JON Dadi Bodvarsson opened his goalscoring account in what he called a ‘fantastic’ Reading FC victory at Birmingham City.

The Icelandic striker headed Royals in front on the hour from a Tyler Blackett cross for his first goal for the club.

The 25-year-old had scored a spectacular winner at St. Andrew’s last season before leaving Wolves to sign for Reading over the summer.

And his goal last weekend gave Reading a lead they thoroughly deserved before George Evans came off the bench to add a late second as Jaap Stam’s men secured their first away Championship win.

Bodvarsson, beamed: “It was a fantastic day and really good for the team to get a solid 2-0 win.

“The guys put in a great shift and controlled the game well. The result was not often in doubt, though maybe in the final third we needed to be more effective.

“But other than that, we defended really well as a team, worked hard, and that’s what you need to do in the Championship.”

He added: “It was nice to get a goal – especially to relieve the pressure a little bit, to get the lead first and foremost.

“It was a great cross as well – I just managed to steer it in the corner.

“Then George Evans came in… He has been fantastic, he’s a really professional player and he deserved his goal. It shows the depth of the squad at the moment.”

Reading Chronicle:

George Evans fires Reading into a 2-0 lead at Birmingham City.

Bodvarsson returned to the Reading side after recovering from the knee injury he suffered in the opening day defeat at QPR.

“Believe me, it was so frustrating to get all of these knocks and injuries at the beginning of the season,” he admitted.

“You want to get going right away, so to miss those first few games was frustrating. But the lads have being doing well and I’m happy to be back on the pitch again.

“Special credit to Jon Urwin and all the physios. They have been fantastic with me, and I’ve been keeping the fitness up and working hard on the training ground as well. It’s good to be on the field.”

Reading Chronicle:

Jaap Stam gives instructions from the St.Andrew's sidelines.

Stam was particularly pleased with Bodvarsson’s all-round display last Saturday when the striker was a thorn in Birmingham’s side all afternoon.

“Jon is a strong runner, he is good on the ball, he can hold up the ball, he’s a threat going forward and he can score a goal as we saw,” stated Stam.

“We believe in him and his qualities, that’s why we brought him to the club. He’s been out with an injury to his knee - it’s not easy to be out for a few weeks, only be back in training for four or five days and to play for as long as he did. But he did very well.”