A young Reading XI put four goals past Dartford at Princes Park on Tuesday night.

The Royals fielded an unfamiliar side but they looked extremely slick from the first whistle. Alan Julian saved from Neita inside the first minute and influential midfielder Aaron Tshibola started pulling the strings from the middle of the park.

At the other end, Danny Harris drilled a shot wide and he then set up Ryan Hayes, whose curling effort dropped the wrong side of the post.

Reading took the lead on 19 minutes, Lawson D'Ath sweeping a shot goalwards and former Ebbsfleet loan striker Gozie Ugwu looking to get the last touch.

Tshibola then played a slide-rule pass for Craig Tanner, whose dinked finish sailed past Julian and nestled in the far corner to make it 2-0.

Mohamed Eisa, playing wide on the left for Dartford, had one shot held by Royals goalkeeper Jonny Henly before wastefully blazing the ball over after Hayes had played him in.

Those misses were punished emphatically when Reading scored two goals in as many minutes at the end of the first half. Tshibola finished coolly after superb interpassing on the edge of the box and Tanner then doubled his tally on the stroke of half-time.

Darts boss Tony Burman made four changes at the break and one of his substitutes, Max Cornhill, had a header cleared off the line from a Lee Noble right-wing corner.

New signing Jason Prior nodded a Noble cross wide, while for the Royals, Aaron Kuhl dragged a shot just past the far post with Julian scrambling.

Uche Ibemere, who came on for the last half an hour, should have pulled a goal back for Dartford but he steered his shot too close to Dan Lincoln, one of 11 players Reading brought on at the break.

There was an even better chance for Prior after the excellent Matt Fry stormed out of defence and rolled the ball into his path, but the former AFC Wimbledon man couldn't keep his shot down.

Reading hit the bar twice in the last five minutes but the Darts survived further punishment and the second period threw up some encouraging performances by the men in white shirts.

Dartford: Julian; Burns (Monger 80mins), Clark, Borrowdale (Fry 46mins), Porter (Cornhill 46mins); Hayes (Bradbrook 46mins), Noble (Azeez 80mins), Rogers (Akinwande 90mins), Eisa (Prior 46mins); Collier (Allen 85mins), Harris (Ibemere 62mins).

Attendance: 406.