Reading manager Noel Hunt accused his side of lacking bravery in certain areas as they were held to a scrappy 1-1 draw by League One strugglers Shrewsbury.
Chasing a play-off spot, the Royals were lucky to survive early on when John Marquis missed a penalty for Town and also squandered the follow-up.
Reading went ahead in the 28th minute through Jayden Wareham but Shrewsbury took a deserved point with an equaliser from Taylor Perry 11 minutes into the second half.
“We weren’t at our best tonight,” said Hunt, whose side are now three places and three points outside the play-off places.
“Our decision-making was different to what it was on Saturday [in a 0-0 draw at Huddersfield] and we got very frustrated.
“But we take the point and have to move on. It’s not going to be perfect every game.
“The boys are all disappointed as well and maybe, at times, it was our lack of bravery to get the ball down and play. We didn’t have enough composure to find that final pass.
“We had some good opportunities as well. In the second half, we had a ball put across their box when I expected us to score.
“Those little moments matter when the game is as tight as this one. Sometimes we were a little too eager to race the pass.
“We’ve got a young group, though. We’ve just got to keep working with them and make them as familiar with everything as we can.”
Shrewsbury now lie in 21st place, three points from League One safety.
“It’s a good away point,” Town head coach Gareth Ainsworth said. “But we could have had all three.
“That’s a real positive, so there’s no negativity in perhaps saying ‘We dropped two points’.
“We started the game superbly well and created chance after chance. The quality was just lacking in the final third. I said to the lads at half-time that we could have been out of sight.
“We had chance after chance. Reading had just one shot on target in the first half and it’s gone in our net.
“We said at half-time that we’ve been the better team but that counts for nothing because you’re 1-0 down. I said that you’ve got to go and dig yourselves back into this game and, boy, did they do that.
“I don’t want to be disappointed, I don’t do disappointment.
“Okay, it was another two points just missed. But we’re not going to miss them at the end of the season. I tell you, we’re going to be far clear [of the relegation zone]. I’m really confident, especially if we keep playing like this.”
