Second half goals from Michu and Wayne Routledge saw Swansea battle back and earn a deserved point against Reading.
Michu and Routledge equalise Pogrebnyak and Hunt goals
Second half goals from Michu and Wayne Routledge saw Swansea battle back and earn a deserved point against Reading at the Liberty Stadium.
Pavel Pogrebnyak put the Royals ahead against the run of play just after the half-hour mark after latching onto Jobi McAnuff's throughball, with Michel Vorm letting the ball slip under him.
Noel Hunt then added a second a minute before the interval when volleying home McAnuff's deflected shot.
Alex McCarthy produced four fantastic saves early on in the second period to deny substitute Luke Moore, Ki Sung-Yueng and Ashley Williams.
But Michu pulled one back for the Swans on 71 minutes when heading in Routledge's deflected cross and Routledge equalised seven minutes later when slotting home after a one-two with Moore.
Substitute Pablo Hernandez's volley hit Nicky Shorey's hand for a clear penalty near the end but the decision was not given, before Swansea captain Williams made a goal-line clearance at the death to keep out Jem Karacan's header.
The result means Reading are still without a Premier League win this season, while Swansea halted a run of three defeats.
Bright start
The Welsh outfit had made a bright start, creating several decent chances in the opening 20 minutes.
Williams - named this week as the new Wales skipper - nodded off target three times while Danny Graham saw a header turned over the bar by McCarthy, who also batted away a shot from Routledge.
Routledge then played a one-two with Nathan Dyer and struck an effort that was blocked by Adrian Mariappa, with replays suggesting a suspicion of handball.
Reading had shown little going forward, but just after the half-hour mark they snatched the lead as Pogrebnyak latched on to a through-ball from McAnuff and hit an effort at Vorm.
It should have been a routine save for the Dutchman but, instead, it somehow sneaked under him and into the net.
Swansea looked to make a swift response and Ki drilled into the arms of McCarthy from distance, but in the 44th minute Reading struck again.
A McAnuff shot looped up off Angel Rangel and Hunt was on hand to lash the ball past Vorm.
Reacted
Swans boss Michael Laudrup reacted by substituting Graham at the interval for Moore, who was straight into the thick of the action.
First, he found himself through one-on-one with McCarthy but was denied by the goalkeeper's foot.
Moore then sent a header goalwards which McCarthy did superbly to push against the post.
McCarthy repeated the trick soon after by pushing Ki's deflected low shot onto his other upright, and then got down well to save a Williams header.
He was finally beaten with 19 minutes to go as Michu powered in a diving header from a deflected Routledge cross.
McCarthy pulled off yet another great stop to keep Moore out, but Swansea were not to be denied and after Ki robbed Reading of possession, a forward break was rounded off by Routledge's firm finish.
The hosts cried out for a penalty when Shorey appeared to block Hernandez's shot with his hand in the box, but play went on and the late drama continued as Williams jumped on the line to nod away Karacan's header after another uncharacteristic Vorm error.
| Swansea City |
Team Statistics |
Reading |
| 2 |
Goals |
2 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 10 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 10 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 11 |
Corners |
3 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
11 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 82.8 |
Passing Success |
58.2 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 81.2 |
Tackles Success |
73.7 |
| 71.2 |
Possession |
28.8 |
| 47.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.9 |
| 593 |
Total Passes |
225 |
| 27 |
Total Crosses |
16 |
| 174 |
Lost Balls |
169 |
| 46 |
Recoveries |
50 |
| 72.5 |
1st Half Poss. |
27.5 |
| 72.5 |
2nd Half Poss. |
27.5 |
|
