Tuesday 12 August 2014 10:24, UK
Reading boss Nigel Adkins refused to be too downbeat following the 2-2 draw at Wigan - despite being denied a deserved victory by a 94th-minute leveller from James McArthur.
Adkins had seen his side recover from trailing 1-0 at half-time to deservedly establish a 2-1 advantage with two goals inside the final quarter.
Callum McManaman's goal at the second attempt had given Wigan an interval lead they just about merited.
But it was a different story after the break when first Shaun Cummings and then Sean Morrison turned the game on its head.
Wigan looked down and out but, with three of the four minutes of added time having been played, McArthur nodded past Adam Federici to restore parity.
"The way I'm looking at it is in a totally positively manner, because I thought our performance was very positive, very pleasing," said Adkins.
"We've got a very young, hungry, ambitious group of players who have come away to Wigan - an excellent team - and played very well.
"We've played some really good football throughout pre-season, and we're building a spirit here that's there for all to see.
"We want to play in a manner that we've demonstrated here today, and I'm very pleased.
"It's all about progress and working hard on the training ground - and everyone can see that. It's positive progress."
Adkins - who revealed he expects the club's takeover to be completed this week - also hopes to tie up the signing of Anton Ferdinand over the next day or so.
He added: "That one is close to being completed as far as I'm aware. I would anticipate Anton will be joining us by Monday."
Wigan boss Uwe Rosler admitted his side had got out of jail after running out of steam in the second period.
"We were a bit fortunate at the end," Rosler said.
"In the first half they went long, especially on one side, and I felt it was a typical Championship opener.
"They squeezed us, put physical pressure on us, and I think we coped well.
"The chances they had in the first half came from our mistakes, and I thought we were slightly the better team.
"The difference at half-time was the way we resisted their pressure, and obviously the fact we were able to get Callum McManaman into the game in the right areas.
"We had real momentum when we went 1-0 up, and in the second half I thought the game would go even more in our favour.
"I didn't think they could go on the way they were doing in the heat - but they did.
"I had a slight feeling before the game that we had too many players out there who hadn't had enough of a full pre-season behind them.
"And in the second half we didn't have the legs all over the pitch to resist their pressure or put them under enough pressure of our own.
"They had far more of the ball, they won most of the individual battles, and were clearly the better team in that second half."
