Reading manager Veljko Paunovic admitted his side’s 3-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Sheffield Wednesday helped ease the pain of a shoulder injury he sustained when taking part in a training session in midweek.
The Royals went in front against relegation-threatened Wednesday in the 29th minute after defender Julian Borner had been sent off for bringing down George Puscas, with Michael Olise slamming in the resultant penalty.
And Reading dominated their 10-man opponents thereafter, with second-half goals from Lucas Joao and Andy Yiadom settling the game.
Paunovic had his left arm in a sling during the game, and he said: “The most important thing was that the team did well today and I’m very happy about that.
“I got the injury in one of our recovery sessions in training. It was pretty nasty, it was the ligaments, but I feel okay now and, of course, the victory helps that. All of it helps.”
Reading maintained their play-off push with a third successive victory.
Paunovic added: “We started the game well and were very good in the press when we had lost the ball.
“There was good running into the box by Puscas and very good execution from Michael (Olise) from the penalty.
“From that moment, we kept playing our football, though it’s not always easy playing against 10 men.
“Those teams just sit back and wait for you and then build themselves for the counter-attack against you.
“This happens every time you play against 10. But being 1-0 up was obviously helpful for us. But we still had to do our homework and do our jobs.”
Wednesday have now lost six games in a row and are seven points from safety.
It was the second game in charge for new manager Darren Moore, who arrived at Hillsborough after leaving Sky Bet League One side Doncaster on Monday.
“For the first half-hour before the sending-off I thought that we carried quite a good threat going forward,” Moore said. “But that red card gave Reading a bit of momentum.
“Even so, I thought we did well up until half-time with 10 men.
“It was imperative that we kept it tight in the second half, but just at a crucial time they scored their second goal. From then on, the game got away from us.
“I’ve not really looked back at the red card yet. But in real time, it looked like a mis-control of the ball and then Puscas got the run.
“I’ll wait until I see it back again before speaking to Julian.
“The game’s gone now, we can’t cry over spilt milk. I’ve just got to look ahead and we’ve got more important games coming up.
“I’ve only just arrived here, it’s a big learning curve for me at the moment.
“We now have to focus in going forward and we just have to dust ourselves down. It’s been such a busy week, a lot has happened.
“It’s essential that we all stick together. That’s got to be the main focus.
“All the odds look to be stacked against us (in the relegation battle) but we’re still in there with a fighting chance and we have to keep our belief.
“There’s been a lot going on at the club this week, but one thing that I’ve seen is that we have a great desire to do well in this group.”
