Fulham 2-1 Reading
Fulham boss Kit Symons admits he took a gamble with his squad selection after Bryan Ruiz’s dramatic injury-time winner broke a three-game losing streak.
The Costa Rican stepped off the bench to net the decisive goal after former Whites striker Pavel Pogrebnyak had cancelled out Alexander Kacaniklic’s opener.
Symons concedes it was risk to pack his bench with attacking options, but he was delighted when substitutes Cauley Woodrow and Ruiz combined for the winner.
“We took a bit of gamble with our bench, it was very attacking with Bryan, Cauley, Moussa Dembele and Patrick Roberts,” he said.
“But we knew if we were behind or level, there were things we could do to change the dynamic of our team and it worked.
“It looked like it was going towards a draw, which probably would have been a fair result, and once they got the equaliser they put us under pressure.
“But I always felt we had the quality to pop up with another goal, I didn’t expect it to be quite so late but I was delighted to see it go in.”
Fulham took the lead midway through the second half when Scott Parker played a great through ball to Kacaniklic, and the Swede broke the offside trap and confidently put the ball through the legs of Federici.
Reading hit back through Pogrebnyak just after the hour when the Russian powered home a header home from eight yards out.
And just as it looked like the game was heading for a draw, Ruiz was on hand to head home the winner from Woodrow’s lay off after Ross McCormack’s cross from the right.
Symons added: “It’s brilliant for Bryan, it’s fair to say he’s not always had the easiest of times here but he’s showed his commitment.
“Before the goal his run into the box was fantastic and because of that he was in there to head home the winner.”
