Harsh Exit After Long Double
Added by HNA? on 08/03/10
It was a classic game of two halves as Reading's FA Cup run finally came to an end against Aston Villa. Reading dominated the first half to take a deserved two goal lead in at the break. All the hard work was for nothing in the second half as Villa hit back in stunning fashion, scoring three goals in ten minutes immediately after the break. Reading threatened to pull level with Villa clearing off the line but instead Villa added a fourth right at the end of the game from the penalty spot. It was another day for what might have been as Reading worked so hard and looked so comfortable at two goals up. Long, back from suspension, was superb. He put Reading ahead with a header from a corner on 27 minutes and then had Kebe to thank for an excellent run and impressive cut back to provide him with a straight forward second. We knew Villa would come out a different side in the second half but we didn't know how different. Bertrand failed to clear on 47 minutes and Villa took full advantage to pull one back. Then Villa swarmed forward and Reading were powerless to prevent two more goals. Eventually the game calmed down and Reading had a couple of opportunities to bring it back level - but those chances came and went and it was clear there was no way back. This was an excellent performance from Reading - another to be proud off - let's hope the league form continues.

Win FA Cup Tickets
Added by HNA? on 02/03/10
Thanks to those kind folk at E.ON we have a pair of tickets for Reading's quarter final match against Aston Villa to give away in a Hob Nob Anyone? competition. The Royals take on Villa this Sunday in the E.ON sponsored FA Cup. To be in with a chance of winning you need to send in the correct answer by e-mail, using the link below, by 10am on Wednesday 3rd March. You must send us your full name and postal address so we can post the tickets to the winner. No names and addresses are retained - only the winners details will be passed to E.ON's agency to get the tickets to you.
To enter the competition you need to correctly answer this question:
Who provided the cross to set-up Martin Butler for Reading's third goal during the 4-0 FA Cup first round victory against Grays Athletic in 2000?

Wednesday Thrashed
Added by HNA? on 01/03/10
Resurgent Reading's impressive recent record continued with a demolition of relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday at the Madejski Stadium. There was only one team ever likely to take victory as Reading hit five past a poor side to move four points clear of the relegation zone. The Royals have won six of their last eight games, moving from 23rd place to 18th place in the League and reaching the quarter finals of the FA Cup. Happy days! It was a question of how many we would win by after Kebe and Rasiak finally broke down the visitors' defence to put Reading 2-0 up at the break. Church scored the goal of the game with an excellent turn and a superb shot from the edge of the box to make it three. Rasiak scored his second before Kebe got his second - his fifth goal in five games - to make it 5-0.

Reading Reach Quarter Final
Added by HNA? on 25/02/10
Reading reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1927 after a dramatic extra time victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. Reading's third FA Cup victory of the season over higher ranked opposition set up a home tie against Aston Villa on Sunday 7 March. It was a night full of drama as Reading progressed thanks to a spectacular extra time winner from Sigurdsson after securing extra time deep in injury time thanks to a Howard goal at the death. The game got off to a lively start with both sides scoring in the opening ten minutes. The home side took the lead only to see Jimmy Kebe level the match three minutes later on nine minutes. After the break a terrible mistake from Reading goalkeeper Federici looked to be sending West Brom in the next round, only for Kebe to set up Howard on 92 minutes to keep Reading in the competition. Sigurdsson's long range effort was the goal of the game and sparked massive celebrations in the away end. Those celebrations continued at the final whistle but the home stewards did their best to sour the mood by holding the Reading players back. In the resulting confrontation McAnuff was shown the red card by the referee and some idiotic stewarding nearly caused the situtation to spiral out of control. It wasn't clear why McAnuff was shown red so there must be a chance to appeal. Meanwhile you would hope the FA get involved and some West Brom stewards are shown the door by their club. Reading's victory sees another set of fixture re-arrangements and the Royals now have a run of five straight home fixtures that will determine their season.

Royals Drop Back To Twentieth
Added by HNA? on 22/02/10
Reading dropped back down to twentieth in the Championship table as a winning run of four games came to a disappointing end at Blackpool this weekend. The Royals were well beaten in a poor performance quite unlike our form of late. The home side scored a goal in each half as Reading offered little resistance, and perhaps should have won by more as Reading rarely ventured forward.

Winning Run Continues
Added by HNA? on 19/02/10
Reading's fine form continued this week with another excellent win - taking the current run to four straight league wins. Brian McDermott's transformed team defeated relegation rivals Crystal Palace to jump to the heights of 18th in the table and move out of the bottom three convincingly. It's the first time since the start of December the Royals have enjoyed such a position in the table and convidence is clearly sky high. Palace had a bright enough start forcing a couple of saves from Federici but Reading soon looked the more comfortable side. The Royals were a goal up before the break thanks to Simon Church when the striker volleyed in after a cross from the right. After the break the Royals were two up when another cross from the right saw a calm finish from in-form Jimmy Kebe. Palace pulled one back before Reading sealed the victory with Church's second goal of the game with a close range finish.

Royals Make It Three Wins From Three
Added by HNA? on 10/02/10
Reading closed the gap at the edge of the relegation zone after securing a late winner from the penalty spot against relegation near-certainties Plymouth Argyle. The late victory made it three wins from three league games as Reading's impressive results under near manager Brian McDermott continue. Despite failing to get out of the bottom three, the Royals are now just two points away from 16th place in the table as the club continue to dramatically improve their chances of survival. This was far from the best performance under McDermott but the result was what mattered. The first half was nearly completely forgettable as Reading enjoyed by far the greater share of possession without managing to look dangerous. Ingimarsson failed to get a couple of efforts in front of goal on target and Church was also responsible for failing to take a good chance after taking too long on the ball. The visitors showing little quality and had to wait until seven minutes before half time before getting their first shot in. The second half was much improved as the tempo of the game increased and Federici, stood still under falling snow for the first half, was called into action to produce a couple of excellent stops. Plymouth looked to be taking control of the game until Long burst through and fired an unstoppable shot across goal and into the far corner to put Reading ahead. Reading really should have extended their lead to put the game beyond Plymouth but instead found the game level on with twenty minutes to play. It looked at though we would have to settle for a point until, inside stoppage time, substitute Robson-Kanu burst through and into the area before going down under a challenge. Man of the match Shane Long was quick to grab the ball and slam it into the back of the net to earn the three points.

