| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| U-17 League | Saturday, 26th January (11am) | Charlton Athletic | Away | Won 1-0 |
Match facts:
Reading goal: Louie Soares
Assist: Andre Boucaud
Opposition goals: None
Half-time: Charlton Athletic 0 Reading 0
Gamebreaker:
Attendance:
Weather: Rain, strong winds
Reading line-up: Jamie
Young, Matthew Jones, Ahmet Rifat, Adam Theo (Ian Oliver), Gary
Middleton, Nathan Bailey, Simieon Howell, Andre Boucaud, Callum
Earl (Simon Cox junior), Leon Bird (Russell Lucas), Louis Soares
Subs not used:
Reading yellow cards:
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
By our Under-17 correspondent
Following the postponement of the Under-19s match with Charlton, Reading were able to field almost a full strength side for the first time this season, with the exception of Andre Fashanu who is still on the long term injury list and Chris Davies who is out with a thigh injury. The conditions were atrocious with heavy rain and strong winds blowing throughout the whole match, which meant that it was difficult for either side to play attractive football.
Reading started the game very brightly and quickly put Charlton under pressure with Andre Boucaud hitting a post with a 25-yard shot, which had the keeper scrambling after a lost cause. A combination of determination and ability put Reading in the driving seat and saw Reading hit the post three times in the first half with Andre Boucaud, Nathan Bailey and Louis Soares all unlucky to be denied by the woodwork.
Reading's defence had their work cut out with the huge Fuller up front for Charlton who measures at least 6'7" and even though he is not the most orthodox of players he is certainly difficult to mark. The back four coped admirably in the first half and restricted the Charlton attack to a couple of long range efforts which did not bother the keeper and only on two occasions did Charlton get behind the defence but could not create anything thanks to timely interventions by the centre backs.
The first half continued with Reading pressing forward and the Charlton goal leading a charmed life. Reading could easily have been four or five goals up by half time.
The second half saw Charlton have the advantage of the wind in their favour and the driving rain however this did not affect the Reading players who quickly took control again and played some neat passing football on the ground. Within 15 minutes of the restart Reading had taken the lead through Louis Soares who ran on to a through ball and followed it up with a neat chip over the advancing goalkeeper. Reading had further chances after that and were unfortunate not to further extend their lead which could have been costly had Jamie Young not made two good saves to deny the Charlton forwards.
The impressive Adam Theo was substituted after 25 minutes of the second half having a slight problem with his thigh and further two substitutions quickly followed leaving Reading with only four actual Under-17s on the pitch and the balance of the team made up of 15- and 16-year-olds. The game carried on at a high tempo until the referee thankfully blew his whistle to end the match and allow the players to get out of the atrocious conditions.
Andre Boucaud, Simieon Howell, Adam Theo and Louis Soares impressed in very difficult conditions and showed that with the full team available Reading can compete with their premiership counterparts. Despite the weather there was a good crowd there to see this match and the 150 miles round journey was worthwhile for the players, management and supporters.
Match notes:
Ahmet Rifat again played in this match on trial.
Match preview:
None.
Ticket information:
None.
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