Reading coach 'delighted' with Senior Cup victory after 'tough' Marlow final

Reading Under-21s coach Noel Hunt was left 'delighted' with his sides 2-1 win over Marlow last night, lifting the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup for the second time in three years.

Jeremiah Okine-Peters and Adrian Akande netted in a dominant first half, but the non-league outfit hit back early in the second half through Brandon Curtis and tested the Royals.

Having said that, Michael Stickland hit the crossbar and Aaron Watkins was kept busy between the posts as Reading failed to put the Blues to bed.

Commenting on the victory, Hunt was over the moon to lift the trophy, but still wants to see more from his side.

"It's good to win something," the playing legend said. "It was a good game- a tough game. In the first half I thought we blew them away in terms of how we started the game.

"The second half we made it a game for them and stopped doing the things we’re good at- giving them a bit of life. We had two or three good chances to kill the game, but emotions came into it, and we didn’t pick the right options at the right times, staying calm in those situations which we talk about all the time.

"On the whole, I’m delighted that we won, and we could have made it easier for ourselves but that’s me knit picking. We won the cup and that’s the big thing."

Mark Bartley, the manager of Marlow, believed his side showed Reading 'too much respect' early on but was 'proud' of the second half showing.

Marlow won promotion into the Southern League with a play-off victory over Leatherhead last week.