Royals Back To Winning Ways

10 December 2016
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Two second half goals from Roy Beerens earned three points to keep Reading in touch with Newcastle and Brighton at the top of the league. After a dreary first half and a sloppy opening ten minutes of the second, Reading took the lead with a deflected Roy Beerens strike from the edge of the box. Beerens added a second with as composed a finish as you are likely to see in the Championship this season with just under a quarter of an hour left to play.

The Royals appeared to be cruising to a comfortable fourth successive home win until substitute Fletcher nodded home at the far post two minutes into the generous six minutes of stoppage time allocated by referee Harrington. In a frantic finish Reading could have conceded an equaliser or added a third, but held out for deserved win. Read More...

Two second half goals from Roy Beerens earned three points to keep Reading in touch with Newcastle and Brighton at the top of the league. After a dreary first half and a sloppy opening ten minutes of the second, Reading took the lead with a deflected Roy Beerens strike from the edge of the box. Beerens added a second with as composed a finish as you are likely to see in the Championship this season with just under a quarter of an hour left to play.
<br/><br/>
The Royals appeared to be cruising to a comfortable fourth successive home win until substitute Fletcher nodded home at the far post two minutes into the generous six minutes of stoppage time allocated by referee Harrington. In a frantic finish Reading could have conceded an equaliser or added a third, but held out for deserved win.


<a href="http://www.royals.org/matchreport/101216/Reading_2_Sheff_Wed_1"><strong>Read More...</strong></a>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.royals.org/matchreport/101216/Reading_2_Sheff_Wed_1"><strong>Match Report:</strong> Reading 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1</a></li>
</ul>

Discussion On This Story:

  PieEater

» 10 Dec 2016 18:12

Well that was a lucky result. First half I could only see one winner an it wasn't us, then we get a lucky deflected goal and started playing better. The second was a long ball, flick and a cracking composed finish from Beerens.
Ref was shit for both sides, but otherwise chalk that up to Stam, team spirit and a bit of luck.
Oh and oxf*rd off with Sweet Caroline, slight less intrusive but still forced down our throats.

  Nameless

» 10 Dec 2016 18:19

First half was a complete stalemate. Neither side created anything and the only likely result was a 0-0.

Second half we stuck our chances away and on chances created the right team won. It was one of those games though that you'd feel disappointed to not get a point from.

Not sure it was a Lucky result though.....

  Westwood52

» 10 Dec 2016 18:25

Lets not forget however we missed two sitters 2nd half.
Al 7: Two good saves, usual howler of a pass out.

Gunts 6: Normal, more good than bad-just.

Obita 8 : Played really well both as defensive cover and in attack.

McShane 8: Back to his best-dodgy tackle just before the melee

Moore 8: Normal service resumed.

Blackett 5: Had some very poor moments; but at least he was up for a battle.

Evans 6: Missed a sitter and silly booking

Joey 5: Hardly in the game

Beerens 8: Give him the credit for two goals-but ducked out at the end when the fur was flying

Samuels 5: Felt sorry for him really, but had no service to speak of

Macca 6: Just couldn't get going
Kelly 6: Poor start but battled hard and got better

Kermit 7: Will start next week

Mendes : Looked very awkward when his chance came
Ref, makes a change, but pretty good-not enough really to send Wallace off
Sheff Wed: Why do they bother with those two useless lumps up front-Bannaman a class apart at this level

  Hound

» 10 Dec 2016 18:29

First half was dismal. Clearly a hangover from Fulham, but I guess going in without conceding was job done
2nd half was great, really enjoyed it. As soon as we scored, I thought we were excellent, tackled hard and moved the ball around nicely
Seeing the highlights again on sky, not sure how Wallace got away without a red - and had that been given think it would have been 3 or 4. The last minute save was pretty routine from the look of it
Thought Moore was excellent, Blackett and McShane decent. Midfield struggled a bit to create - but are obviously missing Swift badly, and to a lesser extent Williams. Beerens played well 2nd half. :idea:
McCleary is a class act, and sadly Yann was a massive improvement on Samuel
Wednesday were solid and obviously missing their top striker, but considering they spent 7 mill on a very unremarkable left back, didn't impress me too much

  RichTea94

» 10 Dec 2016 18:41

How did the Kermorgant-McCleary partnership look?

This was the first time Kermie has played since we've gone 3-5-2 I believe.

  Reading Aloud

» 10 Dec 2016 18:46

Good solid performance.
Got lucky with the first goal and probably against the run of play. But it certainly lifted the team. Roy very composed with the second.
Predictable onslaught towards the end but we defended well overall.
Have also seen the reply on Sky and their left back should definitely got a red for that.
Onwards and upwards

  royalp-we

» 10 Dec 2016 18:48

Back home now, happy with my 55/1 winnings. That was an equal affair really, reminded me of the Brighton home game.
How the oxf*rd did 33 (Wallace?) not get sent off? How many chances did the ref give him?
Mendes is our new Baseya!

  Nameless

» 10 Dec 2016 18:49



He played at Barnsley.

  sandman

» 10 Dec 2016 18:54



He played at Barnsley.

