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Reading 2-1 Town - Match Report
Friday, 9th Sep 2016 22:25

Danny Williams netted the game’s third penalty deep in second-half injury time to hand Reading a 2-1 victory over the Blues at the Madejski Stadium, Jonas Knudsen having been adjudged to have hauled down Joey van den Berg at a corner. In first-half injury time Grant Ward had been harshly penalised for handball for the game’s first spotkick, Garath McCleary putting the Royals in front, with Brett Pitman firing home Town’s penalty five minutes after the break having been fouled by Tyler Blackett.

Boss Mick McCarthy named the same team that defeated Preston North End 1-0 before the international break with new signings Tom Lawrence and Leon Best among the subs, along with Conor Grant, back from his groin injury.

Reading started with midfielder Van den Berg, who had a trial with Town in 2006, while John Swift, who spent a similar spell with the Blues in 2014, was on the bench.

The Blues, wearing their Barcelona-style third kit with new maroon shorts and socks, started brightly and Freddie Sears forced Ali Al-Habsi into a save in only the third minute.

Ward picked up a loose ball not far outside the Reading box and looped the ball over a defender. Sears took it into the area and hit a shot which Al-Habsi did well to push into the air.

Bru picked up the loose ball and fed Pitman, playing as the central striker with Ward to his right and Sears to the left, but the midfielder was flagged offside.

Reading began to dominate possession, as is their usual approach under new manager Jaap Stam, and in the eighth minute would have gone in front but for a brilliant Bartosz Bialkowski save.

Tommy Smith stabbed a loose ball back towards Bialkowski from a few yards outside the area but only succeeded in playing in Roy Beerens.

The Dutchman looked to square to Yann Kermorgant but the quickly advancing Bialkowski read it and reacted with superb reflexes to paw the ball out to Christophe Berra, who cleared the danger.

A minute later the Royals threatened again, George Evans heading over from a Beerens cross from the left.

Bialkowski made another important stop in the 26th minute when skipper Luke Chambers cleared the ball against Beerens, who took it across Tommy Smith and hit a shot which the Polish keeper saved across to his left, Berra again clearing.

Referee Jeremy Simpson got his yellow card out for the first time in the 29th minute after Liam Moore had tripped Kevin Bru as the Mauritius international took the ball round him on the outside, not far outside the box. The resultant freekick came to nothing.

The home side continued to have most of the ball but without threatening, aside from a number of balls into the box which the Blues backline and keeper Bialkowski dealt with.

On 36 Evans hit a shot from distance which deflected over, then two minutes later Chris Gunter was yellow-carded for dissent.

In the 41st minute Evans joined him in the book for diving in at Ward and catching him in the back with his knees after the Blues winger had slid in and won the ball. Some referees might have deemed the offence worthy of a straight red card with Evans not needing to make a challenge, the ball had gone, and having gone in high.


The half seemed set to end level but two minutes into injury time the Royals were awarded a spotkick.

The ball was played back to Blackett a couple of yards away from the corner of the box on the left. The former Manchester United defender slammed his cross into Ward’s arm with the winger only a matter of a couple of yards in front of him and referee Simpson pointed straight to the spot.

Although the ball clearly struck Ward’s arm, the former Spurs man would have had no time to react to the cross and it was difficult to see how the referee could have deemed the contact deliberate.

McCleary stepped up and sent Bialkowski the wrong way to send the home side in a goal in front at the break.

Up to the penalty, the Blues will have been happy enough with the half for the most part.

Aside from a couple of chances which came from Town errors, the Royals hadn’t particularly threatened, despite having a very significant share of possession.

At the other end, Town had only very occasionally caused the Reading backline any headaches with Sears’s early opportunity the nearest they had come to a goal.

Five minutes after the restart, the Blues were back on terms via a penalty of their own. Jonathan Douglas initially felt he’d been fouled as the ball came in from the right, then as Knudsen looped it back in from the left Blackett shoved Pitman at the far post.

