READING FC continued their unbeaten run in pre-season with a 1-1 draw against Premier League Swansea City at Wycombe' Adam's Park.

A sensational long-range strike from Nick Blackman a minute into the second half put Steve Clarke's men ahead at Wycombe Wanderers' home ground on Friday night.

But Kyle Bartley equalised less than two minutes later for Garry Monk's Swans in a lively contest.

Both sides also hit the woodwork – Pavel Pogrebnyak for the Royals and both Jonjo Shelvey and Marvin Emnes for the Swans – but if finished level at full-time.

USA midfielder Danny Williams' was Reading's captain on the night, though Clarke was due to rotate the armband for Reading's next friendly at Crawley Town on Monday night.

Paul McShane, Chris Gunter and Danny Williams have all taken on the captaincy role since Alex Pearce and Jem Karacan departed the club recently.

In addition, Jordan Obita captained the side in the 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers last week, but that was influenced by the fact he was due to complete the 90 minutes.

And Clarke insists he is keeping an open mind: “The captaincy is something we’ll look at ahead of the start of the season,” he said. “I’ve never been one to be overly bothered by the captaincy situation.

“You want 18 captains, you want everyone to be a captain and a leader.

“Anton Ferdinand was the most vocal leader on the pitch against Bristol Rovers but he didn’t need an armband for that, which is what you want from everybody.

“It’s something we’ll assess later in the pre-season, it’s not something that I’m thinking about right now.”

Royals will then focus their attentions on this Saturday's showpiece friendly against Spanish top-flight side Espanyol at Madejski Stadium (3pm ko).

That game is likely to give Reading fans a glimpse of what Clarke's starting line-up might look like for the Championship opener at Birmingham City on Saturday, August 8.

Meanwhile, Clarke faces stern competition in his pursuit of Robert Beric.

A bid from the Royals was rejected earlier this summer, with Rapid Vienna reportedly holding out for €5 million.

Reading are in no position to meet that price but remain interested in the striker, who scored 27 goals last season in the Austrian League.

Italian club Frosinone have now joined the race for the striker and could be willing to meet Vienna’s demand, according to reports in Italy. Hertha Berlin are also tracking the forward.