Following a last-gasp 3-2 win at home against Manchester United on Monday, Crystal Palace Under-21s were eager to extend their winning streak away at Reading in their second fixture of the new Premier League 2 season.
Joe Sheridan, Dan Imray and Victor Akinwale all came into the side for Sunday's game - replacing Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, Chris Richards and a Trialist.
The first chance of the afternoon for the Eagles came in the opening two minutes as Danny Imray's marauding run down the right-hand side led to a shot from outside the area which floated over the bar.
It was a pretty tight contest in the early stages, with the home side having the more clear-cut chances as Basil Tuma twice tested Joe Whitworth - but the Palace 'keeper was able to claim both times.
In the 14th minute, Imray had another go at goal with a powerful strike from just inside the box which was just tipped over the bar by Reading's Coniah Boyce-Clarke.
Shortly after, some excellent tracking back from Palace captain Jack Wells-Morrison denied Reading a golden opportunity, with Jadan Raymond's strike from the resulting counter attack narrowly whistling past the post.
A few minutes shy of half-time, Reading took the lead; Taylan Harris' strike cannoned off the underside of the bar and into the net. This proved to be the last real chance of the half as Palace went into the break behind.
After showing some promising signs in the first-half, Palace were looking to get straight back into the game. It was Whitworth who was tested first though, neatly saving a shot from Jayden Wareham shortly after the restart.
The first 15 minutes of the second-half saw few chances, however the Eagles came close to levelling the scores in the 57th minute as Victor Akinwale laid the ball off to Dylan Reid, whose low effort from just inside the area was saved.
Palace unfortunately went down to ten men in the 67th minute, substitute Noah Watson receiving a second yellow card for dissent.
Despite being a man down, Palace didn't let their heads drop. Wells-Morrison raced through on goal in the 78th minute and was narrowly denied an equaliser by Boyce-Clarke, who turned it behind his near post.
The extra man eventually proved to be pivotal for Reading however, as Wareham doubled the hosts' advantage in the 86th minute.
As the game went into added time, Palace had a couple of chances to pull one back, with Adler Nascimento coming closest - his shot sailed just over the bar. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the Eagles were unable to find a goal in the seven additional minutes.
A frustrating afternoon for Powell's side, with the result meaning that the Under-21s now sit in 13th in Premier League 2 after two games.
Reading: Boyce-Clarke (GK), Abrefa (Abdel Salam, 62), Paul, Rushesha, Stickland, Dorsett (Maragh, 62), Harris (Maudner, 73), Craig, Wareham, Clarke, Tuma
Unused subs: Collins(GK), Borgnis
Palace: Whitworth (GK), Imray (Grehan, 78), Sheridan, Francis, Kporha (Watson, 45), Reid, Wells-Morrison, Umeh, Raymond (Nascimento, 87), Akinwale, Ola-Adebomi (Trialist B, 64)
Unused subs: Izquierdo (GK)
