill-advised tackle on Stephen Quinn in the first half saw him become the second of four Bees players to be booked. It was his sixth yellow of the campaign.

Josh McEachran: 6
A solid first start for the Bees, showing some neat touches and movement, before being withdrawn after almost an hour in favour of Canos.

Ryan Woods: 9
Started out on the right and it was from that channel where he unleashed an unstoppable drive to score his first Bees goal. That may have been upstaged by Canos’ incredible individual effort, but Woods helped create that goal too with a 60-yard pass to the Spaniard. A busy display, always involved when Brentford went forward.

Alan Judge: 7
For once, the Irishman was not Brentford’s main creative outlet. He did put in some good crosses and was denied a goal at the end by a terrific block but also fluffed his lines a couple of times in front of goal.

John Swift: 7
Passed the ball well and got a couple of shots away but missed his best opportunity when he miscued a header after being found by Judge’s cross.

Lasse Vibe: 5
Once again struggled to make an impact in the final third and was replaced, inevitably, by Philipp Hofmann after 68 minutes – in what must be the most common substitution in the league this season.

Sergi Canos: 8
Perhaps surprisingly left out of the starting line-up but when he did come on, his impact was eye-catching. The Spaniard, still only 18, showed incredible confidence in the way he took his spectacular goal.

Philipp Hofmann: 7
Looking better with every appearance, the German certainly carried a greater threat in 25 minutes than Vibe in 68.