Vuskovic and Kudus shine in win at Reading

Luka Vuskovic registered a goal and an assist on his first appearance in our colours as we began a new era under Thomas Frank with a 2-0 win at Reading on Saturday.

The 18-year-old defender, who linked up with the Club earlier this month after his move from Hajduk Split was agreed in 2023, was introduced as a half-time substitute against the League One side and wasted no time in making an impact, flicking on a corner from fellow new boy Mohammed Kudus - who also caught the eye with an impressive display - to tee up Will Lankshear for the opener four minutes into the second period, then picking out the bottom corner with a sharp finish from Kudus' pass a few moments later to double our lead.

He subsequently demonstrated his defensive prowess at the other end with a vital block to deny Andre Garcia as the Royals kept probing in search of a breakthrough, Guglielmo Vicario forced into a couple of smart saves in the second half to keep our clean sheet intact.

With two lots of 11 players deployed either side of half-time, it was a useful opening to our pre-season campaign and gave our new Head Coach a chance to run the rule over plenty of players.

The first period was goalless, with Pape Matar Sarr denied by a remarkable reaction stop from Reading goalkeeper Joel Pereira in our best opportunity to take the lead. Jeriel Dorsett's aerial effort following an initial defensive header from Kevin Danso caused us an early scare but by and large we controlled proceedings, Dominic Solanke - who threatened on several occasions - turning Alfie Devine's cross over the bar on the stretch before seeing another shot blocked by Finley Burns, who sadly limped out of the action moments later.

Solanke's attempt to perform an overhead kick from Brennan Johnson's delivery was thwarted before good work on the left from Mikey Moore saw him win a corner, after which Sarr's shot - as aforementioned - was somehow kept out by Pereira on his line. Cristian Romero later headed Pedro Porro's cross wide at the back post as we went into half-time on the front foot.

We made 11 changes ahead of the restart and took only four minutes to hit the front, Kudus' corner headed forward from the 18-yard line by Vuskovic for Lankshear to turn home from close range. Four minutes later, Kudus again found Vuskovic and the Croatia international picked his spot before drilling low across goal and into the bottom corner on his left foot. The centre-back, who was on loan at Westerlo in Belgium with Devine last term, then showed what he's capable of in defence with an excellent denial of Garcia.

Reading didn't relent in their efforts to find a breakthrough, but after a lull in terms of clear chances we almost added a third on 78 minutes, Kudus tricking his way down the right before finding Jamie Donley in the middle, his left-footed effort deflecting inches wide. Vicario - on at the break for Antonin Kinsky - produced fine saves to deny Reading substitutes Ben Elliott and Ashqar Ahmed in the closing stages, with a win and a clean sheet marking a useful first outing of the summer.

Match data

Goals: Spurs - Lankshear 49, Vuskovic 53.

Yellow card: Reading - O'Mahony 32.

Referee: Farai Halam.

Venue: Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading.

Weather: Sunny intervals, showers, 21 degrees.

Attendance: 22,133.