Stevenage 0-0 Reading
- Published
League Two club Stevenage increased the pressure on Reading boss Jaap Stam as they held the Championship side to a draw in the FA Cup third round.
Ben Wilmot's header was tipped over by Royals keeper Anssi Jaakkola as the hosts impressed early on.
Dave Edwards had the visitors' best chance of the first half, but Tom King reacted quickly to stop his header.
Stevenage could have won it in the second half, with Jaakkola saving well to deny Jack King and Danny Newton.
Reading also had a pair of late chances but Wilmot's challenge stopped Modou Barrow from testing keeper King, before Liam Kelly shot wide of goal.
The Royals' winless run now stands at seven games in all competitions, with their last victory coming against Sunderland on 2 December.
Stevenage boss Darren Sarll:
"There's no disappointment from us. Stevenage are the winners today, we won the game physically, psychologically, technically and financially.
"We may not have got the score we wanted but the players will go away thinking that they're capable.
"If they were determined before the game, imagine how they'll feel going to the Madejski. We can be positive in our thinking for that game, we can go there with a positive mindset."
Reading manager Jaap Stam:
"I'm very pleased that we didn't concede, the clean sheet is a positive thing.
"The opposition made it difficult for us. We have to play another game but that's not a problem - everybody wants to play games. We're still in the cup and hopefully we can get the result in that one.
"When a lower-league team plays at home they want to put all their effort into getting a result. We spoke about that and what we expected to happen, did."