Two early goals saw Reading United succumb to a 2-0 defeat against West Chester United on Wednesday night, taking their record to 0-2 to start the season. Luckily for Casey Moore’s side, Reading United’s road trip is over and they can look forward to their home opener this Friday against NOVA FC (1-0) at Don Thomas Stadium. As the club looks for its first win to kickstart the 2021 USL League 2 season, Moore can use Wednesday night’s loss to WCUSC for examples on where to improve against the Northern Virginia side. Here’s three takeaways from last night’s match:

Set the Tone Early

Two costly mistakes at the back within the first 6 minutes of the match was all West Chester needed to secure victory over Reading, which dug a huge hole to get out of for the away side. Setting the tone early on with intensity, intelligent pressing and solidity at the back can define the momentum of the game for 85+ minutes, which we saw against WCUSC. A more focused and cohesive start in the beginning of the match will be key against NOVA FC, who scored just 7 minutes into their season opener against Philly Lone Star.

Use Width to Support the Midfield

Reading United’s joint-CDMs in their 4-2-3-1 formation were phenomenal sitting deep to disrupt West Chester’s build-up play, but struggled to get it out from the back from that point. West Chester’s midfielders and joint forwards quickly closed down the space in the middle, which made any outlet pass out wide crucially important to spark a counter attack and relieve some pressure while mitigating any mistakes at the back. Reading United greatly improved on this late on in the second half and earned a number of dangerous set-piece opportunities from the wide areas.

Use Possession to Control Momentum

Having gone down 0-2 in the first 10 minutes of the match, momentum quickly shifted in West Chester’s favor, making it difficult for Reading to generate quality chances in the first half. The long ball high press from WCUSC didn’t do Reading any favors to control possession, but when given time and space to build out of the back, possession can be very useful. Time on the ball and feeling in control of the tempo of the game can instill confidence back into the players and get things going for a team feeling demoralized from 2 early goals. Against NOVA FC on Friday, Casey Moore might take advantage of a possession-based approach at times to feel in control of a huge match to secure the club’s first win of the season.