Martin Butler is the only Reading player to get into the PFA Division 2 team of the year.
With Reading in the play-offs one issue is whether Adrian Whitbread will be able to play. Reading announced the signing of Whitbread on 8th February and said that the deal was for three months. FA rules say that the maximum loan period is 93 days including the start and finish date, so the absolute longest that Whitbread's loan could run is up to 11th May (or 12th May if his signing was actually completed on 9th February). However, although Reading won't be allowed to extend his loan, I believe that we are allowed to buy him outright and then play him in the play-offs. (For example, Kemal Izzet signed on loan for Colchester for one month on 22nd March, signed permanently for them on 13th April, and is allowed to play in games affecting promotion and relegation.)
One other point - FA rules do now permit a club to take one player on loan each season where the deal runs up to the end of the season (even if that means exceeding 93 days). An obvious example is Jermaine Defoe who has been on loan at Bournemouth since 25th October. However, this rule only applies to players who were under 23 at the start of the season, and Whitbread was aged 28 at that time.
Reading lose 2-1 away to Colchester, and because of results elsewhere are now certain to finish in third place in the division. This of course means that we will go into the play-offs where in the semi-final we will face the sixth-placed team over two legs. That team will be either Walsall, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City or Bournemouth. However, Bournemouth will have to beat us next Saturday to stand any chance of finishing as high as sixth. In the Colchester game, Jamie Cureton scored to give us the lead - that's his 30th goal of the season (29 for Reading and a penalty for Bristol Rovers), giving him a healthy lead at the top of the Division 2 scoring charts. For match details (report to follow), click here.
In the FA Premier Academy League, Reading's Under-19 team lost 2-1 at home to Fulham. In the Under-17 play-off series, Reading drew 0-0 away to Millwall and finish second in play-off group 5. Ipswich Town won the group and so progress to the knockout stage. Ipswich's results in the play-off group were a 7-0 win and a 6-1 win, plus a 3-2 defeat to Reading so our Under-17 side can be very proud of their record at this stage. To see the latest Under-19 league table, and the final Under-17 position, click here.
Next season's television coverage of the Nationwide League will be considerably different. As you may have heard, ONdigital is to be renamed ITV Digital and will include a new channel launched in August. This will be a pay-channel called the ITV Sport Channel which will show 80 live Nationwide League matches on Thursdays and Sundays. (Manchester City will only be playing 46 games, so they'll have to show someone else as well.) There will be a Saturday evening highlights programme based on Division 1, as well as separate programmes devoted to Divisions 2 and 3. In addition the channel will show UEFA Champions League games live on Tuesdays and 15 live Worthington Cup ties. ITV itself will show live Champions League games on Wednesday's, the Worthington Cup Final and one semi-final, and the Division 1 play-off final, whilst ITV regions can show live Nationwide League and Worthington Cup games. This will obviously not apply to Meridian, unless they decide that the Swindon - Oxford "battle for the Conference" derby is worth showing.
I've now watched Eurosport's coverage of the Trinidad & Tobago - Mexico World Cup qualifier from Wednesday. As you would expect from Eurosport, the coverage was appalling with atrocious camera angles and no sound from the stadium at all (although they did put a tape loop of some drummers underneath the commentary and laughably tried to preted that it was the home crowd!). Anthony Rougier played at right back, which is his normal role in international football. He picked up a yellow card early on for a fairly nasty lunge on Marco Ruiz, and committed quite a few other fouls during the game, at least one of which looked worth a second yellow.
After about 30 minutes, and with T&T 1-0 up, Rougier was fouled by Ruiz which I'm sure was partly in retaliation. Whilst play was stopped, Angus Eve of T&T took his own revenge on Ruiz and was sent off (something that the cameras missed completely). For the next 30 minutes of the game, T&T just defended, with Rougier heavily involved. They then conceded an equaliser and had to start pushing forward a little more to look for a winner. With 15 minutes left, Rafael Marquez of Mexico was sent off so that the end to the game was more open. Both sides missed easy chances in the last few minutes and Rougier even took the ball down the wing on one occasion. The game ended at 1-1, which still leaves T&T with some hope of qualifying for the World Cup Finals. During the game, Rougier only twice tried to dribble past a player, something that he does with consummate ease in Division 2, and failed both times.