While Reading fans will presumably have viewed the decision as harshly as Town fans had the earlier spotkick, there was certainly a push by Blackett, who became the fourth Royals player to be booked.

Pitman smashed the penalty down the middle of the goal before celebrating his first goal of the season in front of the Town fans.

Chambers picked up the Blues’ first booking of the evening for a foul on Kermorgant before Ward went close to putting Town in front.

Bru was sent away down the left and cut the ball back to the summer signing from Tottenham, who turned superbly and hit a shot which Al-Habsi did well to keep out.

On 57 Beerens sent over a cross from the left which McCleary headed into the ground and straight at Bialkowski when he ought to have tested the Blues keeper more significantly.

Town had another good chance to go in front right on the hour. Berra nodded down Bru’s corner from the right and the ball fell to Smith, but the New Zealand international sliced the ball over the bar, much to his evident frustration.

The Blues were more in the game as an attacking force in the second half and soon after Smith’s chance Ward wasn’t too far away from finding Pitman with a cross from the right. Knudsen’s subsequent shot flew well wide.

On 67 Sears played Pitman in on the right of the box and the former Bournemouth man hit a low shot which Al-Habsi couldn’t hold and Blackett turned it behind. From the corner, Berra headed over, much to his frustration. While Al-Habsi prepared to take the goalkick Teddy Bishop replaced Bru.

As the game moved into its final quarter of an hour Swift hit a shot from distance which Bialkowski bundled behind.

From the resultant Reading corner Sears broke quickly from deep. The ex-Colchester and West Ham man ought to have fed Pitman but continued to take the ball on and was crowded out.

The ball deflected out to Pitman on the left and his cross flew too deep but as the ball came over Blackett felled Bishop with a stray arm inside the box but referee Simpson missed it.

Town threatened again moments later with Douglas’s header sending Pitman in on goal on the left of the box but Van den Berg made a brilliant challenge to prevent the Town striker getting in a shot.

Royals sub Jordan Obita sent over a dangerous cross from the left in the 84th minute, fellow replacement Stephen Quinn, the brother of ex-Blue Alan, heading over having got in front of Berra.

A minute later Cole Skuse hit a shot through to Al-Habsi from distance and on 86 Luke Varney took over from Ward.

As the match moved into four minutes of injury time Moore nodded down a freekick from the left but Van den Berg was unable to get a final touch and Bialkowski was able to claim. Soon after, Skuse shot well wide for the Blues.

Town looked to have claimed what would have been a deserved draw until Reading were awarded their second penalty of the evening.

As Reading prepared to take a corner on the right there was some pushing and pulling involving Berra and Paul McShane. The Scotland international was eventually booked, as was Van den Berg for intervening.

When the ball finally did come in from the right Van den Berg tried to force his way past Knudsen and went to ground as the Danish international grappled with him.

Referee Simpson pointed to the spot for the third time, probably unsurprisingly given the prior incident. Knudsen was booked for his foul and Skuse for complaining about the decision.

With McCleary having been subbed Williams took the penalty and beat Bialkowski to claim the three points.

Had the game ended in a draw then the Blues would have deserved the point having had the better of the chances in the second half.

The penalty incidents will inevitably be the main talking points with all three of the type which might not have been given on another day by another official with referee Simpson putting in an inconsistent performance throughout.

Town, who are 13th in the Championship, are next in action at Derby County on Tuesday evening.

Reading: Al-Habsi, Gunter, Blackett (Obita 82), Moore, McShane (c), Van den Berg, Evans (Quinn 59), Williams, McCleary (Swift 66), Beerens, Kermorgant. Unused: Jaakkola, Mendes, Harriott, Watson.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, Bru (Bishop 68), Ward (Varney 86), Sears, Pitman. Unused: Gerken, Webster, Grant, Lawrence, Best. Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire). Att: 15,146 (Town: 1,070).


