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Town 2-3 Reading
Town 2-3 Reading
Saturday, 26th Nov 2011 17:14

Town snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the closing moments for the second week running as Reading left Portman Road with a 3-2 win. Daryl Murphy opened the scoring 11 minutes after the break, Kaspars Gorkss equalised for the Royals before Josh Carson’s deflected shot put the Blues back in front. Town looked to have won it but Alex Pearce and Noel Hunt netted at the death to see the Blues to their third successive 3-2 defeat.

Richard Wright made his third Town debut with David Stockdale out with a minor shoulder problem but probably available again when the Blues travel to Burnley on Tuesday.

Jimmy Bullard and Jason Scotland dropped to the bench and Lee Bowyer was left out of the 16, while Daryl Murphy came in for his third start since his return to the Blues after getting over his hamstring injury. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas started on the right and Josh Carson on the left with manager Jewell ditching his diamond formation.

The Blues almost got off to a disastrous start with Jimmy Kebe breaking down the Reading right and crossing just too far in front of Simon Church.

The Royals again went close in the sixth minute with a corner which flew across the area before deflecting over at the far post off Murphy’s thigh.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas struck the Blues’ first serious effort of the game on 12 when the former Arsenal man cut in from the right and hit a shot across the face of goal with a number of Town players waiting for a cross.

Two minutes later Murphy, who had made a bright start to the game, saw a 25-yard effort deflect over. At the other end, there was a scare from another Reading corner, the ball once more flying across the box with no one from either side getting a touch.

Carson and Emmanuel-Thomas swapped flanks before Wright hammered a clearance against Church, which fortunately deflected away for a throw on the left.

The Royals again went close on the half hour when Noel Hunt got away from Danny Collins but headed right-back Shaun Cummings’s cross wide of Wright’s post.


The Blues almost went in front in the 34th minute when Andrews played in Chopra, the striker cutting the ball across Adam Federici but the ball coming off the post to Murphy, who teed up Emmanuel-Thomas, whose shot was blocked. The Irishman found Chopra again at the far post but he scuffed his effort to the Royals’ keeper.

Overall it had been a scruffy but open game with both sides having had chances. On 43 Church turned a Cummings cross to Wright. As the whistle approached, a nervy-looking Wright came for a cross from the left but got nowhere near it but the ball fell safely for the Blues

Moments later the whistle went to a smattering of boos. Neither manager would have been overly impressed with their team’s performance in what had been a scrappy half. Both sides had had chances, Town probably the better of them, but without showing too much quality.

Another Reading corner, hit low towards the front post, caused problems in the Town area five minutes into the second period, the ball cannoning out for a goalkick off a Reading player.

Town went close to going in front on 53 when Andrews struck a powerful freekick which beat the wall but was parried away by Federici to his right. Carson played it back to Aaron Cresswell, who had two crosses blocked.

Three minutes later, the Blues were ahead. Leadbitter sent in a superb freekick from the left and Murphy stooped to flick a header past the flailing Federici and into the net for the first goal of his second spell at Portman Road.

Town had Cresswell to thank for retaining their lead in the in the 71st minute when Kebe was played in on goal on the Royals’ right, the left-back throwing himself in at the last to block.

Wright showed just why Paul Jewell had offered him a contract moments later when he superbly tipped a dipping, curling Hunt effort wide.

From the resultant corner, the Blues might have gone two in front. Carson broke down the right and sent in a cross which Chopra put wide under the attention of Cummings with the striker believing he ought to have been given a penalty.

Reading hit back in the 76th minute when Ian Harte whipped over a freekick from the right and an unmarked Gorkss headed home with Wright blocked by a crowd of players.

But parity lasted for only three minutes. Sub Lee Martin, who had replaced Jay Emmanuel-Thomas five minutes earlier, crossed from the left, Murphy laid the ball off and Carson hit a shot which struck a defender, looped over Federici, under the bar and into the net. Bullard replaced Chopra for the final 10 minutes as Town switched to one up front.

On 83 Martin unleashed a powerful strike after cutting in from the left but Federici was equal to it. With three minutes remaining, Reece Wabara replaced Leadbitter in the centre of midfield, the skipper having picked up a knock in a superb challenge on Kebe when the winger was on a rare run down the Blues’ right.

Former Reading man Ívar Ingimarsson made an important saving challenge on Mikele Leigertwood as the game approached full-time and from the resultant corner the visitors pulled level. Harte whipped the ball over and an unmarked Alex Pearce, a former Norwich loanee, headed powerfully past Wright.

Town went looking for their third goal but as at Nottingham Forest last week, it was the opposition who would grab the winner. Sub Wabara lost possession, Le Fondre was sent breaking away and after turning inside Collins found Hunt, who beat Wright from eight yards.

The despondent Blues tried to hit back and Murphy wasn’t far away from a cross from the left but referee Eddie Ilderton’s whistle went soon after to consign Paul Jewell’s men to their third consecutive 3-2 loss.

In truth, it was a poor game played between two poor sides which could have gone either way. Town’s frailties from set pieces — corners in particular were a concern throughout — were again on full show with the first Reading goal having come from a freekick and the second a corner.

The third came from the type of counter-attack the Blues have been susceptible ever since Jewell took over as manager, Town getting caught with too many men forward at a time when they really ought to have been consolidating a point.

A fifth consecutive loss sees the Blues down to 18th in the table with manager Jewell having much to think about ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Burnley.

Town: Wright, Edwards, Collins, Ingimarsson, Cresswell, Leadbitter (c) (Wabara 87), Andrews, Carson, Emmanuel-Thomas (Martin 74), Murphy, Chopra (Bullard 80). Unused: Lee-Barrett, Scotland.

Reading: Federici, Cummings, Harte, Gorkss, Pearce, Karacan (Robson-Kanu 72), Leigertwood, Kebe, McAnuff (c), Church (Le Fondre 72), Hunt. Unused: Andersen, Tabb, Manset. Referee: Eddie Ilderton (Tyne and Wear). Att: 17,154 (Reading: 510).


Photo: Action Images



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