Reading made a second-half comeback at League Two side Colchester United to draw 2-2 in the first round of the Carabao Cup, but a penalty shootout defeat meant an early exit for the Royals.

Ruben Selles made eight changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Birmingham City on Saturday, starting four players. However, the young players struggled in the first half and Danny Cowley’s side deservedly took a two-goal lead through Tom Hopper and Jack Payne.

Charlie Savage and Lewis Wing scored great goals in the final 25 minutes to win the game, but penalties from Kelvin Ehibatiomhan and Amadou Mbengue were saved.

It took just three minutes for the fourth-tier hosts to score their first goal, and they deserved it after a dominant start. After a series of corners and crosses, Hopper headed home Jack Payne’s cross.

They went full throttle and within 10 minutes it could have been even worse when Dean lost the ball on the edge of the penalty area. Fortunately for the visitors, the chances remained unused and the attack was ineffective.

The only respite the Royals got in the first half was a brief stoppage 20 minutes into the game when, oddly enough, the sprinkler system went off in the middle of the action.

It took Reading 22 minutes to launch their first attack. Knibbs misjudged his shot and the U’s got the ball out of the danger zone.

Teenager Kanu endured a half hour to forget after being booked early for a tackle and then given a final caution in the 32nd minute after he was said to have dragged back a Colchester striker. Selles had seen enough and replaced the defender, bringing on New Zealand international Tyler Bindon in his place. With him still young and potentially suffering from a loss of confidence, both Knibbs and Selles took the teenager aside and no doubt had words of comfort for him on the way to the bench.

Ten minutes before the end of the first half, Manny Egbo headed over the bar, but the visitors were more satisfied and headed into the tunnel with only a one-goal deficit.

Selles made changes at half-time, with Ehibhatiomhan and Mamadi Camara coming on at the break, and both looked strong in the second half as the established first-team players took command of the League Two side.

Within 10 minutes, the Royals had a chance when Andre Garcia made a strong run and fed Knibbs, whose cross found Jayden Wareham but the striker was unable to connect and sent it wide, leading to a goal kick.

Things got worse before they got better for the visitors: Payne converted a penalty he had conceded himself within seconds of Wareham’s attempt to double the hosts’ lead.

It looked like it was going to be a disappointing night but it took a stunning strike to get the Royals back in the game when Savage curled a beautiful shot from outside the box past a stretching Matt Macey. From then on Reading went all out and Knibbs’ effort was saved with 20 minutes to go before Wing equalised directly with a free kick. They almost turned things around with five minutes to go but Ehibhatiomhan could only tip Harlee Dean’s cross wide.

In the final phase, they were unable to fully exploit their momentum, so the game was decided in a penalty shootout.

Colchester scored all of their penalties in front of 639 travelling fans, while Reading had two penalties saved and had to end the game.

League One kicks off again on Saturday, as Wigan Athletic is the first guest of the season at the SCL Stadium.