The Villans are now four points adrift of the Championship playoff places following the 0-0 draw with the relegation-threatened Royals.
Aston Villa have missed out on a great opportunity to close the gap between themselves and the Championship’s top six as they could only claim a 0-0 draw away at Reading on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors were impressive in the first half and closest to breaking the deadlock before the break, Tammy Abraham spurning a gilt-edged chance from close range and former Royals loanee Tommy Elphick slamming his header against the bar.
Jose Gomes’ charges struggled to create many concrete chances, with Nelson Oliveira volleying over the bar, but the Royals contingent appealed for a penalty when Alan Hutton appeared to take down Ovie Ejaria in the area.
Abraham, Villa’s top scorer, came close to claiming a goal late on in the game but his header from Anwar El Ghazi’s probing deliver was kept out by a stunning save from Reading goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
Despite claiming a rare clean sheet, the West Midlanders’ failure to score at the Madejski Stadium keeps them four points adrift of the playoff positions, and on Twitter, some fans were not at all pleased:
Villa are back in action on Friday when they host promotion-chasing Sheffield United.
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