The Academy was well represented with a first reserve team start for Kyle Fraser-Allen on the right of midfield and holding midfielder Jake Livermore making his return from injury.
Emil Hallfredsson also made his first appearance since coming back from a loan spell at Malmo in Switzerland.
Spurs began well with Jamie O'Hara, an unused substitute at Sheffield United, standing out in midfield along with Adel Taarabt, who played in a supporting role behind lone frontman Andy Barcham.
Some of Taarabt's early touches of the ball including multiple step overs and other tricks were a delight to watch. Unfortunately as the first half progressed he showed signs of frustration and his body language could only be described as stroppy. He was finding it increasingly difficult to find teammates to link up with. Fraser-Allen and Phil Ifil were both told by the French youngster in no uncertain terms how he wanted them to make his life easier next time.
Martin Jol watching from the stand would have been impressed by the side to the player's character, which saw him occasionally drop deep and collect the ball for himself when it wasn't otherwise reaching him.
When Tomas Pekhart was introduced at the start of the second half, Barcham reverted to more of a right wing role so Taarabt was more of a presence on the left than before, so Hallfredsson came inside off the line at times.
Clive Allen said: "I am really disappointed with the result, while from my point of view, in a bizarre way, it was a fantastic learning experience for the lads.
"A lot of aspects of our game were very good and I was delighted with some of our football."
Reserve league leaders Reading fielded a strong line-up as they prepared to field a second string team in the FA Cup this weekend.
"They capitalised on our mistakes and showed why they are Premiership players. They were ruthless and that was the word I used to describe it (to my players) after the game," added Allen.
Source: TottenhamHotspur.com