Reading face Colchester United tomorrow knowing that realistically only a win will be good enough for us to stand any chance of automatic promotion this season. If we fail to win, and if Rotherham beat Brentford at home, then we will definitely only be in the play-offs. However, the current run of 12 away League games unbeaten, and Colchester's lowly League position, mean that we have every right to believe that three points are possible.
The Reading line-up is almost certain to see the return of Matthew Robinson from suspension, given that Ricky Newman played left back last week and is now out injured for six or seven months. There have been hints that James Harper might start in place of Keith Jones, and also that Nicky Forster might start his first game of the season. The other player who might get a recall to the starting eleven is Jim McIntyre, in which case he would presumably be in for Anthony Rougier, who has made long flights to the Caribbean and back this week. However, it is also possible that Forster, Jamie Cureton and Martin Butler could all start.
Colchester's recent run is not too impressive - in the last six games they have two wins and a draw, but both the wins were over relegated clubs. They have former Reading player Keith Scott in their squad but part of the deal we made when he left Reading was that he would not play in tomorrow's game. Earlier in the season Colchester won 1-0 at Madejski Stadium, our first home defeat, with a superb long-range free-kick.
The "Where might Bournemouth play their home game in the play-offs" saga has taken another twist. Firstly, it's important to point out that Bournemouth will not be in the play-offs and in any event neither will we care, but I'll carry on with the report because at the moment they are still able to continue with their illusions. Dean Court will definitely not be available, as they need to start work as soon as possible on rebuilding the ground for next season, beginning this Sunday. According to the Southern Evening Echo, Southampton will not allow them to use The Dell, so Bournemouth are still looking at Fratton Park. However, there is more - it seems that there is a good chance that the rebuilt Dean Court will not be ready for the start of next season, either. In that case, they can't use The Dell because it won't be there any more (!), and Southampton have said that Bournemouth won't be able to use their new ground either (for a start it won't be ready by the start of the Nationwide season). Normally, FA rules say you should share with another club in the same county, which means Weymouth or Dorchester!
According to the Reading Chronicle, Reading are considering offering a deal to striker Gareth Seddon, who has been on trial. Seddon is currently with the RAF but has also had a trial at Everton this season. Similarly, the Chronicle says that we will not be offering a contract to Cambridge United midfielder Alex Russell. Whilst at Cambridge, Russell apparently set up many of Martin Butler's goals but presumably did not impress sufficiently on his recent trial with Reading. Both players took part in the 4-0 reserve win against Bournemouth two weeks ago.
Anthony Rougier played the full 90 minutes for Trinidad & Tobago in the match at home to Mexico in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying final round today. As usual, he played at full-back, and manager Ian Porterfield made a point of saying that the back four played well. The result was a 1-1 draw, with both sides having a player sent off. The red card for T&T player Angus Eve actually came in an incident which started with a foul on Rougier, whilst Rougier himself picked up a booking later in the game. To see the group standings and fixture schedule, click here. The game will be shown on Eurosport at 10.15pm BST on Thursday night. It's a two hour programme so it should be the whole match.
Reading's reserves lose 3-0 away to Crystal Palace meaning that we now have no chance of winning the Avon Insurance Combination title. However, we are still likely to finish in the top three. Incidentally, the manager of the Crystal Palace reserve side is Terry Bullivant, which of course makes the defeat even more surprising. For the latest league table, click here.
Following the story yesterday regarding tickets for the Bournemouth game, I now know that Reading have agreed to give Bournemouth 3,500 tickets (although that might be only if they can sell the initial 2,000). Allowing for a buffer area between the two sets of fans, that would mean there are about 20,000 tickets available for Reading fans, suggesting that we had sold 15,000 by yesterday.
Reading drop to third in the League table after Rotherham United win 1-0 at Luton Town this evening. Realistically, in order to reclaim that second place, we need to win both of our last two games, and hope that Rotherham fail to do the same.
Now, I know that we have no plans at all to take part in the play-offs at the end of the season, but should the worst come to the worst, then in the two-legged semi-final we will be playing against the team finishing in sixth position. That team might well be Bournemouth given their current run. However, Bournemouth are currently demolishing their ground, and have fixed the auction of fixtures and fittings for Sunday, 29th April (their scheduled last game being the day before). Their chairman has already stated that if they reach the play-offs they will not be using Dean Court for the home leg.