In a 3-4-3.

  Hound

» 10 Dec 2016 19:15

Looked good to me. Definite potential

  leon

» 10 Dec 2016 19:27

Poor 1st half. Started 2nd a bit slow. improved after the goal could have won it by more. Wednesday looked good but we restricted them to mostly blazing long distance shots over.

  3points

» 10 Dec 2016 19:31

Am I the only one who thought Sheff Weds were pretty poor? No real passing, proper hoofball for virtually the entire game (tbf Westwood kicks it a mile). Their No 19 was MoTM for that miss when it was 0-0. Would have been very pissed off if we had lost (or even drew) that. Fulham were a different class.
I thought we were OK - pretty comfortable. I still don't like JVDB and Evans playing together but we don't have a lot of options right now.
Moore is probably the best centre back in the league. Very consistent and I like the three with McShane and Blackett (who I thought was really up for it and had a good game overall) and McShane is just a warrior. He was like a pig in shit in the last 20 minutes.
Kermogant in midfield, I guess was a necessity. Mendes looked like a rabbit in the headlights at the end.

  Nameless

» 10 Dec 2016 19:35



He played at Barnsley.

In a 3-4-3.

It's all a bit meaningless though isn't it ?

Today wasn't a 3-5-2 really.... maybe a 3-4-1-2 but Beerens played on the wing a fair bit so often it was 3-4-3

  Royality creeps In

» 10 Dec 2016 19:36

Beerens was having a shocker then scores two goals :shock:
If Sheff had any decent strikers they would have won. Fortunately their shooting was woeful. Blimey they had some big lumps at front.
After the Fulham debacle this was a good win. Kermorgant looked good when he came on and although I don't like to say it, he did a lot more than Samuel.

I so want Samuel to come good, but its not really happening at the moment.
Still, I feel a lot happier than I did this time last week.

  Ian Royal

» 10 Dec 2016 19:36


Gooding gave Blackett MotM :lol:

  PieEater

» 10 Dec 2016 19:38

Gooding is clueless, Moore or McShane were MOTM

  3points

» 10 Dec 2016 19:42


Thought Obita had a good game as well

  royalp-we

» 10 Dec 2016 19:50

Praise when it's due. If John swift had scored the 2 goals today everyone would be creaming themselves.
After some quiet performances in the last few games Beerens did really well overall today, barely put a foot wrong.
Obita handled Wallace well too.
I was disappointed with Samuel & McClearys (lack) of energy personally. I thought although tough in the tackle, Evans could have done more with the ball at his feet. Although all 3 perked up a little bit after the first goal.
Definite motm between Moore and McShane. But top marks to Obita, Blackett and Beerens.

  3points

» 10 Dec 2016 19:55

Not sure why Evans didn't shoot immediately prior to Beerens' first. Dropped right on his foot.

  Royal Ginger

» 10 Dec 2016 20:26


Absolutely this!
I turned to the bloke behind me and commented that Beerens needed subbing, as I turned back round the passage of play that lead to his 1st happened.
Moore was exceptional. Head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.
Al-Habsi's best moments came from athletic saves from his own mistakes.
Joao was doing everything right for them but had a touch of the 'McAnuffs'. If he could hit a barn door we'd have been in real trouble.
That lump Nuhiu was a waste of space. Lucked out a bit on 'Oooper being out.
Mendes looked to me to be in two minds whether he should take the shot or set up Beerens for a hat-trick tap-in. I think the indecision cost him the goal.
Don't know which of their players it was, but one of them put VDB on his arse and he looked utterly stunned. It was a fair, full blooded block, but I don't think he's used to that.
Any self respecting Wednesday fan (including the ones behind me in the bus queue) knew that Wallace was lucky to stay on the pitch with the number of crap tackled he made.
Good bunch of lads, loud until we scored, generally quite magnanimous in defeat.

  sandman

» 10 Dec 2016 20:43



In a 3-4-3.

It's all a bit meaningless though isn't it ?

Today wasn't a 3-5-2 really.... maybe a 3-4-1-2 but Beerens played on the wing a fair bit so often it was 3-4-3

Not really. McCleary was clearly wide of a front three at Barnsley because before he was sent off he was clearly playing wide in a front three because he was ripping their left back(s) apart.
Sorry to be picky but it is the TB and you have to be Rain man with these things.

  Royal Ginger

» 10 Dec 2016 21:32


Because of the way they were set up it was more Kermorgant and Beerens which didn't look bad. Would love to see him with Rackels again. That was starting to click.
This system with Kermorgant is exciting.

