Bunn lights up the Madejski

The star of the show at the Madejski Stadium on Tuesday night was undoubtedly a man who had only tasted cameo roles to this point.

There was surprise around the ground to see Harry Bunn take his place in the starting XI, but after a diligent 15-minute outing at Cardiff on Saturday, caretaker manager Mark Lillis entrusted him with a key role on the left in place of Jonathan Stead, who disappointed in defeat to Cardiff.

And boy did he deliver, proving Lillis' ace card in the pack and one, presumably, that Reading did not account for in their pre-match studies of how Town would operate.

Bunn produced a performance which belied his tender years and hinted at a possible place in the XI for the Terriers, certainly offering whoever comes in to properly succeed Mark Robins as manager some food for thought anyway.

He took his goal superbly, dispatching his low strike from a tight angle into the far corner, having shown impressive strength to knock Chris Gunter, of international class no less, off the ball with ease.

This was Bunn's chance to truly stake a claim for a first-team berth and he more than took it with a display which combined industry with invention.

Scannell shows another side to his game

Over on the other flank, you had a player equally as desperate to make an impression in Sean Scannell.

His contribution in the opening games of the season has been below-par and his role in the team has been rightly questioned.

Indeed, there were palpable doubts during Robins' preference for a 3-5-2 formation about his defensive ability and work-rate in the right-sided wing-back role, but that could not be queried in any way during success over the Royals.

Like Bunn, Scannell worked harder than most to ensure his team retained as much defensive solidity as they posed a threat on the counter and he seemed stronger and confident when in possession.

Town fans will have been delighted mostly with his application though as he illustrated another string to his bow by teaming up with Tommy Smith to snuff Reading's left side out.

Butterfield begins offsetting Clayton loss

When Adam Clayton departed Town for Middlesbrough there were fears that a major source of Town's goalscoring output was being ripped out of the team.

In fact, his direct replacement could well be the answer to that particular problem.

Without James Vaughan and with Oliver Norwood seemingly on the verge of a move to Reading, firepower had looked in short supply, but Jacob Butterfield stepped up when it mattered, and how.

Against Cardiff, it was easy to detect his desire to make strides into the area and try to get involved in the penalty area action and it was similar tenacity that brought about the opening for his goal, which he slotted home with aplomb.

Harrying young Michael Hector into a mistake, his bending effort to establish a 10th-minute lead was just the tonic for Town and proved the launchpad to what felt like a very important win for the Terriers.

Wells excels in lone striker role

It is easy to shoe-horn Nahki Wells into the category of supporting striker, but he appeared to have the bit between his teeth against Nigel Adkins' side and relished the battle with Hector and Alex Pearce, with the Royals central defensive combination unable to keep tabs on him enough.

That was due not only to his perpetual movement, but also his startling desire to compete both aerially and on the ground for the ball, something that had been lacking from the pint-sized striker previously.

In Stead's absence, it almost felt as if Wells knew he had to take on multiple roles of both playing off the shoulder of the last man and giving Town a focal point.

He spearheaded the attack brilliantly and, flanked with Bunn and Scannell, he was able to occupy the centre halves more regularly without darting wide into the channels.

His mere presence meant Hector pressed the panic button for Butterfield's opener before Bunn capitalised on good link-up play with Town's auxiliary lone frontman to nab a second.

It bodes well for tougher tests to come with Wells starting to take more responsibility at the tip of the forward line.

Lynch leads defence through frantic finale

The late goal conceded to Simon Cox was perhaps the only blot on an otherwise unblemished copybook for Town at the Madejski Stadium and it will have hurt no-one more than Joel Lynch.

Here was a man who has looked visibly downbeat and acted as a scapegoat, rightly or wrongly, for much of Town's early-season woe.

Credit to him, then, for reacting in the best way possible, with an on-field display which proved his heart and passion for this side are all perfectly in tune.

He showed real leadership qualities in Lee Peltier's absence and despite enduring a few nervy moments of his own, not least a poor free-kick which presented Reading with the best chance of the opening period, he guided his defence through.

Both Smith and Murray Wallace are still very young, lest we forget, and will benefit from Lynch's cajoling, while Dixon was grateful for his ability to come across and cover on more than one occasion.

His blocks, tough tackling and perpetual gesturing to his team-mates demonstrated how key he was, just as much as the likes of Bunn at the other end of the field, in securing the three points.