| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Friendly | Wednesday, 25th September (2.30pm) | Exeter City | Bisham | Lost 0-1 |
Match facts:
Reading goals: None
Assists: None
Opposition goal: After 34 minutes
Half-time: Reading 0 Exeter City 1
Gamebreaker: Final whistle
Attendance: 12
Weather: Sunny spells, breezy
Referee:
Reading line-up: 1 Jamie Young; 2
Mark Boddy, 5 Adam Theo, 6 Gary Middleton, 3 Callum Earl; 7
Richard Bouton (11 Louie Soares), 4 Johnny Mullins, 8 Andre
Boucaud, 11 Louie Soares (12 Jason Awbery, half-time); 10 Leon
Bird, 9 Nathan Bailey
Subs not used:
Reading yellow cards: None
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
I naively thought that Reading would find this game quite easy, but that was not the case at all. A well-organised Exeter City side, with a couple of really tall players, took a victory in this friendly game.
The first half was very much stop-and-start with a series of injuries breaking the flow of the game. Most of the players needing treatment were from Reading although none had to be substituted. We had an early opportunity when a shot flashed across the goal and just wide, but Reading's best chance came after a run and long powerful shot from Gary Middleton but the goalkeeper was able to save.
Ten minutes before half-time, Exeter took the lead. A cross wasn't cleared successfully and, after the ball went back to the other side of goal, was fired in at the far post from close range.
A couple of the injuries towards the end of the half were to Louie Soares and at half-time he was replaced on the left wing by Jason Awbery (although later in the game Soares returned to the field).
In the second half, Reading had the advantage of a strong breeze that had blown up and this helped us to play most of the rest of the game inside the Exeter half. Although we had most of the possession, Exeter defended in numbers. Early in the half Nathan Bailey had a good run down the left channel, which was stopped only when one of three defenders who had surrounded him committed a foul near the byline and just outside the penalty area. That free-kick was cleared by the defence. A few minutes later the Exeter goalkeeper tipped a looping shot from wide on the right over the bar, but the following deep corner missed both of our players at the far post.
Reading's midfield play looked good, with nice touches and runs from both Andre Boucaud and Richard Bouton. However, this never really seemed to lead to anything with bite up front. As the game neared its end, we had another good spell but still failed to break through the Exeter defence. The closest we came to an equaliser was when the Exeter goalkeeper dropped a cross and after a short scramble the ball was fired just over the crossbar.
I suppose it has to be said that if this is basically our FA Youth Cup side for this season, they will need to improve if we are to make more progress than last season. However, we don't enter the competition for a while yet so there is plenty of opportunity for that to happen.
Match notes:
This game was arranged as a warm-up game for the FA Youth Cup. That competition is for Under-18s, although the Reading line-up does contain two players, Mark Boddy and Jason Awbery, who are actually Under-19.
Match preview:
None.
Ticket information:
None.
News . First Team . Opposition . Reserves . Where Are They Now? . Columns . Kingsley . MadStad . Interactive . Links . Site Map