Three goals in the final 20 minutes ensured a wasteful Reading progressed into the knockout phase of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy following a 3-0 win over Newport County.

Less than 1,900 supporters turned out on a bitterly cold evening at the Select Car Leasing Stadium as chances came and went for a strong Royals side from minute one to 90, but late strikes from Harvey Knibbs and Jayden Wareham eventually confirmed a deserved win for Reading.

Ruben Selles promised to go strong and he certainly stuck to his word, starting the likes of Lewis Wing, Ben Elliott and Amadou Mbengue against the League Two side.

It took just three minutes for Reading to engineer their first chance, this one coming from the unusual range of the centre circle as Wing spotted Jacob Carney off his line in the goal and attempted a stylish half-volley, forcing the goalkeeper to scurry across and save to spare any blushes.

Six minutes later, Reading should have taken the lead from a much more respectable distance as Elliott saw an effort slam off the inside of the post from inside the box. Wing tried his luck from a similar distance a few minutes later, his effort blocked at source after Mamadi Camara had done well to receive Mbengue’s cross-field pass and cut into the box.

If the Royals were creating golden chances early on, the final 10 minutes would prove even more fruitful as a trio of guilt-edged chances went begging. First, Wing found Wareham beyond the defence, but his effort skewed wide of the far post. From the restart, the Royals won possession deep in Newport territory and Adrian Akande found himself with the ball at his feet inside the box. Looking harder to score, the winger slotted wide of the far post to continue the hosts’ poor form in front of goal. Completing the hattrick of big misses before the break, Reading found themselves two-versus-one after breaching the defence yet again but Wareham opted to pass the ball rather than shoot as the Exiles somehow recovered and cleared their lines to preserve an unlikely clean sheet into the break.

It was a case of more of the same after the break as Reading continued to huff and puff but fall at the final hurdle. Wareham forced Carney into a save within 60 seconds and the loudest cheer of the evening came on 54 minutes as referee Edward Duckworth took a tumble in the middle of the pitch.

Audible groans were heard from supporters as Mbengue limped off but the introduction of Knibbs and Chem Campbell on the hour mark added some flair in the final third which was needed up to that point. The Royals had the ball in the net shortly after as Camara bundled Wing’s drilled cross over the line, only for the assistant referee to cut celebrations short with his flag.

Wareham nodded Wing’s shot wide with 25 minutes remaining and it had the feeling of ‘one of those nights’ for Reading, but a flurry of goals in the final 15 minutes ended any fears of a group stage exit. Knibbs opened the scoring, finishing off a nice move with Wing and Wareham, before the young striker finally hit the net shortly after, bundling in a cross.

Knibbs rounded off the victory by turning in from close range, adding deserved gloss after what had proved a wasteful opening 75 minutes.

Finishing second, Reading will travel to a table-topper in the Round of 32, but cannot draw Cheltenham Town after playing in the same group. Heading into an international break, Reading return to action in League One at Peterborough United on November 23.