BFTG - PNE

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Enjoyed (most of) that.

Rhino added a real backbone to the midfield. Miazga was a rock. Eja was also immense going forward, the man is all twisty legs.
Hard to find any real fault with anyone.

Second half was a real mess though. All the injuries for both teams upset the balance, but we rarely looked in too much trouble


......... And my God does McShane look out if place in this new team.

[PieEater]

That was a massive 3 points given the upcoming fixtures.

I thought we matched them throughout the game and they had few chances. The first goal was class, a great through ball from Swift, a good cross from Barrow and a relative tap in for Meite. The second had an element of a PNE cock up but it was well put away by Barrow,

Disappointing to let in one at the end but we really looked comfortable, albeit we were playing against 10 men with their number 4 barely able to move.

This result must keep us up, we're 4 points plus GD ahead of Rotherham and I can't see them bettering us in the remaining fixtures.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

I noticed you started a thread as well and went in to copy my post and delete the thread......but you'd done the same.

We nearly ended up both deleting our threads

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Also, Meite is really not very good by my word does he try, try and keep trying. Makes a real difference.

Be good if he stayed on his feet a tad more

[PieEater]

I noticed you started a thread as well and went in to copy my post and delete the thread......but you'd done the same.

We nearly ended up both deleting our threads

Your's was ahead of mine so I thought I'd do the honourable

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Yes, McShane needs to put in a pasture with nice long grass to keep him happy in his retirement.
What a ball from Swifty for the first.
Rino - how we have missed him and there is a very competent Prem league midfield right there.
Top marks to Baker, too. Never gave up, always a bit of composure and picked a pass.
Yids - sound as ever and won more than his share of headers for a midget.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Another +1 for Baker too. Really impressed with his composure under pressure when dropping deep to collect

[RoyalBlue]

I haven't been Meite's biggest fan in the past but he was absolutely immense today. Not only did he get the important first goal and help set up the second but he worked tirelessly in attack and defence throughout the game. He caused their defenders all sorts of problems and I lost count of the number of times he popped up in and around our own box to help clear our lines.

[sandman]

Great result. Two good goals for different reasons. For the first a good team goal with tempo and for the second excellent pressing from Barrow to force the defender and keeper into the mistake.

We weren't so effective in the second half but we saw it out despite the goal at the end. Only worry is the injuries.

Martinez - Not a lot to do save wise. Some good distribution. 6

Yiadom - Rampaging performance once again from Yiadom. Got caught out by their 21 at the start if the second half. 8

Miazga - A real rock at the back. Won everything that came at him in the air. 8

Moore - Solid display from the captain. Covered a lot of ground and used his pace to good effect when he needed to. 7

Blackett - Good display from. Got forward well and didn't get caught out of position as much as he usually does. 7

Rinomhota - Great to have him back. Got stuck in early and added a physical presence in midfield. 7

Baker - Solid if unspectacular kept the ball moving well with his passing. 7

Swift - The one game in ten. Absolutely brilliant pass for the first goal. Intelligent passing. Hopefully the injury isn't too serious. 7

Meite - Never stopped running. Both he and Yiadom caused havoc down their left hand side. Took the goal well after a pretty poor effort just beforehand. 9 MotM

Ejaria - Did well again. Tricky customer for the opposition the way he twists and turns. Excellent effort that almost made it 3-0. 7

Barrow - Their defenders couldn't handle his pace, which is what caused the second goal. Hopefully the injury he sustained isn't too bad. 7

Subs:

McShane - Just awful. No awareness of what was around him for their goal. Misplaced pass after pass and his legs have gone. Hopefully that is the last we've seen of him. Mcintyre or Holmes should take his place on the bench. 0

McCleary - Couple of good runs. Nothing much other than that. 6

Harriott - Not enough time to make an impact. N/A

[Zip]

That first half was as good as I have seen from a Reading side in a long time. Rinomhota and Meite set the tone early on with the former putting in a crunching challenge and the latter letting Pearson know he was around.
We harried and chased. I just don’t think Preston expected that intensity.
The second half was more fractured and Preston’s late goal flattered them

That’s now 20 points from our last 13 League games since the Swansea defeat. That’s play off form. Well done Jose Gomes. Well done also to club 1871 and the rest of our supporters. The atmosphere is so much better than from a few months ago.

Martinez. 6 Usual immaculate handling but had little to do.
Yiadom. 7 Pushed forward well first half. Got beaten for pace in the second half on occasions.
Moore. 7 Composed and solid
Miazga. 8 His positioning was superb. Looks like a leader to me
Blackett. 8 Didn’t put a foot wrong. A fine performance.
Rinomhota 8 Composed, classy, physical. Superb.
Swift. 8 Got his passing right in an excellent first half. Lovely pass to Barrow for the first goal
Baker. 7 Quitely effective and always made himself available
Barrow. 8 Scored a goal out of nothing. An assist too. Preston couldn’t cope with his pace
Ejaria. 7 Showed lovely feet and one great effort on goal. Should have had a pop at goal on other occasions and one or two shanked clearances
Meite 8 An absolute beast. Took his goal well. Also won the header which Barrow chased down for the second.
Several terrific runs in the second half. Nine goals for the young man now. He has done well. Really well.