So what alternatives do they have? The nearest League ground to Bournemouth is The Dell in Southampton, but that's already being used on Sunday, 13th May for the visit of Manchester United. The next nearest is Portsmouth's Fratton Park which apparently is the favourite to stage the game because of it's large capacity. Probably the next option after that would be a superb 25,000 seater venue near the M4, but I can't see that happening if the game is against us! One complication however is that the Hampshire police may not allow games to take place at Southampton and Portsmouth on the same day. Of course, if we beat them on 5th May then this will probably all be academic anyway.
The official site says that there are only 5,000 tickets left for Reading fans for the home game against Bournemouth on Saturday, 5th May. Now, Bournemouth have been given 2,000 tickets so that presumably means that Reading fans have already snapped up about 17,000 tickets!
The PFA Second Division Select XI will be officially announced on Sunday, 29th April. Several Reading players must have a chance of being selected in the team of the division this season with Jamie Cureton the most likely to be present. At the moment all I know is that Bristol City have three players in the team, including both of their wing-backs (who probably scored big votes from the Reading players after their two performances against us this season).
I have some very sad news - during an Under-15 Academy game between Reading and Bristol City two weeks ago, Peter Reeve, one of the Bristol City players, suffered a broken ankle and was taken to hospital. He later died of natural causes. 1871 would like to extend our sympathy to his friends and relatives, and all involved with the Bristol City schoolboy Academy set-up who are having to come to terms with such an untimely loss.
Sammy Igoe is selected for the Sport First Team of the Day for Division 2.
Reading draw 2-2 at home to Walsall, with Jamie Cureton getting both the goals. We stay in second place but a win for Rotherham puts them one point behind with a game in hand (to be played next Tuesday). After a bright start, this is a very disappointing performance from Reading, marred by some shocking refereeing and a serious looking injury to Ricky Newman. In a surprise appearance, Anthony Rougier starts the match when everyone thought he had already joined up with Trinidad & Tobago. Graeme Murty also made his comeback from injury. For match details (report to follow), click here.
In the FA Premier Academy League, Reading's Under-19s beat Charlton Athletic 5-3 whilst the Under-17s lose 2-1 at Wimbledon.
ONdigital have announced their football coverage for next season. There will be a new sports channel that will show 80 live Nationwide League games as well as a Match of the Day style programme including highlights and interviews.
Reading's reserve players pick up some silverware, but unfortunately it's the losers' medals at the end of the Avon Insurance Combination League Cup Final. We lost 5-3 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes and the same score after a further 30 minutes of extra time. Chris Casper scored Reading's equaliser with two minutes of normal time left, whilst James Harper, Lee Hodges and Neil Smith are successful in the penalty shootout. The Norwich goalkeeper saved Nicky Shorey's penalty whilst all five Norwich penalty-takers were successful. For a match report, click here.
We drop to third in the Avon Insurance Combination league table, because Fulham beat Gillingham 1-0 this afternoon.
In what should be our last ever visit to the Manor Ground, Reading beat Oxford 2-0 with the goals yet again from Jamie Cureton and Martin Butler. We stay second in the table and pull three points clear of Rotherham United (who have a game in hand). Cureton repeats the goal celebration that got him into trouble against Bristol Rovers, but presumably it's OK for him to smile and put his hands to his ears when facing Reading fans. For match details (report to follow), click here.
Anthony Rougier is called up for the Trinidad & Tobago squad for their World Cup qualifying home match with Mexico on Wednesday, 25th April. This means that he will miss our home game with Walsall on Saturday.
The Sport First Team of the Day for Division 2 includes Adi Viveash, Phil Parkinson and Anthony Rougier.
In front of our biggest crowd of the season, Reading beat Bury 4-1 with a fantastic strike from Sammy Igoe plus further goals from the more usual sources of Jamie Cureton and Martin Butler (2). For match details (report to follow), click here. We stay second in the table but a draw by Rotherham United means that our destiny is essentially in our own hands. If we win all our games, Rotherham would only be able to overtake us on goal difference, and our goal difference is far superior to theirs. Results today also mean that Reading are guaranteed to finish at least fourth - that means that if we do end up only in the play-offs we will have the advantage of playing the semi-final second leg at home.
