| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Nationwide League Division 2 | Saturday, 15th September (3pm) | Stoke City | Away | Lost 0-2 |
Match facts:
Reading goals: None
Assists: None
Opposition goals: After 25 and 30 minutes
Half-time: Stoke City 2 Reading 0
Gamebreaker: Stoke's second goal
Attendance: 11,752
Referee: Eddie
Wolstenholme (Blackburn)
Reading line-up: Phil Whitehead;
Graeme Murty, Adrian Whitbread, Adie Williams, Matt Robinson;
Sammy Igoe (Nicky Forster, 69 minutes), Phil Parkinson, James
Harper, Alex Smith (Keith Jones, 46 minutes); Martin Butler,
Jamie Cureton (Darius Henderson, 46 minutes)
Subs not used: Jamie Ashdown, Adi Viveash
Reading yellow cards: Keith Jones (foul, 58 minutes), Phil
Parkinson (foul, 62 minutes),
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
To follow.
Match notes:
Keith Jones's substitute appearance mde this his first game of the season. Darius Henderson has appeared as a sub in all six League games so far!
Match preview:
It's slightly odd that we have two consecutive away games in the Potteries but at least it means everyone has a good idea of how to get there and how long it takes! This match is unlikely to be as easy as the Port Vale win, but Stoke City are in turmoil at the moment and should be there for the taking.
After Tuesday night's performance I can't see any chance of Alan Pardew changing the Reading starting line-up unless he has to. Apparently the injury that forced Adie Williams to limp off is not serious (and he was even trying to come back on the pitch when he was subsituted on Tuesday, of course). In any event, there is an obvious replacement in Adi Viveash should Williams not be fully fit. Nicky Forster played 20 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday, but is highly unlikely to start. In fact, given Darius Henderson's recent performances, I'd be surprised to see Forster even on the bench unless we go for a very attacking set of substitutes.
Stoke have sold Peter Thorne, one of their strikers, this week. He's a decent enough player but not worth anything like the £1.8m that Cardiff City have paid for him. It's rather convenient for us that we don't get to see him play for either team this month! Stoke have been trying to get another forward in on loan but at the time of writing have failed to do so.
Our record against Stoke in recent years has been pretty good, and they certainly ought to view us as something of a bogey side - they have only beaten us once in the League in the last eight years. However, last season we managed only two draws so haven't actually beaten them since the last game of the 1999/2000 season.
Ticket information:
This game is pay on the day for Reading fans,
with no tickets available in advance. Prices are as follows:
Adults - £17
Seniors / Juniors - £10
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