Orlando Sa’s hat-trick saw Reading to a 5-1 victory over Town at the Madejski Stadium, the Blues’ heaviest defeat for nearly three years. Sa put the home side ahead in the seventh minute, Freddie Sears equalised soon afterwards before the Portuguese frontman made it 2-1 at the break. In the second half Nick Blackman made it 3-1 and Sa completed his hat-trick before Oliver Norwood lashed in a late fifth.

Boss Mick McCarthy included Sears, David McGoldrick and Brett Pitman from the start with the former Colchester man wide on the right

Central defender Christophe Berra returned to the Town line-up having missed the 3-2 defeat to Brighton two weeks ago with a hamstring problem.

Daryl Murphy was on the bench after his calf injury, while there was no place in the 18 for new signing Tommy Oar. Jonny Parr was included in a matchday squad for the first time this season having suffered with a niggly thigh injury since pre-season.

The home side began the game strongly and in the seventh minute they went in front. Jonas Knudsen’s under-hit clearance only reached Vydra who found Blackman. The former Sheffield United man whipped over a cross and Sa got in front of Tommy Smith to flick a header home.

But four minutes later the Blues were back on terms. Pitman found Ryan Fraser inside the area and the Scotland U21 international twisted and turned before hitting a shot which Royals keeper Jonathan Bond palmed away but straight to the in-running Sears, who chested into the net.

However, parity would only last for another three minutes, Sa hitting a low 20-yard strike beyond Dean Gerken’s right hand and into the net after a counter-attack to reclaim the lead.

The Blues, wearing orange, started to see more of the ball as the game reached the 20-minute mark with McGoldrick increasingly influential, although the home side continued to look very dangerous when in the Town half.

Following a Town corner, left-back Knudsen smashed a low shot not too far wide from 25 yards.

Town went close again on 23 when Fraser threaded Sears in on the left of the area but having cut inside, the earlier goalscorer lashed over from close range when it seemed easier to hit the target.

Three minutes later Fraser shot over from distance, then on 32 skipper Luke Chambers was booked for tripping Stephen Quinn, although it looked like an inadvertent tangle of legs.

From the corner, Gerken turned the ball around the post but the linesman’s flag had been raised in any case, although no one had appeared to get a touch on the ball. On 36 Skuse was booked for a late challenge on Aaron Tshibola.

In the 38th minute, after a Pitman dummy on the edge of the area had just failed to come off, Reading again broke quickly but Berra stepped across to intercept Sa’s final pass to Vydra which would have seen the on-loan Watford man in on goal.

Moments later, Fraser became the third Town player to get his name in the book for a foul on Norwood.

The Blues could have got on terms in the 44th minute after McGoldrick headed Fraser’s left-sided corner wide when under the attention of Blackman.

The striker will feel he probably should have hit the target, while one or two Town players claimed that he had been pulled back by Blackman but referee Roger East wasn’t interested.

Neither side threatened again before the end of a thoroughly entertaining first half. After the three early goals the Blues saw a lot of the ball, passing it around slickly at times, with McGoldrick, Fraser and Sears all looking dangerous.

Town had had chances to get back on terms, while Reading always looked a threat on the break.

The Blues created the first opportunity of the second half in the 48th minute, McGoldrick chesting down a long ball to Pitman, who powerfully shot wide from inside the area when he clearly felt he should have done better.

But two minutes later it was 3-1 to the Royals. Blackman cut back from the left to Sa, but the ball hit the striker and fell to Skuse, who looked for Gerken to come and claim.

But the keeper didn’t react and the Blues midfielder was forced to clear and hooked straight back to Blackman, who took a touch before smashing an unstoppable shot past Gerken and into the roof of the net.

Vydra curled a shot well over, then on 61 Pitman came within a couple of inches of making it 3-2. Fraser clipped over a cross from the left and the striker’s looping header rebounded off the bar. McGoldrick subsequently required treatment after being caught by an arm as Reading cleared the loose ball.

Two minutes later, Reading made it four. Blackman beat Berra on the Royals right and cut the ball across to Sa, who completed his hat-trick from close range.