  marlowuk

» 10 Dec 2016 22:07

Until we scored our first goal there was only one team that was looking like winning and that was Wednesday! They bossed the midfield pretty much throughout the match but as we were without the guile and class of Swift and the drive and energy of Williams that was, perhaps, not surprising. But then we got that bit of luck with a deflected goal and our confidence surged!
Wednesday had plenty of chances (and more shots than we managed) with Joao wasting the best of them and most of the rest sailing over the bar - not forgetting two outstanding saves by AAH of course. Having Moore back was a big plus and I thought all of our back three played well especially in the last seven minutes when we were really hanging on. JVDB is the weak link for me and he seems to be a red/yellow card just waiting to happen. Samuel worked hard but without much joy and bringing on Kermie was the right decision. GMac was a bit more subdued than usual but he was playing more centrally which doesn't play to his strengths.
I think there were three yellow cards handed out in the 2nd half mellee although the highlights only show Wallace's which, I agree, should have been red. Wednesday were a decent side and can probably feel justifiably disappointed not to at least have earned a point but Bereens composure for our second goal was class!
After the Fulham result and display I was worried about this fixture and the rest of our season, so three points is a relief and a credit to our fighting spirit. Being four points clear of 4th place is a good place to be!!

  harry

» 10 Dec 2016 22:19

I thought at 2-0 the scoreline flattered us. The goal at the end meant a nervy few minutes. After last week the win was very important. A clean sheet wold have been nice but I'll settle for the win :)
AAH - overall good, some dodgy distribution, couple of decent saves and off his line fast once or twice to deal with their long balls well

Moore - excellent. We look a different team with him. Solid defensively and some nice passing at times

McShane - good. Didn't see why he got booked in the melee other than ref wanting to even it up a bit.

Blackett - couple of very solid tackles. Generally good.

Gunter & Obita - decent

Evans - OK

Joey - off the pace still. Got caught in possession a couple of times thinking he had all teh time in the world.

Beerens - his Marmite season continues. After being utterly useless last week, I thought he was much better this, although still not great until the goals. First was fortunate, second was class.

GMac - a quiet one by his standards this season

Samuel - ran around a lot and some ok link up play but rarely looked a threat. Suspect Kermorgant will be starting again soon.
Kermorgant - a decent performance winning some important header including the flick-on for the 2nd and more defensively late on.

Kelly - replaced a tired VDB. Shame his effort from about the halfway didn't go in.

Mendes - little time to influence the game much but even then could have (and should have) scored late on but dithered.
With Swift & Quinn injured & Williams suspended we are threadbare in centre mid. Good job the current formation only needs 2 of them. Suspect Joey will struggle to get through 3 games in a week so I can see Kelly getting some game time. Wasn't that Evans's 5th yellow as well? Whatever happened to Sandro Wieser?

  CountryRoyal

» 10 Dec 2016 22:37

Kermorgant played some absolutely cracking balls today.

  CountryRoyal

» 10 Dec 2016 22:54

I like the "bouncebackability" of this team, each bad result doesn't feel like it's the start of a downward spiral as much as our experience would tell us that to expect.
In the previous 2 seasons we have only managed to bounce back from a defeat with an immediate win 3 times, we've already done it twice this season.
Obviously it's a difficult stat to read too much into because you don't want to be losing that much anyway but it just backs up my belief that we this team seems to be a bit mentally stronger.
Love it.
Also I'm loving this confidence in the team. When we are up I have so much belief that we will see the game out, even at 2-1 and the goal scramble I genuinely didn't think we'd throw it away. Weird to say that being a reading fan.

  Muskrat

» 10 Dec 2016 22:55



I reckon you've pretty much nailed it there, we were lucky to get in at half time 0-0 after a dire first half performance. A lucky deflection gave us the lead and our confidence grew as we had a brief spell of better possession. A breakaway goal gave us the cushion that we knew would be required and Wednesday's heads visibility dropped for the next ten minutes. Once they regrouped they put us under sustained pressure and got the goal that was always coming. Luckily for us it came too late and AAH made a last gasp fingertip save to preserve the three points. All in all a good victory against a very competent side wrought through hard work and tenacity, helped by profligate finishing by Wednesday.

  John Madejski's Wallet

» 11 Dec 2016 00:02

I guest we needed to be defensive today to make sure we didn't lose after the Fulham drubbing, but I don't like the Evans/JVB thing. They sat so deep we essentially had a back 7 and then a big gap to McCleary/Behrens/Samuel, basically handing the midfield to Wednesday.
Still it did its job, so happy with the outcome

  genome

» 11 Dec 2016 02:47

All I can say is

  3points

» 11 Dec 2016 08:53



I reckon you've pretty much nailed it there, we were lucky to get in at half time 0-0 after a dire first half performance. A lucky deflection gave us the lead and our confidence grew as we had a brief spell of better possession. A breakaway goal gave us the cushion that we knew would be required and Wednesday's heads visibility dropped for the next ten minutes. Once they regrouped they put us under sustained pressure and got the goal that was always coming. Luckily for us it came too late and AAH made a last gasp fingertip save to preserve the three points. All in all a good victory against a very competent side wrought through hard work and tenacity, helped by profligate finishing by Wednesday.
I genuinely don't get these points of view. I thought we were very comfortable in the first half Without really creating much. They were much worse than us. Their only decent chance was when AAH passed the ball out to one of their players and made a good save. Second half was more open but they played no football. Everything was route one either started by their keeper or centre backs. I did have a little chuckle though when our second goal came from a proper route one attack. Perhaps we should do that more, especially with Yann in the team flicking the ball onto McCleary and Beerens
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