'Nights like that are why I play football' - Savage

Charlie Savage has made more than 150 appearances for Reading [Getty Images] Reading midfielder Charlie Savage felt that despite Tuesday's defeat by Brentford in the Carabao Cup, the occasion and atmosphere made for a memorable and special night at the SCL Stadium. The Royals lost 2-1 to their Premier League opponents but were frustrated after having a goal ruled out for a high foot, a call that head coach Leam Richardson labelled one of the worst he has seen. Brentford took an early lead through Callum Wilson before Fabio Carvalho struck at the end of the first half to make it 2-0. Reading replied through Paudie O'Connor to put pressure on the Bees late on but were unable to find an equaliser. "Nights like that are why I play football," Savage told BBC Radio Berkshire. "I fully enjoyed it and it was an amazing occasion, the Reading fans were excellent to turn up in the numbers that they did on a Tuesday night. "We really should have got something out of it, the manager was on at us to keep pushing after conceding to try and get a goal back. "The lads should be so proud of themselves because we went toe to toe with a Premier League side, it was a great spectacle." Savage has made nine appearances across all competitions this season, with all of his League One games coming from the bench. The 23-year-old has been at the Royals since 2023 but only started in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy. Reading have won two of their five league matches and are 14th in the standings having lost at the weekend to Cambridge United. Savage is hoping that the current group will be able to push for a successful season that ends in a race for promotion. "We need a bit of a bounce back from the weekend first," he said. "The manager's said it and we've all said that our aim is to get promoted, there's no hiding away from it this year but we do have to win games. "If you look at the squad we have two full starting teams, if someone gets injured then there's someone that can step in and there's not too much of a drop off. "This year we're going to have a right good go, we're all behind the manager and all behind the players and we'll have a good go as a collective." Let them ref the games and be humans - Andrews All the latest Reading news