U21s Report: Reading 1 Leicester City 0

- Reading found the back of the net in the second period to seal all three points 

- Beaglehole took plenty of positives from the victory, including the performances of several younger members of the Development Squad

Leicester City’s Development Squad suffered a narrow Barclays U21 Premier League defeat to Reading at a windswept Hogwood Park on Monday afternoon. 

The Foxes were looking to record their second victory of the season against the Royals, having beaten them 2-1 at Belvoir Drive back in November. 

But despite a positive first period, it was the hosts who went on to win the game after they found the back of the net after the break. 

Reflecting on the result, Development Squad manager Steve Beaglehole told LCFC.com: “It was a very unlucky result because the conditions were poor. It was the youngest team we’ve put out this season and there was nothing to separate the two sides in the game really. 

“We defended superbly in the first half against the wind. We went in at 0-0 at half-time, which was pleasing. I expected us to have more opportunities to attack in the second half and we did, but we weren’t clinical enough. 

“We’ve been a lot more resilient of late in as much as we’re not conceding as many goals and we are a lot more solid at the back. We’ve got to become a little more of a threat going forward. 

“It wasn’t the result we were looking for, but the spirit in the camp is good and I’m sure we’re just a short period of time away from getting back to winning ways.” 

While first teamer Daniel Amartey notched up 90 minutes in his first appearance in Leicester blue, there were also positives to take from the performances of the Club’s younger players. 

Daniel Iversen, who joined from Esbjerg in January, made his debut for Beaglehole’s outfit, as did young defender Alex Pascanu, who has recently been called up to Romania’s Under-18s squad. 

Beaglehole added: “There were a lot of positives in the game. I though Hamza [Choudhury] was superb – he was the best player on the field. 

“If we’d have kept a clean sheet we would have come away with a creditable draw but we had to shuffle personnel at the back. 

“Alex Pascanu made his Under-21s debut having played 90 minutes for on Saturday for the Under-18s. He played at left back to allow David Amartey to play at right back. Alex came off after 70 minutes and played well.”