The report

After a confidence-boosting win over Colchester United earlier in the week, the Blues made a good start to the contest and came close to breaking the deadlock from a corner.

Jimi Tauriainen swung the ball into the Reading penalty area and it was met by the head of Billy Gee. Unfortunately, his effort bounced off the turf and into the arms of Coniah Boyce-Clarke.

Reading threatened as the half progressed and former Blue Jayden Wareham saw a header saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Ted Curd.

The deadlock was eventually broken shortly after the half-hour mark. Tauriainen pressed Boyce-Clarke inside the Reading penalty area and was felled by the goalkeeper. A spot kick was awarded and coolly dispatched by Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

The goal shook Reading into life and by half time, the visitors to Kingsmeadow held a lead. Charlie Wellens equalised through an excellent finish from a tight angle before Wareham took advantage of some slack marking to slide a shot beyond Curd.

Robinson wanted a response from his side in the second period. He got it. Five minutes after the restart, Chelsea drew level as Morgan was given time to collect possession in a crowded penalty area and fire a deflected shot beyond Morgan.

Two for the striker – and the Blues – soon became three as, once again, Morgan reacted quickest inside the 18-yard box to bundle the ball home and complete his hat-trick.

Chelsea had to defend well for the remainder of the contest, and Curd produced a good, late stop to deny Reading winger Adrian Akande and ensure Robinson's side claimed all three points.

The reaction

Robinson acknowledged his side were not at their free-flowing best against the Royals. Yet that provided his players with an opportunity to showcase the battling qualities needed to secure victory against an experienced side at Under-21 level.

'Without being pretty, we showed good resilience after the third goal to stay in the lead,' Robinson reflected. 'And the substitutes who came on in the second half made an impact.

'We set the lads who came off the bench the challenge of adding energy to the side. If we went and goal a fourth goal, that would've been a bonus, but their job was to go on and make sure we didn’t concede.

'They all played their part in that. Overall, it was a pleasing outcome because it was the sort of game, against a certain type of opposition, we’ve drawn or lost previously. This time, we saw it through and we won it.

'There is still work to be done on that spell before half-time when we fell away, but it was pleasing to win the game in a different style.'

The teams

Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Curd: Hughes, Gee (c), Samuels-Smith; Silcott-Duberry (Olise 85), Rak-Sakyi, Denny, Williams; Castledine (Golding 78), Tauriainen (George 78); Morgan (McNeilly 78)
Unused sub: Campbell
Scorers: Morgan 35, 50, 62

Reading (4-2-3-1): Boyce-Clarke; Abrefa (Abdel-Salam 74), Hutchinson (Stickland 45), Holzman, Ryan; Rushesha, Senga-Ngoyi (Purcell 65); Akande, Wellens, Carson (Okine-Peters 63), Wareham
Scorers: Wellens 37, Wareham 43
Unused sub: Norcott
Booked: Holzman 89,