With the game almost certainly lost, Pitman and Fraser - perhaps with an eye towards Tuesday’s game at Leeds - were swapped for Daryl Murphy and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Reading switched Lucas Piazon for Vydra and Ola John for the very impressive Blackman - both subs making their debut - as the game moved into its final 15 minutes with no dramatic Town comeback looking likely.

On 81 Maitland-Niles miscued wide from a tight angle beyond the far post after Murphy had found him with a cross from the left of the area.

But a Reading fifth had looked more likely than a Town comeback and in the 87th minute Oliver Norwood unleashed a 35-yard rocket which flew into the top corner leaving Gerken standing.

It could have been even worse for the Blues with Tshibola curling a shot not too far wide and moments before the whistle Knudsen was cautioned for pulling back sub John.

At the break Town’s biggest defeat since the 6-0 November 2012 loss at Leicester hardly seemed on the cards but once another defensive error had allowed Blackman to score his goal - in addition to his three assists - to make it 3-1 there was never any way back for the Blues.

The fourth was more poor defending - Berra perhaps feeling the effects of his recent injury - while the fifth stunning strike was the icing on the cake for Reading fans who went home very happy having seen their side win their first game at the Madejski Stadium since March 10th and score their first home league goals since April 4th.

For Town, the number of poor goals being conceded is a continuing concern with the Blues now having kept only one clean sheet in 17.

The second successive defeat sees the Blues fall to fourth on goal difference with a further drop certain after tomorrow’s games,

Reading: Bond, Gunter, Obita, Ferdinand, McShane, Norwood, Quinn, Tshibola, Blackman (John 78), Sa (Robson-Kanu 82), Vydra (Piazon 77). Unused: Al-Habsi, Hector, McCleary, Williams.

Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Berra, Smith, Skuse, Douglas, Fraser (Maitland-Niles 67), Sears, McGoldrick, Pitman (Murphy 67). Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, Parr, Coke, Touré. Att: 16,809 (Town: 1,602).

Photo: Action Images

bluefeast added 22:38 - Sep 11 Chambers had a bad game , Gerkin had a bad game , Knudson made errors , our central midfield two did not cross the half way line when in possession. McG is not a playmaker ,he holds the ball to long. But my biggest issue is that our major goal threat played wide right in an imbalanced 433. Sears needs to be in the box or running the channels. Not wide right. We've been tactically done the last two games. Teams set up and play 451 vs us with midfield runners , which draws in defenders and leaves huge space for wide players. We've been done by wide players the last two games , simply as they have so much space and end up with so many one on ones. Tonight is painful. A few players need to be dropped and or a system change. Lets see what happens for Tuesday.

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runaround added 22:39 - Sep 11 Embarrassing performance. The keeper, back 4 & central mids were all awful & gave our attacking 4 very little to work on. We were far to open & allowed Reading to rip us to shreds on the break. Just shows what can happen if you're not on your game in this league. Hopefully just a one off but I don't expect to see us start a game so attacking away from home in the future & think we will see the return of Tabby & grinding things out. Long way to go yet but we must not see another performance as poor as that. Reminded me of Leicester away 3 years ago and Reading aren't in Leicester's league

3

Gcon added 22:41 - Sep 11 I tend to look at the positives. If somebody could point them out that would be great. Blueboy? I know I can bank on you.
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prebbs007 added 22:41 - Sep 11 Go on then Mick. Explain that away. We were (actually ARE) a disgrace defensively. Chambers is a joke of a full back. Wrong side of his man all the time. Knudsen is nowhere near good enough. No right foot, heading awful and passing abysmal. Smith can't play RCB said it so many times. They got 4 goals on counter attack when we had slowcoach Skuse and snail Douglas trying to catch up. The back 5 are all at fault and not helped by our pedestrian centre midfield. We had plenty of scoring opportunities but will struggle all season if we defend like that. Mick if you continue to pick the worst RB in the league and play a joke of a GK along with Smith and not good enough Knudsen we may as well forget it. Your selection was YET AGAIN plainly wrong. 8 goals in 2 games. Only Rotherham have conceded more. Didzy worked hard but all too deep. Frazer quality Pitman tried hard and Sears scores again but messed up many chances. Yes we are good going forward but Gerken(Bart) Chsmbers(Parr) Smith(my nan) Knudsen (kenlock) Skuse(Bru) Douglas(Bish) ALL have to be dropped. Stop sticking with your pals Mick, bite the bullet and see that you were WRONG or you will soon lose the backing you have rightly earnt. Queue all the -ve marks and the "don't panic were ok" posts but we should panic !!! That was a JOKE !!!