The attendance of 16,829 is not only the fifth highest ever at Madejski Stadium (behind only the games against Manchester City (20,055), Fulham (18,741) and Luton (officially 18,108) two seasons ago, plus the friendly against Newcastle (16,884) at the start of last season), but clearly also contained the highest number of Reading fans at any game with the exception of the match against Luton to open the stadium. It's the third biggest crowd of this season in Division 2 (behind only the Stoke City home games against Port Vale and Wigan Athletic). Today's gate also takes our League average for the season over 12,000.
In the FA Premier Academy League, our Under-19 team draw 2-2 at Chelsea. There was no game for the Under-17s today.
Jamie Cureton is interviewed on Radio 5 this evening, and says that he's expecting a tough game against Bury tomorrow. Alan Pardew is likely to stick with the side that won at Bournemouth (although there are apparently slight injury doubts over Jim McIntyre, Sammy Igoe and goalkeeping hero Phil Whitehead). This would mean that Keith Jones would play his first home game since the one against Port Vale at the start of February - after his superb performance on Tuesday, let's hope that we don't have to hear any more idiots booing him. (Anyone doing so within reach of me can expect a kick for their trouble!)
Bury are the latest team to play the "small squad and lots of injuries" game before meeting Reading. What is definitely true is that they have two players suspended and one away on international duty, but I expect that most of the others who are supposedly doubtful will actually play. If they really are short of players we can expect them to come for a 0-0 draw.
A little piece of Madejski Stadium history tomorrow, too, as there will for the first time be Reading fans on all four sides of the ground. This is because the free places for schoolchildren are in the South Stand next to the away fans.
Reading go second in the table after beating Bournemouth - again! This time it's the reserve side who do so, after a 4-0 win at Farnborough. For a match report, click here, and to see the league table, click here. If we win our last three games, then we will be champions unless Fulham win all of their last four. If we don't win the last three then we will definitely not overtake Norwich City who completed their League season today with a defeat. Incidentally your morning paper will probably say that we beat Bristol Rovers 4-0 - it's wrong because the Press Association seem to be unaware of the double fixture switch.
Oh yes! In one of the shocks of the season, the rain holds off Bournemouth just long enough for our match to go ahead. And it was worth the wait, as Reading beat Bournemouth 2-1 with goals from Jamie Cureton and Martin Butler. Both goals came in the first ten minutes after Bournemouth had taken the lead. Phil Whitehead saved a first half penalty and had an excellent overall game. This means that Reading overtake Rotherham United and go into second place in the table, and also that we are now guaranteed at least a play-off spot. For match details (report to follow), click here.
In the first game of the FA Premier Academy League play-off stage, Reading's Under-17s beat Ipswich 3-2 at Thatcham Town's ground. Click here for a match report. This is an excellent result as Ipswich were the top seeds in our group and are one of the highest ranked sides in the entire country. Away games against Millwall and Wimbledon remain to see if we can reach the knock-out phase.
Rain permitting, Reading will play away to Bournemouth tomorrow night. Given our failure to beat the very poor sides put out by Luton Town and Cambridge United, this is likely to be a pretty tough match. Hopefully the players will find it easier to reach their true performance level in such a game. I'm not going to attempt to try to predict the Reading team because there are too many variables. Several of Saturday's line-up must be in danger of being dropped whilst Graeme Murty might be fit again and Nicky Forster may have a claim for a starting place.
Bournemouth had no game last weekend so should be well rested. They have scored in their last 29 games (24 of which were in the League) which is a club record. In the last two games they scored seven goals, but those matches were against the bottom two sides in the division.
The official Bournemouth website provides match commentary on
their games. There are only 40 available feeds so if you can't
get to the game and want to listen on the web, make sure that you
load it up early. Home fans typically log on 30 minutes before
kick-off to secure their place, so I suggest about 7.05pm should
work nicely. Follow this link:
AFC Bournemouth
official site
Dean Court has changed quite a bit since our abortive visits in November and February. The home end has been closed and partially demolished whilst the away end has been used for home fans since January. However, because we had already sold so many tickets Reading fans on Tuesday night will be standing in the normal place, with further fans in the seats. This has caused some confusion among Bournemouth fans, as the message does not seem to have got across yet that we are in that end. Another change is that the row of trees between the main stand and the car park has been removed in advance of the planned pitch rotation to take place in the future. The supporters club building has also been demolished, and rightly so.
