Sent Off From The Bench

Reading allowed the chasing pack to move within two points with another disappointing defeat, this time away at AFC Bournemouth. Although the loss isn't exactly surprising, given the two sides' recent form, the manner of defeat was particularly frustrating. The opening two minutes was all Reading, with Gorkss eventually putting a free header over the bar after getting completely underneath the ball - but that's where Reading stopped playing football, and started imploding. Matt Ritchie scored with less than ten minutes gone, when a ball into the left channel was pulled across the six yard box by Lewis Grabban. Royston Drenthe made a blistering run down the right-wing at 1-0, but only ended getting bundled off the ball with ALF screaming for it in the middle. 1-1 is a completely different game, and Drenthe's aversion to passing the ball so often ends with the team on the defensive after losing possession. However the reason the fans chant his name is, not only becaus...

A first half hat-trick sealed the points well within the first 45 minutes for a Reading side who may be starting to click. Nigel Adkins fielded an unchanged side from the one who (somewhat fortuitously) beat Watford last weekend, with Danny Guthrie and HRK still sidelined through injury. It took 12 minutes before ALF rifled a shot past stand-in keeper Andrew Lonergan, and then again on the 28 minute mark. Within 33 he'd completed his hat-trick. McCleary dispossessed last man Tim Ream, and after bearing down on the keeper squared the ball to Le Fondre for his hat-trick. If you've ever played FIFA it was pretty much exactly how you'd score on the world's leading football video game. It was 4-0 before half-time when Alex Baptiste was adjudged to have handled inside the area (it was very fine margins) and Our Saviour converted from the penalty spot, expertly stroking the ball beyond the fingertips of Lonergan and into the bottom right corner of the net. The second half ...

My trip to Nottingham didn't start exactly to plan, with me and my mate losing our tickets for the match but after making our way towards the City Ground it turns out they beat us there - and we somehow ran into the steward that had a hold of them. Thank goodness! The Reading end was one of the better atmosphere's I've been in in a while, lots of chanting - and very quickly rewarded with Pavel and Kaspars both seeing the ball cross the line in the opening 15 minutes. The first saw McCleary with some nice play down the wing before sliding across to Pog who bundled the ball in. The latter a well worked corner routine with Gorkss getting his head on the end of it, as so often before. After the quick start Nottingham came back into the game a bit, and although Reading had some nice passing there was never any killer ball, and never really threatened the Forest goal other than one occasion when McCleary broke through but couldn't score against his old team - striking it ...