8

bostonusablue added 22:42 - Sep 11 We have £8 million in the bank. Why is MM not using any of that on transfers? Knudsen has been awful for the last two games; he just lumps it hopelessly forward every time he gets the ball. An excellent start to the season has now turned into very average. We've been totally outplayed for the last two games. Very concerning. Spend the bloody money Mick.
0

Bluewelshman added 22:43 - Sep 11 We expect more from a MM side than that heap of s**t. "The most hard working team in the league" is all we've heard this season, well what the hell happened tonight. This match resembles one of Keane or Jewell's offerings, defence which just was as disjointed as I have ever seen them, where did Berra's game reading skills disappear too, at what point does Mick not realise Chambers is not a full back, Smith..., Knudson was not up to pace, and did we actually have any central midfielders on the pitch cause they had no impact on the game what so ever. I'm reassessing my enthusiasm for this season after 2-3 v Brighton and tonight's awful offering, I am expecting that we keep at a nice mid table position. I hate being negative about the club I love, but tonight's game has opened my eyes to what is an average team. Here's hoping I'm dead wrong, COYB.

3

StochesStotasBlewe added 22:45 - Sep 11 Appalling defending & goalkeeping coupled with a non existant midfield for the most part. Big wake up call tonight. Although it,s early days, on this evidence we wont have a cat in hells chance of making top 6. Gerken is league 1 standard at best, as others have posted in the summer, this position needed addressing urgently, Bart is better but not good enough for a team aiming for promotion. Defensively, the last 2 games have been a shambles, piss poor at best. Mick has addressed the winger & striking options, now he needs to sort out the rest & sharpish. Reading hadn,t scored a league goal at home since April, that in itself shows how bad we were tonight. No excuses Mick, say it like it was, utter sh#te.

5

Daleyitfc added 22:48 - Sep 11 Keep the fafe ... the intellectually challenged McCarthy will make everything all right again, just like Jewell, Keane and Magilton did ... n't. About time some of the head-in-the-sand mindless mugs who follow this team had their eyes opened. We need a new, young, manager and for the faceless Marcus Evans Group to give the club back to the real shareholders.
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TimmyH added 22:49 - Sep 11 Well it's easy to critisize a team on the back of one performance but the fact is that team performance bares no resemblance to ANY Town performance last season (that we had won, drawn or lost). Okay we now have more players that like to play deck football i.e. Fraser, Maitland-Niles, Pittman etc to add to last seasons McGoldrick, Bishop and Sears but watching that game it seems like Mick has gone from one extreme to the other. The team tonight simply didn't play as a unit which we have known particularly Mick' s away teams to do and that is to keep a tight defense with a defensive midfield and play for 'at least a point'. The amount of times the team went 'gung ho' in the first half hour was startling with players like Douglas and Skuse attempting to join in the fun only to be caught out on the break away! - yes away. All very well blaming Girkin for partly his fault in their third goal but that's just the tip of the iceberg - it's largely the team not playing as a unit if they're going to push up the field so readily. I bet some of the players can't believe how they're being asked to play (if that is the case), defensively still poor tonight with some shaky performances from Knudsen and Chambers but where was the support from the midfield on the numerous breaks in the first half - wait! trotting back (Douglas) from near Reading's box. Big rethink from Mick I believe on the shape and personnel in the starting 11 as we're simply letting too many goals in. Poor all round tonight.