The programme for the match will apparently be a re-issued version from the November game with an eight page supplement. Proof, if it were needed, that Bournemouth are exactly the sort of Mickey Mouse outfit that we need to get away from having to play in the future.
And one possible further treat. Unfortunately this needs clear skies, which in Bournemouth would seem highly unlikely, but at about the time of the final whistle the International Space Station should be visible overhead. It's due to appear at 9.32pm at the West horizon, so that's roughly over the corner flag between the old home end and the small covered side terrace. The spacecraft will be more-or-less overhead at about 9.35pm and will disappear directly behind the away end at 9.37pm. It actually loses the light of the sun whilst at a height of about 30 degrees so we won't be able to see it reach the East horizon, and anyway these events are always accompanied by massive cloud cover so we probably won't see anything anyway. (If there's a lot of injury time ignore all this because the game is far more important!)
Two more points go begging as Reading can only draw 1-1 with an exceptionally poor Cambridge United side. Jamie Cureton got an early goal, but Matthew Robinson was sent off in the second half for two bookable offences, and eventually the home side's pressure told. The referee (Anthony Bates of Stoke) had a truly appalling game, managing to get many important decisions wrong and probably annoying the home side most with his incompetence. Reading stay third in the table - for match details (report to follow), click here. In the last week we have played against two of the four worst sides in the division, picked up only two points, and only managed to score two goals, both of which were down to extremely bad goalkeepiong errors. The only mitigating factor was that both games were away, and against teams who were desperate for a result.
Some good news for one Reading player today, though - Adam Lockwood is on loan at Forest Green Rovers. Today he played in their 4-1 win away to Hereford United in the second leg of the FA Trophy semi-final. This means that Forest Green Rovers win 6-3 on aggregate, and will play Canvey Island in the final at Villa Park. The final will be on Sunday, 13th May with a 12 noon kick-off.
Both the Academy games were called off - the Under-17 play-off group match at home to Ipswich Town has been arranged for 1pm on Tuesday, 10th April at Cantley Park.
On Saturday, Reading play at the home of Cambridge United, looking to get back into winning ways. We're now unbeaten in nine away League games, but games such as these really call out for three points. After the hesitant showing for much of the game against Luton Town on Tuesday, there may well be changes to the side. Darren Caskey did not have a good game and so we might see Ricky Newman come in again at right-back with Graeme Murty pushing forward to wide right midfield. On the other hand, James Harper had his worst game for the club, and so Caskey could conceivably move into the centre of midfield rather than drop to the bench. Yet another possibility is that Anthony Rougier could start in place of either Jim McIntyre or Jamie Cureton. However, I still think that the most likely starting line-up is the one that started at Kenilworth Road.
Cambridge are in a mixed run of form at the moment, but one thing they seem able to avoid is draws. Their last 13 games have seen four wins and nine defeats but two of the wins came in the last three matches. They are of course just above the relegation zone and so desperate for points.
Martin Butler is certain to start against his old club - as I understand it we have to pay Cambridge a further £50,000 if we get promotion to Division 1 whilst Butler is still with us. Let's hope the Cambridge players have been let in on that potential windfall!
Today's FA hearing has incredibly managed to find Jamie Cureton guilty of misconduct for the heinous crime of celebrating a goal scored against Bristol Rovers. However, they have at least showed some common sense by applying no punishment (except that Cureton has to pay the costs of the hearing). This whole sorry affair is a fitting tribute to the incompetence of referee Graham Poll and will hopefully go down against his name as a large black mark.
Both the reserve game away to Bournemouth and the Under-17 Academy game, at home to Fulham, are called off due to waterlogged pitches. The Under-17 game will now not be played at all, and the cancellation confirms that the fourth team in Reading's play-off mini-group are Wimbledon (to join us, Millwall and Ipswich Town). Results elsewhere this week mean that our reserve side drop to fourth in the table.
I realise that the following story is not Reading-related but I thought you might find it entertaining. As background, I decided to travel back overnight by train from the Reading game in Luton to my home in the Liverpool suburb of Blundellsands, a journey which involved waits of over an hour at Luton, Sheffield, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Central. Also, I have always been fascinated by the European Cup and had videoed the delayed full showing of the Manchester United - Bayern Munich game in the hope of watching it this morning without knowing the score. This is what happened:
(a) As I left the ground at Luton, the guy on the public
address system read out the results. I feigned a coughing fit,
ensuring that neither I nor those nearby heard them!
