Town progressed to the third round of the Carabao Cup for the first time in eight years following a 3-1 on-penalties victory over Reading after a 2-2 draw at the Madejski Stadium. Brandon Williams scored a second-minute full-debut own goal to give the Royals an early lead but Cameron Humphreys equalised in first-half injury time, the Freddie Ladapo put the Blues in front on 59 before Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan levelled three minutes from time but his teammates missed three of their penalties to see Town through.

Recent loan signing Williams was handed his full Blues debut having come on as a sub at the weekend as boss Kieran McKenna made the expected 11 changes to the team which lost 4-3 at home to Leeds in the Championship on Saturday.

Cieran Slicker, named in the Scotland U21s squad earlier in the day, was in goal with Williams at left-back, Dom Ball on the right and George Edmundson and Elkan Baggott the central defenders.

Lee Evans skippered from central midfield alongside Jack Taylor with Omari Hutchinson on the right, Marcus Harness in the centre and Cameron Humphreys on the left of the three behind striker Freddie Ladapo.

Town named a strong bench featuring Vaclav Hladky, Sam Morsy, Harry Clarke, Wes Burns, Luke Woolfenden, Kayden Jackson, Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead and former Royal Sone Aluko.

Reading, who won 4-0 away against Millwall in the previous round, made eight changes from the team which lost 2-1 at Exeter in League One on Saturday with only Matty Carson, Amadou Mbengue and Caylan Vickers keeping their places.

The Royals’ starting XI had an average age of only 20 years and seven months.

Despite their youth, the home side went in front within a minute and a half of the kick-off.

Basil Tuma flicked on a Carson cross from deep on the left towards the path of Vickers eight yards from goal. Keeper Slicker dived but his outstretched arm could only push the ball onto teammate Williams and it looped into the net behind the former Manchester City man.

To some degree it was a freakish own goal but equally Williams, Slicker and Baggott, who was marking Tuma, should all have done better.

Town, in their orange away kit, quickly looked to get back on terms, Evans striking a shot from just outside the box after a corner had been cleared to him which was too close to home keeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke.

The Blues, despite one or two more shaky moments, began to take charge and on 13 Ladapo worked himself space before hitting a shot which Boyce-Clarke batted away to his left. Hutchinson subsequently wafted the ball back over from the right but past the far post.

Town continued to push and in the 22nd minute, Evans’s attempted volley was punched away by Boyce-Clarke. Taylor’s overhead kick, which was flying well wide, reached Ladapo, who looked to flick towards goal but only succeeded in catching Mbengue with a boot, causing the Reading defender to require treatment and eventually a new numberless shirt.

The Blues were seeing most of the ball but just after the half hour, Reading broke quickly - although Evans had appeared to been fouled early in the build-up, far from the first time referee Lewis Smith had surprisingly ruled against Town - and Williams did well to slide in ahead of Tivonge Rushesha to stab Vickers’s pass back to Slicker.

Within a minute, Town went close. Harness stood up a cross from the right and the ball scuffed off Ladapo’s head, taking it away from Williams at the far post.

On 37, a headed clearance dropped to Taylor 20 yards out and the former Peterborough man’s volley looped not too far wide of Boyce-Clarke’s right post.

Two minutes later, Evans was shown the first yellow card of the match for a foul on Tuma as the Royals looked to break following a Town attack. Seconds later, Humphreys joined him for a mistimed challenge on

In the 43rd minute, Hutchinson picked up possession on the right after a poor touch and played into the area to Humphreys, who probably should have had a shot but instead failed to find Ladapo with a pass.

In the final scheduled minute ahead of six added on, Hutchinson unleashed a powerful strike from just outside the box which pole-axed Carson, who after treatment was able to continue.

Reading had a spell of possession and Slicker was required to punch clear a cross, which he did, before the Blues levelled in the fifth minute of injury time.

Hutchinson skipped away from his man on the right before his cross struck first defender, looped to the far post where Humphreys chested over the line to claim his first goal of the season.

There was just time for Vickers to break into the left of the Town box and hit a shot but Edmundson stood firm and blocked.

While never at their most fluent, with the ball given away cheaply far too often, the Blues deserved to be on terms at the break having been in control for most of the half and having been the only side to manage shots on target.

The own goal was an unfortunate way to start his full debut for Williams, but the on-loan Manchester United youngster had grown in confidence as the half wore on, getting into good positions when going forward and making some important tackles.

Both sides made changes ahead of the second half, the Blue swapping Harness for Aluko, while Andy Yiadom replaced Carson for the Royals, presumably due to the effects of Hutchinson’s shot.

Eight minutes after the restart, Baggott might well have scored his first senior goal for the Blues, rising high to reach a Williams cross from the left but not getting enough on it and the ball flicked wide.

In the 57th minute, Ladapo chased a Baggott ball over the top down the middle and reached it before keeper Boyce-Clarke on the edge of the area under pressure from a defender, but was unable to get enough on it to force it over the line and the danger was cleared.

However, a minute later, the Town striker was on target, this time confidently slipping his first goal of the season under the advancing Boyce-Clarke and into the net having been played in by Evans’s inch-perfect pass between the two Reading central defenders from inside his own half. Ladapo celebrated with a dance in front of the delighted Town fans.

Just after the hour, the Blues swapped Williams, who own goal aside had a decent first senior start since December, for Clarke.

