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2000/01 Reports

Reading goals: Butler (2), Caskey (2)
Gamebreaker: Reading's second goal
Attendance: 10,350

Reading line-up: Whitehead, Newman (Murty), Robinson, Jones, Viveash, Williams, Hodges (Gurney), Caskey, Butler, Cureton (Igoe), McIntyre
Subs not used: Howie, Mackie

I was thinking of taking a spare pair of pants along to this game, and if I had I could have waved them at the Wrexham defence in the first 45 minutes. Their injury problems were well-documented but I can't help thinking that their first-choice defence would have had no answer to the attacking play that Reading came up with in that half.

The line-up showed our intent. Matthew Robinson came in for Andy Gurney, probably as expected, and Jamie Cureton made his first start for three weeks. The surprise was that it was Phil Parkinson who was left out. The fact that he wasn't on the bench either suggested that he wasn't fit, but I still don't think that Alan Pardew would have played Butler, Cureton, Caskey, McIntyre and Hodges in the same line-up a few weeks ago.

Reading started off brightly with several decent attacks in the first few minutes. After six minutes we won a free-kick in our own half. Darren Caskey took it quickly, playing a 70-yard pass over the top of the last defender for Martin Butler. Butler knocked it forward, took the ball into the area and slid it past the keeper. 1-0 and I bet some Wrexham fans were already thinking that the game was over. It's passes like that that make you realise Caskey's worth - I hope that all those fans who are so quick to slag him off realised who it was that made this goal.

The game continued with Reading attacking, although Wrexham certainly showed more ability going forward than most of the visiting teams to the MadStad this season. Neither side made any clear-cut chances, although Phil Whitehead did well to hang onto a fierce shot that took a bit of a deflection off Adi Viveash. Reading's attacks all seemed to break down in the penalty area or end with a shot that just missed.

Then after about 20 minutes we got a second. As was clear from Saturday, the Matthew Robinson that has returned from injury is the one that we had last season. He made this goal with one of his galloping runs down the left wing. He was helped enormously by the fact that the defenders not only backed off him, but seemed to be positively running away from the ball! Robinson used the space that had opened up, and crossed to Caskey who was unmarked at the far post. Caskey stumbled but still managed to get the ball into the net - it looked like it came off his right knee to me, but they all count.

Whilst this move was developing Butler had been flattened off the ball and was still lying on the ground when we scored - I didn't see the incident at all, and he was OK to continue.

If Wrexham thought things were going badly at this point, there was worse to come. Lee Hodges had a good shot that the keeper got down well to save, and we continued to put pressure on them. Then Jamie Cureton and a Wrexham defender ran into each other going for the same cross. Both needed treatment, but the defender had to leave the game. This was the guy that they had brought in on loan just before the game to fill in for their previous loanee who had broken a bone in their previous game. It's good to know that other teams are having the sort of injury problems that we are all used to.

Before the new defender had time to settle in, we had scored a third. In fact, it was so quickly after he had come on, I did wonder if he had even had time to take up his position. The goal came after Caskey received the ball from a throw-in on the right and put over a quick cross. Butler ran to the near post with a defender in tow, and smashed the ball into the net from a fairly tight angle.

The fourth official signalled two minutes of added time at the end of the half, but there was already another injured player getting treatment when he showed the board. This might help to explain how we were able to score a fourth goal after three minutes of injury time. This time it was more good work down the left from Robinson, whose cross eventually found its way to Caskey (yet again unmarked at the far post) who easily placed it past the keeper. In fact we could have scored just before the fourth goal when Ricky Newman had tried another of his long shots - unlike the Wycombe game this one flew only inches wide.

When the score is 4-0 at half-time you always expect to go on and score eight or more (like we've all got so much experience of being four up at half-time!) but unfortunately that wasn't the case in this game. Although the first half had been scintillating, the second was much more pedestrian. Graeme Murty had replaced Ricky Newman although I don't think that was a factor in the change of tempo.

What didn't help was that Wrexham pulled a goal back soon after the break. They attacked down the left and Adie Williams came over to cover. He did the perfect job, knocking the ball off the attacker's legs for a goal-kick, and turned round to run back to the half-way line. However, the referee (who has no excuse, as he was in a good position) gave a corner - an absolutely disgraceful decision and one that would be worthy of more comment had we not already got a four-goal lead. Just to rub salt into the wound, the Wrexham player put the ball a good foot outside the D (half-D?) of the corner flag. His kick found a Wrexham head for a simple goal. "You only score when you're cheating", we sang to the tiny number of away fans.

A few minutes later Whitehead had to make a good save, but with that any threat from Wrexham faded away. Reading didn't produce a great deal going forward either. Darren Caskey hit the foot of the post (or it could have been the back stanchion - impossible to tell from my angle) with a free-kick, after having to retake it because the referee wasn't ready. The first kick had been well saved by the keeper as it was just about to creep into the top corner.

Our only other real chance came after a superb through-ball from Jim McIntyre released Butler. He tried to round the keeper but got brought down. I'd say it was the clearest penalty I've seen this season (including the one we actually got awarded) but the ref saw it differently - an absolutely disgraceful decision and one that would be worthy of more comment had we not already got a three-goal lead, as someone almost said once.

Phil Whitehead made another good save near the end. Wrexham even got the ball into the net but it was correctly disallowed for an offside earlier in the move. You could say that even if they had taken all their chances we would still have won - and anyway Whitehead is employed to make saves.

Sammy Igoe had a brief run-out, replacing Jamie Cureton, and again looked sharp. He was up against a very tall and quite wide Wrexham player, just to emphasise Igoe's own size. Andy Gurney also came on, replacing Lee Hodges. What position would Gurney play this time? - that's correct; left half, of course. It used to be Adie Williams that would play all over the pitch; well, now Gurney is obviously after the role.

I must also mention Jim McIntyre's contribution to the game. On many occasions he showed real skill, dazzling defenders with his footwork and often providing good crosses afterwards. In the opening League game I was singularly unimpressed with the way he totally failed to stake a claim for a place, but since he worked his way back into the side, he is making it very difficult for Pardew to leave him out. Hopefully Jimmy will get a run-out on Saturday, as players always like to play well against their old clubs.

At the final whistle, we had won 4-1 and the players stood in the centre circle getting applause from the stands. However, I felt that they all looked a bit sheepish as if they realised they hadn't done as well as they could, and perhaps were a bit concerned about getting a dressing-room roasting. If that is the case after a 4-1 win, then things certainly have changed.

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