(b) I avoided talking to anyone I knew on the way to the station
and tried to make sure that I wasn't in a position to overhear
anyone else's conversation.
(c) At Sheffield station (1.30am and 30 minutes before my train
left), a guy with a load of Manchester United gear got off an
arriving train from Manchester and then came and sat in the same
(heated) waiting room as me, so I went and stood on the cold
platform instead.
(d) At Manchester Piccadilly station (3.20am and 75 minutes
before my train left), two Bayern Munich fans arrived in the
waiting area. To avoid overhearing any chants or conversations, I
went for a one hour walk window-shopping around central
Manchester in the pouring rain, and was only stopped by the
police twice.
(e) On arrival at Blundellsands station (6.30am) I went to buy a
newspaper, carefully avoiding looking at any headlines. The guy
in the kiosk (a Scouser), who knows I'm a football fan, gave me
my change and as I walked away, shouted after me in a sarcastic
voice, "Wasn't it a shame that Man U lost?" Bastard!
Reading draw 1-1 at Luton Town. A Martin Butler goal gives us an early lead, but this is soon cancelled out by a James Harper own goal. This means that we stay third in the table, but lose ground on both of our nearest rivals. "Celebrity" fans in attendance included Eric Hall and Graham Kelly. For match details (report to follow), click here.
The referee was Graham Poll, who of course reported Jamie Cureton to the FA following the home game against Bristol Rovers, and for which the hearing is this Thursday. Now Cureton's "offence" was to react to abuse from Bristol Rovers fans by making an inoffensive gesture with his hands and smiling. Towards the end of the game against Luton, Poll was on the end of some abuse from Reading fans, and reacted by making an inoffensive gesture with his hands and smiling. Will Poll report himself and subsequently get charged by the FA, I wonder?
Breaking with the pattern adopted all season, the Nationwide Division 2 Manager of the Month award for March goes to Port Vale, who had the best average points per game during the month. Reading had the highest total number of points in March.
Reading travel to Luton tomorrow looking to extend our unbeaten away run to nine games. If Adi Viveash recovers from the slight knee injury he picked up during Saturday's win, then we are likely to see an unchanged side, with Nicky Forster again on the bench. This is the first of three consecutive away games for Reading, but with our recent form away from Madejski Stadium, that prospect holds no fears at all.
Luton's record since Joe Kinnear walked out on Oxford United to take over as their manager is fairly good, but with the exception of a win at Notts County all the points that they have gained have been against sides at the wrong end of the table. Their manager has set them a target of winning five or six of their last ten games, so let's make sure that it's five or six of the last nine after Tuesday. They may have the diving cheat, Mark Stein, playing up front as he has just returned from injury.
Reading's fans should not require any extra motivation for this game. However, let's not forget that the only reason it is being played tomorrow is that Luton made no attempt to protect the pitch from the frost and snow back in January because they had a number of players out injured. There is no way that they should profit from such blatant cheating.
The match is all-ticket for Reading fans, although there are still some left. It is unreserved seating, and in practice many people stand throughout the game because there is absolutely no leg room at all. However, the Luton away end is excellent for getting some good noise going.
Reading's Under-19 side lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace in the FA Premier Academy League this afternoon. Meanwhile, Bristol City's Under-17 team lost earlier today. That result comfirms Reading's Under-17s in seventh place in Group D, and means that we will go into Group 5 of the play-offs. In that group we will face Ipswich Town, Millwall and the third placed finishers from Group D, who will be Wimbledon, Southampton or Fulham. There are five play-off Groups with the winners going into a straight knockout competition. The draw is regionalised until the final so there is no chance of a game against the likes of Liverpool or Manchester United unless we reach that stage.
Jamie Cureton's hearing at the FA will take place at 1pm this Thursday. The ludicrous charge of misconduct followed his celebration after getting the winner against his old club Bristol Rovers back in January. Apparently the hearing has been delayed due to some members of the FA panel not being available for earlier dates.
Phil Whitehead, James Harper and Jamie Cureton all make the Sport First Division 2 Team of the Day, as does one of the Notts County centre-backs.
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