Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor admitted he was 'proud' of his side despite narrowly losing 1-0 at Reading.

The Pirates were reduced to 10 men in the second half after Shaq Forde's sending off and Sam Smith netted the winner with 25 minutes remaining.

Improving despite being reduced, the Gas forced goalkeeper Joel Pereira into a string of fine saves late on and had another attempted cleared off the line before the referee blew his whistle.

Standing proud in defeat, the former Rotherham United boss told the club media: "I’m incredibly proud of that group of players. Certainly in terms of that second-half performance. We were OK in the first half; we made a few mistakes, which allowed their chances, and the little bit of momentum they gained allowed them to get their tails up. 

"Then obviously, the home crowd as well. But we had a threat about us, certainly in that first half. We know what happened with the red card. We don’t feel that’s acceptable on our part because we play the biggest part because we play the biggest part in that. 

"We went a goal down, but what we did from that point on will probably show where we want this team to be on a more regular basis, and they gave everything and more. I’m so sad and sorry for them that they don’t have more to show for the game."

Now up to sixth in League One, Reading travel to newly-promoted Stockport County on Tuesday looking for a fourth straight victory.