The Opposition
The young Royals currently sit 12th in the table with two points from four games, following two draws and two defeats. It's been a tough start to the 2025/26 campaign, but they’ve shown flashes of resilience — particularly in dramatic late moments.
On the opening day, Reading looked set for all three points against Tottenham before a 95th-minute equaliser from Spurs substitute Armend Muslika snatched a 2-2 draw.
That came despite Reading capitalising on an early red card to go 2-0 up, thanks to goals from Lucas Daka and Larry Omoregie.
Their most recent outing ended in a 4-0 defeat to Brighton — a scoreline made more painful by a pair of stunning long-range goals, including a lob from 25 yards in the final minute.
Between those games, Reading were beaten 3-1 at home by Leicester and earned another point away at Ipswich, again in injury time and again with 10 men on the pitch — showing that this is a group that doesn’t go down without a fight.
Last season, the young Royals finished eighth out of 13 teams with 32 points, recording nine wins, five draws, and 10 defeats.
It was a solid step forward, but notably, they haven’t finished higher than 10th in the U18 Premier League South since 2017. Harrison Gilkes's side also fell just short in last year's Premier League Cup final.
This season’s slow start reflects some of those ongoing challenges, though there are signs of progress in their attacking play and resilience in key moments.