Photo: Action Images



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Michael11 added 22:25 - Sep 9
Well that's what we deserve when Mick is always so happy with a point regardless of how bad the opposition are. I very much doubt Reading will finish above us based on that performance and they were there for the taking. That was utter garbage from McCarthy to not see how dodgy their defence was and go for it. Why on earth did Best, Lawrence and Grant all stay on the bench? The referee was an absolute joke! Evans should've seen red and Bishop had a clear penalty turned down, yet couldn't get his whistle in his gob any quicker to give theirs! The same question marks keep appearing for me regarding Chambers, Knudsen, Douglas etc.
60

htb added 22:27 - Sep 9
Same old same old boring Ipswich
17

ShropshireBluenago09 added 22:27 - Sep 9
Very Very frustrating. Reading were there for the taking. We played well 2nd half and should have been 1-2 or 1-3 up after 80mins. Shame our best chance fell to Smith. The ref was very poor all the way through the game. His pen decision at the end was poor also, as he missed a number of the same sort of fouls during corners, including Teddy, who was elbowed right in front of goal. If you are going to give a pen for the Knudsen foul then a number of pens could have been awarded, although we fell in to the trap of the Reading players winding our back 4 up, McShane (TW*T) in particular.
Still all that said, i still think we should have boxed Reading in when they were playing keep ball around their box. I still think we are lacking up front - Although he tracked back well, Sears needs to be rested and would like to have seen 2 up front - Best & Pitman.

Im still shaking my head that we didn't get something from that game.
14

TractorJed added 22:27 - Sep 9
Pathetic.....
Such a woeful defensive performance against a very ordinary team who we determined to completely over play for the sake of it.
Reading were there for the beating but we had no intention of going for the win!!!
Got what our tactics deserved
26

DurhamTownFan added 22:27 - Sep 9
Truly shocking first half, played a bit second half which begs the question: why can't we do that from minute 1? Totally underwhelmed by MM's subs, after bringing in a few promising lads on deadline day.

Expect things to stagnate a bit with our fixture run coming up. Another hard season of hoofball slog awaits!
24

prebsa added 22:27 - Sep 9
A truly awful performance. Chambers torn to shreds and smith gifting them chances which they didn't take and then to miss from 6 yards with his left foot is awful.

Midfield with no creativity again. Even Bru just looking so out of shame. Continuing to pick Freddie Sears to take his goalless tally to 33 with the rest of the team just lumping the ball at Pitman like it is Murphy.

Shambolic game plan paird with an awful line up and then to bring on people like Varney instead of Lawrence is beyond me.

As for the final penalty it's like watching a rugby game. Knudesn should be ashamed with himself and as a fan I expect an apology in his next media comments for throwing away the game in the last few seconds. Especially after the referee had just spoken to Berra about it!!!

Awful game from start to finish never looked like scoring from open play with our lack of creativity and defence getting torn to shreds. Totally unacceptable to loose that game as we have done!
48

Superblue95 added 22:27 - Sep 9
Well jonas just as people's opinion of you are changing you go and do that. Cheers pal 👍🏼
8

martleshamitfc added 22:28 - Sep 9
holy sh*t it is frustrating being a Town fan for so many reasons!!
9

RoyalAscotBlue added 22:28 - Sep 9
What an awful game of football.

Bart kept us in it in the first half, and was good throughout. Ward was great again and Freddie ran his socks off, but what else can I say that was positive about that?


25

TractorBoy666 added 22:28 - Sep 9
Such a negative set up from a negative manager. Reading won't play more poor all season and we still got nothing. In the last 20 minutes Reading make attacking substitution, we wait and wait and finally bring on Bishop and then take off Ward for Varney? All MM wants from Varney is to defend in the last 10 minutes of a game and is never used as a striker. Late goals like that are the worst, Knudsen has always had a mistake in him but there will be no sign of Kenlock coming in because he isn't his favourite. Same football, different season.
34

Kirbmeister added 22:28 - Sep 9
Berra's just been booked for grappling and 10 seconds later Knudsen does exactly the same thing under the refs nose. As MM said - gross stupidity.
17

TheSelkirk added 22:28 - Sep 9
Given McCarthy's (partial) explanation of his team selection, can we really expect wholesale changes for the next match given how poor / ineffective we were and having lost?