7

bluefeast added 22:50 - Sep 11 Defence looks very edgy with Gerkin in goal ,he never speaks ,commands or organises. The goal conceded when he was rooted to the line says it all. But we have major problems ,we are not an attacking unit ,we have some good attack minded players ,there is a massive difference between the two.
4

Tractorboy1985 added 22:51 - Sep 11 Right.. Before I start.. I think mick Mc Carthy is the best thing to happen to ITFC since the burley days.. However tonight mick u got it seriously wrong! The balance of the side was p1$$ poor! We start in goal where for me we ave never replaced Neil Alexander! Dean gerken is an averse league 1 goalkeeper! Bart is a capable championship goalkeeper who our defence seem to understand.. So mick replace gerken with Bart ASAP!! Right.. The back 4.. On 2days performance jonas is not up to the standard required.. HOWEVER.. I'm with thee opinion he may need more time to settle.. Then we move on to a serious problem.. Chambers is NOT a right back! Any winger with pace will roast the man.. Didn't matter if it was Emmanuel or chambers v Brighton.. Same outcome!! Switch him to centre halve with Berra or drop the man! Midfield.. Well the sooner bru or bish return the better.. Douglas and skuse lack creativity and the legs.. 2nite was embarrassing.. They were non existant! Freddie has been our best striker this season and to sacrifice him for mc goldrick (who was my MOM for town) and pitman was wrong! Yes we ave 4 strikers capable of scoring 20+ each but mick u ave to pick 2! From minute 1 I knew we were not going to win that game with the set up employed.. raging to say the least! We r not a team reading should be beating 5-1 (they avent scored a home goal since April).. Back to basics mick.. Starting with Bart in goal who at least understands the defence!

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delias_cheesy_flaps added 22:52 - Sep 11 What p*sses me off is the fact that all 5 goals were easily avoidable. 1st goal: Knudsen should have put it out for a throw-in, then never got close allowing a cross for the goal. 2nd goal: Berra stood off allowing the guy time to have a crack, goalie should have covered his far post. 3rd goal: A comedy of errors; Berra leaving the ball, Gerken staying on his line, Berra poor hoof to nowhere, Chambers done by a drop of a shoulder and Gerken beaten at his near post. 4th goal: Berra not taking the attacker on but dropping back and back into our area, then getting done to the byline, a pass between 3 "defenders" for a tap in. 5th goal: Didsy done the hard work running out of defence but inexplicably passes infield to nobody, our midfield stand off yet again allowing the player to shot unchallenged. If it was any other team I'd find this hilarious but it's a recurring theme with Ipswich. Steve Clarke in his post match hit the nail on the head: I told our midfield to go forward quickly as you do more damage instead of 3 or 4 passes backwards (the Ipswich way). yes we had plenty of possession but that was in our own half and we ain't gonna hurt anyone from there apart from ourselves!

9

keighleyblue added 22:52 - Sep 11 lot of budgies on here tonight...
-3

JCBLUE added 22:53 - Sep 11 Diabolical defending, Gerks should never play for us again, MM needs to kick ass! Going forward we do look so much better, perhaps need to strike a happy medium so we don't get caught out so easily defensively. Perhaps reality check needed, but I firmly believe MM will sort & we will be challenging for promotion this season.
1

delias_cheesy_flaps added 22:57 - Sep 11 I thought Fraser looked quality but I just couldn't relate as to why MM would take him off when we had 2 inept midfielders in Skuse and Douglas begging to be ousted and we were 2 goals behind?? Pitman was unlucky but never really got going and Didsy's role didn't suit him although he worked for the team.
1

warktheline added 22:58 - Sep 11 Over to you Oldball, please take centre stage! Many of us have pointed out our defensive frailties, stretching back well into last season, and our last two games have brought them home to roost! I can't be bothered to point the finger anymore at individuals because inexplicably McCarthy appears totally unaware of our Achilles heel. It's a tough one to take, because apart from this blindness , the manager has in my opinion been, superb ! Let's not take anything away from Reading, recently their performances have been dynamic. They have been due such a result, unfortunately we were it!

