Reading were pushed all the way by Torquay before booking their place in the Carling Cup second round.

Rasiak sees Reading through

Reading were pushed all the way by Torquay before booking their place in the Carling Cup second round. A hard-fought contest at Plainmoor required extra-time before Grzegorz Rasiak grabbed a dramatic late winner to see the Royals through. With penalties looming, the Pole was in the right place at the right time to poke the ball over the line following an almighty scramble in the hosts' goalmouth. The Gulls failed to deal with a Brian Howard free-kick and were made to pay as Rasiak pounced to end their cup dreams for another year. United striker Elliot Benyon will wonder how he did not put this tie to bed midway through the second half of the extra period, as his angled shot beat Royals keeper Ben Hamer but came back off the inside of the post. Left-back Kevin Nicholson then tested Hamer with a thumping 25-yard free-kick which the visiting keeper did well to hold. Howard had gone closest to a goal during normal time, with Gulls' keeper Scott Bevan doing well to keep out two of his free-kicks.