GMac. 6 Worked hard when he came on
McShane 4 Dear God. Never again please
Harriott n/a Can’t really give a rating as he wasn’t involved too much at the end.

[Zip]

Also, Meite is really not very good by my word does he try, try and keep trying. Makes a real difference.

Be good if he stayed on his feet a tad more

He was lucky not to be booked diving for a pen but he’s great. He gives us a physical edge. He’s good in the air. He goes for it. He does also have some skill and showed one or two nice touches today. He has been an important part of our recovery.

[Hound]

Bar giving away a Blackburn-Esque penalty, struggling to think of how McShane could have played any worse

Still plenty of positives. I thought looking at the line up before the game - if you threw Oli in, that’s a play off challenging side, not a relegation one. Lack a bit of quality in depth obviously and staying fit now is vital, esp the back 4

We looked a class above Preston tbh

[Crowbar6753]

That was a very good first half performance and a steady second half. This team as it is now with some self belief and confidence would be a very dangerous side next season. It needs a little tweaking here and there but with a full preseason under Jose and maybe if we could keep the four outfield loanee's (No way will we keep Martinez lol) then i would be very optimistic for next season if we survive.
I honestly believe that injuries and confidence has been our downfall this year and this has been down to poor management and back of house turmoil.
Jose and his team are slowly installing self belief and a successful playing style that suits this team and long may this continue. The feel good factor is slowly creeping back and you can sense this with the atmosphere and excitement in the fans.

[Zip]

If only we could keep all these loanees next season. They are all totally committed to the team and it shows in their performances. They have made a huge difference.

[NewCorkSeth]

If only we could keep all these loanees next season. They are all totally committed to the team and it shows in their performances. They have made a huge difference.

I was a bit sceptical given our past experience with bulk loan signings but each of them has vastly improved our options and fortunes. I dont know who is to thank for that but I presume it's the scouting team. Well done to them. It's honestly difficult to choose which of the loans has been best.

[Singing Defective]

Great afternoon that I wasn’t too hopeful about. The first half Preston (is there a better South End?) looked at each other a lot in a way that would seem spookily familiar to Reading players three months ago.

Don’t get low attendance. Not on TV. Gorgeous weather. WTF?

[Zip]

If only we could keep all these loanees next season. They are all totally committed to the team and it shows in their performances. They have made a huge difference.

I was a bit sceptical given our past experience with bulk loan signings but each of them has vastly improved our options and fortunes. I dont know who is to thank for that but I presume it's the scouting team. Well done to them. It's honestly difficult to choose which of the loans has been best.

Yes it’s unclear who was behind the signings but a big well done to whoever was responsible. It’s made all the difference. I hope we can sign a couple of them for next season.

[Zip]

Great afternoon that I wasn’t too hopeful about. The first half Preston (is there a better South End?) looked at each other a lot in a way that would seem spookily familiar to Reading players three months ago.

Don’t get low attendance. Not on TV. Gorgeous weather. WTF?

The gate was decent at just under 16,800. We had something like 6,700 for one game last season.

[Singing Defective]

Great afternoon that I wasn’t too hopeful about. The first half Preston (is there a better South End?) looked at each other a lot in a way that would seem spookily familiar to Reading players three months ago.

Don’t get low attendance. Not on TV. Gorgeous weather. WTF?

The gate was decent at just under 16,800. We had something like 6,700 for one game last season.

Yeah I remember, but that was a freezing Tuesday.. Still at least the crowd were clapping nicely. Now if we could learn a few away-day chants, and perhaps drop Sweet Caroline for a newer equivalent of the Big Bad Wolf / Sirius...

[Woodcote Royal]

I thought looking at the line up before the game - if you threw Oli in, that’s a play off challenging side, not a relegation one. Lack a bit of quality in depth obviously and staying fit now is vital, esp the back 4

We looked a class above Preston tbh

Couldn't agree more

Injuries may have conspired to take the edge off our second half performance but we made one of the division's form teams look second best all afternoon, scoring 2 excellent goals with 2 recognised strikers..............................one on the wing and one on the bench!

It's unlikley to come to pass, but I, too, would happliy start next season with this side plus Oliveira. They and their manager are growing on me more and more with every passing week and I'll be sad to say goodbye to any of them.

Down the years we've had so many loan players who clearly couldn't care less about the club so it's a real pleasure watching this crop give their all for the team.

I know it's a big "if" but IF they stay fit , we'll be too good to go down .