8

Steelmonkey added 23:01 - Sep 11 I have been impressed with the transfer business with MM getting so many capable players on "paper". But at the same time have been worried that it will take so much time for them to come together as a unit. I don't think in my humble opinion MM has come close to righting the situation of improving our midfield, Douglas is clearly not the answer most fans were looking for. He has not impressed me in anyway in the games I seen so far. Brighton did it, now Reading have done it by taking us by the scruff of the neck and dictated the pace of the game and blatently punished us in our weak areas that every town fan knows we have. The three areas were we are lacking

5

Len_Brennan added 23:02 - Sep 11 The most frustrating thing is that the problems at goalkeeper & defence have been there & obvious for a long time. Gerken is not good enough to be in a championship team fighting for automatic promotion. Chambers as a right back is & has always been a liability - his abilities at centre half have been compromised by not playing there for so long also. Tommy Smith is always capable of a serious error in every game, more so when on the right side of the partnership. Add to that that Bart, although better, is not top quality either, Berra is not back up to speed just yet & Knudsen, despite a promising first couple of games, is still adjusting to the pace of the Championship, we are really weak defensively at the minute. Should have bought a Goalkeeper and a genuine right back, even if they cost 7 figures. The difference would have been massive for us; probably the difference between being top 3 and wondering what might have been.

10

warktheline added 23:04 - Sep 11 Oddball, please enlighten us ! The forum is all about debating .
1

BrettenhamBlue added 23:08 - Sep 11 It's only 2 losses in a row guys. Let's get some perspective here. In the old Keane days we would lose 5/6 in a row and the response then was understandable. Yes, some of our defending was League 2 at best. I was going to write it up but I think delias 2 posts above has summed it up nicely. Some of the worst defending I have ever seen. Would have been hilarious to anyone who isn't a Town fan. We need to make a few obvious changes for Leeds. Bart in goal (did Gerken even make a save? All he seemed to do was shout at his defence?). Shouting at the defence after the 5th goal was hilarious: he was beaten from nearly 40 yards out! Awful goalkeeping. Malar at right-back. DO NOT PLAY Douglas and Skuse together. Too similar. Though Douglas has been criticized here I thought he was ok and tracked back well and made some key interceptions. Skuse should come on as a sub next game. Parr would be better in Central Midfield. AMN should start next game. We actually carried serious threat when he came on. Fraser should be on the wing too. Mcgoldrick and Pittman should start with Sears as a super sub. What does it say about our subs bench that MM wouldn't use the 3rd sub?

-2

tallguy6767 added 23:09 - Sep 11 I thought I was watching Blackpool for a minute! !!
1

TimmyH added 23:11 - Sep 11 Have to agree Douglas was dire tonight...thought people said he had a good engine for a 33 year old? the first half hour he was struggling to get back after his many soiree's towards Readings Box, anyway hopefully Bru/Bish will soon be taking his place.
1

blueherts added 23:13 - Sep 11 First game of season we were un done by aerial balls in box and over the top, last two game it was width and pace. Teams must be watching us rubbing ttheir hands. Yes we have a good threat in final third but absolutely no CM Bru and Bish are so missed. Skuse is ok but Douglas looks like he is just picking up his cheque. We get overrun in middle and end up running around like 8 year old football ! Dids got deeper and deeper but had no outlet so ran into trouble. Fraser is great little player but Knudsen need help. Shocking display again on TV but just so concerned about the goals conceded now! Farewell DG

2

rkl added 23:13 - Sep 11 I am sure the back four will improve significantly with Bart back in goal. Goalkeeper is such an important position, and Gerken's inabilities spreads into the defence.
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Kesgraveblue92 added 23:18 - Sep 11 Central midfield was non existent again tonight, Reading just walked through time and time again. Every time they attacked they looked like they were going to score. Douglas was poor yet again and he has done very little to impress in any game this season. The third goal just about summed up the night, surely Gerken can not start against Leeds. A massive set back tonight.

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