On 65, Reading swapped Jack Senga and Rushesha for Charlie Savage and former Cambridge United man Harvey Knibbs.

Eight minutes later, Hutchinson, who had been a threat down the right all match, crossed for Clarke at the far post and the sub headed down but with no Town player able to get onto it.

On 74, Reading switched Tuma for Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, then two minutes later Michael Craig was booked for a foul on Evans on halfway.

As Town prepared to take the free-kick, Jackson, Chaplin and Broadhead took over from Hutchinson, Humphreys and Ladapo. The Wales international went to centre forward with Chaplin on the left and Jackson on the right. Four minutes later, the Royals swapped Kelvin Abrefa for Jeriel Dorsett.

Reading briefly threatened, Edmundson cutting out a low cross from the right, then stabbing away between two attackers with home skipper Tom McIntyre taking a fall on the edge of the box which failed to impress referee Smith.

The Blues had been comfortably on top in the second half with Slicker having been given a quiet half, aside from confidently clearing a couple of balls played down the middle, but in the 87th minute the Royals equalised out of nothing.

From Boyce-Clarke’s long throw down the left, Edmundson was brushed off the ball by Reading sub Ehibhatiomhan, who brought it into the area and shot across Slicker and inside the post.

The goal woke up the home fans, those that hadn’t already left, and soon afterwards Slicker was forced to tip Knibbs’s shot wide. Then, in the final scheduled minute, Yiadom flicked Vickers’s cross just wide.

Town began regain some control as the game moved into six additional minutes but with the Royals continuing to look a threat on the break.

On 94, Baggott appeared to pull up when chasing Ehibhatiomhan with what looked like a calf injury. The Indonesia international hobbled off but soon returned.

Shortly before the end, McIntyre was booked for a wild lunge on Broadhead on the touchline on the right. Evans’s free-kick was too close to Boyce-Clarke, who claimed, and referee Smith’s whistle indicated that the tie would go to penalties.

Town will be frustrated to have allowed the Royals back into it with the game looking dead and buried at 2-1, indeed, the Blues support were cheering and ole-ing their players’ passes at that stage.

But it took only one error and a clinical finish to see Reading back into the game and the home side might well have converted again following their goal.

Referee Smith opted to take the penalties at an empty end of the ground rather than in front of the Town support with Chaplin taking the first kick for the Blues and finding the corner of the net to the keeper’s right.

Knibbs took the first penalty for Reading and hit it straight down the middle to level at 1-1.

Evans netted Town’s second, belting it into the top corner beyond Boyce-Clarke’s right hand, before Slicker saved Savage’s kick to his left to put the Blues’ noses in front.

However, ex-Royal Aluko’s spot-kick, which was hit down the middle, was saved by Boyce-Clarke’s trailing leg, but Vickers, after taking an age and changing his angle of approach, blazed his penalty deep into the empty stand to keep the scores at 2-1.

Taylor confidently netted Town’s fourth kick to Boyce-Clarke’s left as the keeper dived in the other direction, before Ben Elliott sent his ball into the stand after Vickers’s to see the Blues through on penalties 3-1.

While the Blues will be delighted to go into the hat having won a rare penalty shoot-out victory, they will feel they made harder work of the tie than they ought to have done.

The win was only Town's fourth ever in a penalty shoot-out, the most recent at Peterborough Papa Johns Trophy in December 2019. Prior to that, there was a League Cup victory at Shrewsbury in 2009 and a Zenith Data Systems success in October 1991.

The draw for the third round will take place on Wednesday evening live on Sky Sports Football following the Doncaster-Everton tie from around 10.15pm.

Town are next in action against Cardiff City in the Championship at Portman Road on Saturday.

Reading: Boyce-Clarke, Abrefa (Dorsett 78), Carson (Yiadom 46), Mbengue, McIntyre (c), Craig, Senga (Savage 65), Elliott, Rushesha (Knibbs 65), Vickers, Tuma (Ehibhatiomhan 74). Unused: Button, Dean, Azeez, Harris.

Town: Slicker, Ball, Edmundson, Baggott, Williams (Clarke 61), Humphreys (Chaplin 74), Evans (c), Taylor, Harness (Aluko 46), Hutchinson (Jackson 74), Ladapo (Broadhead 74). Unused: Hladky, Woolfenden, Morsy, Burns. Referee: Lewis Smith (Wigan). Att: 7,867 (Town: 2,214).

Photo: Matchday Images

Cadiar added 14:02 - Aug 30 Not a great start for Williams in his time with us, an own goal which was unfortunate but he got roasted against Leeds. Had a feeling about him from interviews that he feels he's playing at a lower level than he should. He's the only signing KM has made I'm unsure of but hope he proves me wrong. Baggott was again good but it wasn't really much of a spectacle but it does give fringe players an outing. Expect some movement out in the next couple of days, have a feeling Ladapo might move on, I really like him but after seeing him at Championship level I'm not sure he's up there & I've been a big supporter of him. Bring on Cardiff and get back to winning.

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SuffolkCanuck added 08:15 - Aug 31 I know it’s irrelevant now and the only important part is that we are through to the next round, but did anyone else notice that apart from the fact that GE was fouled for Reading equaliser but their keeper looks like he’s out of the box when he releases the throw?
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