McDermott Gets League Win
Added by HNA? on 01/02/10
New Reading manager Brian McDermott, finally appointed from his caretaker role during the week, clocked up his first league victory as Reading defeated Barnsley by a single goal this weekend. Home wins remain a rare treat for Reading fans, although this game was more about the result than the entertainment. McDermott saw plenty to be happy about as his side looked a much better team than the visitors. He will also be pleased that we created plenty of chances - but he'll be disappointed that we only managed to find the back of the net once when Long scored from close range midway through the first half. We really should have put the game well beyond Barnsley long before the end, but the three points are vital and saw Reading climb one place to third from bottom.

Royals Fall Into Bottom Two
Added by HNA? on 27/01/10
Reading slipped into the bottom two in the Championship, after a 0-3 defeat at Sheffield United, as relegation begins to look a more likely bet than survival for perhaps the first time this season. Caretaker boss Brian McDermott still appears to be favourite to secure the position of Reading manager despite picking up just two points from five league fixtures. McDermott's cup heroics have done him plenty of favours and may swing Madejski's opinion but those impressive victories will mean nothing when we eventually exit the cup and are faced with a tough battle for survival. As McDermott stated after the game it was another tale of missed opportunities: "They took their chances and we didn't." Reading could have pulled the game level at 1-1 but failed from the penalty spot - and instead the home side extended their lead before the break to leave Reading defeated.

Burnley Defeated. West Brom Next.
Added by HNA? on 25/01/10
Reading claimed victory over another Premiership side to move into the last sixteen in the FA Cup. Burnley were dispatched at the Madejski Stadium thanks to a late strike from Sigurdsson with three minutes left to play. However it was a deserved victory that reflected Reading's superiority over the ninety minutes. The Royals had the better of the first half with the visitors rarely venturing outside of their own half. The second half gradually saw the game spring into life with both sides having chances to move ahead. Federici was in fine form and made a string of excellent saves but it was Reading that finished stronger. Reading had a clear penalty denied and it seemed to galvanise our efforts as we threw everything at Burnley. The eventual winner saw Griffin, who had an excellent performance, set up Sigurdsson who finished with style, placing his finish to put Reading through. High flying Championship side West Brom will be next to visit the Madejski Stadium in the Cup on the 13th February as Reading look to continue what is becoming a memorable FA Cup run.

McDermott Still Hunts League Win
Added by HNA? on 18/01/10
Brian McDermott is still without a league win in his current stint as Reading manager as Reading failed to take advantage of Forest playing the last twenty minutes with ten men. Former Reading player Nicky Shorey was sent off after conceeding a penalty mid-way through the second half after taking down Kebe in the area. Howard was responsible for failing to take advantage from the penalty spot after seeing his kick saved by the Forest keeper. The missed penalty was crucial as Reading finished the strongest side and Kebe's late goal from a Karacan cross served only as a consolation rather than earning some points. The home side, pushing for an automatic promotion spot, had dominated the first half and took a two goal lead into the break leaving Reading with a tough job to pull it round. After Shorey's dismisal the Royals carved out a couple of good efforts on goal only to see the Forest keeper in fine form to deny Church. We should have perhaps left with at least a point but instead defeat leaves Reading fourth from bottom of the Championship table - and four points behind Scunthorpe who lie twentieth in the table. McDermott helped the Royals perform a miracle in the FA Cup and he will probably be glad to return to FA Cup action this Saturday with a record of just two points from his four league games in charge.

Liverpool Defeated. Joy For McDermott.
Added by HNA? on 13/01/10
What a night. What a result. An excellent away performance at Anfield resulted in a thoroughly deserved victory in the FA Cup Third Round replay. This was Reading's first win at Anfield and caretaker manager's Brian McDermott's first win as Reading boss. And what a way to claim such a historic result. Despite creating the best chances of the match, the Royals found themselves a goal down in injury time at the end of the ninety minutes when Shane Long was taken down in the area. Sigurdsson stepped up, sent the goal keeper the wrong way and calmly put the ball low, out of reach and into the back of the net to force extra time. It was no more than we deserved. Instead of Liverpool battering us we played the better football in extra time. On 100 minutes Gunnarsson was nothing short of pure genius on the right wing, twisting past two players to deliver the perfect cross. Shane Long got his head on it to send it into the back of the net. 2-1 to the Royals - a deserved lead and pure joy. Liverpool did little to put pressure on Reading and the Royals stayed ahead with near ease to complete an amazing night in Liverpool. Reading face Premiership Burnley at home in the fourth round of the competition.

Newcastle Game Off
Added by HNA? on 07/01/10
This weekend's fixture against Newcastle United at the Madejski Stadium has been called off due to this week's heavy snowfall. The pitch looks very playable but the snow in the area surrounding the stadium and the condition of local roads would have caused problems for supporters attending the game. A new date for the game has yet to be revealed. Meanwhile next week's FA Cup replay at Liverpool on the 13th January, assuming it goes ahead with more poor weather expected, will again be screened live on ITV1.
Rumour Rating: Definite

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Sunday, 14-Mar-2010 20:39:35 CET

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