Scott Golbourne admits he was unaware of just how close he came to sending the Royals into the last 16 of the Carling Cup at Stoke on Tuesday night.

Potters keeper Steve Simonsen produced a brilliant save to keep out Golbourne's far post header in extra time, but the youngster was knocked sideways at the same time!

The young left back said, "I didn't know much about it because I got my head on the ball and then got clattered!

"So I didn't actually see him make the save, but the boys have said it was very good."

Scott was naturally disappointed to see his team go out of the competition after a strong performance, saying, "It was a sickener to go out on penalties because we had the best chances to win the game and probably deserved it.

"But we showed a lot of character to twice come back from behind, we worked hard as a team, and the manager has told us that the young boys can take a lot of confidence from the experience."