Reading vs Non-League

[stealthpapes]

1972 Reading 6 Blyth Spartans 1 (a replay)

Blyth in the cup is just one of those things that really brings out the goosebumps.

Sadly Blyth are a bit fucked right now - they seem to have got hit bad by Covid and just suffered back to back relegations. Now in Northern Premier Division One East.

I'll go through the 80s today sometime.

[stealthpapes]

So, where we we.

1990-91 was Colchester (A) ... but this is now the era of multiple replays.

So we have,

1989 (H) vs Welling 0-0 (A) vs Welling 1-1 (H) vs Welling 0-0 (A) vs Welling 2-1, all played between 9th and 22nd December 1989.
1988 (H) vs Hendon 4-2 then (H) vs Maidstone 1-1 (A) vs Maidstone 2-1
1985 (H) vs Wealdstone 1-0
1984 (A) vs Barry Town 2-1 then (H) vs Bognor Regis Town 6-2
This one has an asterisk! Barry Town were playing in the Welsh League but entered the FA Cup. Nice.
1982 (H) vs Bishop's Stortford 1-2
This one is much storied - there's more on the Carlisle thread so will leave it at ...

Pat Earles was the scorer in the Bishop Stortford cup defeat in the mud! 2931 in attendance.
Reading team: Fearon, Williams, White, Beavon, Hicks, Wood, Bason, Stant, Dixon, Doherty, Donnellan.

and that appears to be it until the 1970s.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Very good!

Of all the non-league teams in the country to be pitched-against, We seemed to have more than our share of Wealdstone.

[Horsham Royal]

1999-2000 November (H) vs Yeovil 4-2
one of the scorers is first player in my checking that has no personal page on wiki. who was he? how did he play?
nobody knows.
nobody mourns.

Bit harsh on a Wembley final winning goal scorer...

Not Wiki but : https://www.thelocalanswer.co.uk/news/sport/football/1708-chel-back-in-the-day-jason-eaton-football.aspx?area=cheltenham&tag=rising-star%2Cback-in-the-day%2Cfather-and-son

[Sutekh]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

[bakerlou]

Bognor Regis Town 6-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giOvgTjA6Jg

Includes Ian Juryeff, not a name which crops up often.

I was at this one, it was despite the six goals.

[Sutekh]

Bognor Regis Town 6-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giOvgTjA6Jg

Includes Ian Juryeff, not a name which crops up often.

I was at this one, it was despite the six goals.

Thought Juryeff was class but, as was usual for the time, the club couldn’t afford to extend his loan let alone buy him.

[stealthpapes]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

[Sutekh]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

So thought I’d double check and on looking the two games up they were actually in the 79-80 competition, so Nov/Dec 1979 - still the tannoy music would have been good then.

[bakerlou]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

So thought I’d double check and on looking the two games up they were actually in the 79-80 competition, so Nov/Dec 1979 - still the tannoy music would have been good then.

Yeah Kettering round 1, then Barking round 2. Beat Colchester in round 3, then had the misfortune to meet Swansea in round 4 who were at the time stuffed full of ex-Liverpool players and Welsh internationals.

[stealthpapes]

First up, the 2020s.

Warning: This is a story that does not go well for us.

2024-25 - November (H) vs Harborough Town 5-3 (aet)
2023-24 - December (A) vs Eastleigh 1-2
"There are Amazonian tribes deep up the jungle that have never heard of football and never heard of Reading fc but even they knew we were conceding from that corner"
2021-22 January (A) vs Kidderminster 1-2
I think this is the record for lowest rated team to ever beat Reading.

Went to two of the three. At the time, Kiddy away was possibly the most nailed on, 'we're gonna stack this, right' game I've ever been to. Just a shambles from front to back.

Next (well, give me a moment to open up Wikipedia), the 2010s.
I am 99% sure we didn't play anyone non-league competitively in this decade ...

2025-26 - November (H) vs Carlisle 2-3 AET
to be fair, anyone who left early can tell themselves it ended 2-0 and get on with their lives.