I suspect not.
10

Miles added 22:28 - Sep 9
I actually felt like we did a job on them and stopped them from playing the way they wanted to. Silly defending at the end cost us a decent point there. Frustrated but if I try and find a positive it's that I thought Pitman had a decent game and is off the mark for the season.
6

marco007 added 22:29 - Sep 9
What an awful game of football, lacking pace, passion and quality....two very, very poor sides were on display tonight!
Terrible negative management that was highlighted by our substitutions.
One point or no points, does it really matter?? We should have been positive and gone for 3 but that would never happen with MM who would have settled for a point before kick off !
Zzzzzzzzzzz
19

TheSelkirk added 22:29 - Sep 9
Douglas has taken a lot of stick in his time here, including from me, but he was one of the better players in a Town shirt again tonight. That, perhaps, demonstrates how little progress we have made.

Chambers is becoming a massive liability.
11

Superblue95 added 22:29 - Sep 9
Sears is a complete liability too. Does anyone remember a time he didn't give the ball away today?
3

ElephantBlue added 22:29 - Sep 9
The whole game was a **** show should have been 0-0 but yeah red made it 2-1. Bother team would eve have scored without the penalties. Massive face palm.
5

rendoblue added 22:29 - Sep 9
Another absolutely awful championship ref, knudsen use a little brain please, smith hows he missed, chambers run ragged and all new attacking options and new possibilities left on the bench. Another great night being a town fan. Alright to say we pressed well but why another atrocious game of football to watch with yet again an ending where we've been far too often!
13

iaintaylorx added 22:30 - Sep 9
Two hours of my life I'm never going to get back.
Awful game, no creativity, horrendous right back, i wish i went out for a few beers instead!
28

REIDIE4 added 22:30 - Sep 9
MCCARTHY AND EVANS OUT PLEASE
20

jcITFC added 22:30 - Sep 9
Won't be surprised if Knudsen is hanging from a peg in the dressing room still. Moronic defending when the ref stopped play for 5 mins about holding at corners. In all of this I feel sorry for Bart...saved/intercepted everything that came at him (bar the two pens). The less said about the changes (or lack of) the better
20

markytitfc66 added 22:31 - Sep 9
Webster, best, grant, Lawrence Someone tell me why we bought/loaned these players. All of them on the bench for the whole game and had to watch that dull. Boring apathetic Mick mcarthy team go through the motions again. It is an absolute joke. Mick Mccarthy is a ducking dick and I wish he would duck off! Sorry if I have offended anyone but enough is enough
16

sirmichealmills added 22:31 - Sep 9
I'm listening to MM on radio Suffolk, if he really believes what he's saying
I've got serious concerns for his mental health.
16

Lightningboy added 22:32 - Sep 9
Did not deserve to lose that.

We were awful in the first half..don't get me wrong - I don't for one second want to see us playing like Reading - you can have all the possession in the world but the only stat that counts is the one in the top corner of the screen - and all this knocking it sideways,backwards,sideways,backwards absolutely does my head in BUT our midfield of Skuse,Douglas & Bru couldn't put 3 passes together all night (again)..the sooner all 3 are gone from this club the better - that day cannot come quick enough - they are awful.

Feel sorry for Sears stuck on the left covering Knudsen..Pitman ran his heart out - Can't believe he didn't throw Best on alongside him.
19

blueboy1981 added 22:32 - Sep 9
Did you ever ?? .......... no excuses PLEASE.

Failings all over the pitch - including the Manager. Did we have a midfield ?..... oh yes Skuse, and Douglas were in there somewhere - until the end of course (surprised ? - NOT).

The excusemongers will need to dig deep to explain this one away - bet their thoughts are working overtime right now.
16


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