| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Nationwide League Division 2 | Saturday, 12th January | Huddersfield Town | Away | Won 1-0 |
Match facts:
Reading goal: Nicky Forster (56
minutes)
Assist: None (bad header by defender led to the chance)
Opposition goals: None
Half-time: Huddersfield Town 0 Reading 0
Gamebreaker: Final whistle
Attendance: 10,775
Weather: Sunny, quite warm for the time of year
Referee: Eddie
Wolstenholme (Blackburn)
Reading line-up: 31 Marcus
Hahnemann; 11 Andy Hughes, 8 Adie Williams, 23 John Mackie, 28
Nicky Shorey; 14 Sammy Igoe (4 Keith Jones, 83 minutes), 19 Joe
Gamble, 16 Phil Parkinson, 29 John Salako; 10 Nicky Forster, 7
Anthony Rougier (24 Darius Henderson, 89 minutes)
Subs not used: 21 Jamie Ashdown, 3 Matt Robinson, 12 Jamie
Cureton
Reading yellow cards: Nicky Forster (being tripped, 60 minutes)
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
To follow
Match notes:
The only change to the starting line-up from the Queens Park Rangers game was that Joe Gamble replaced Graeme Murty with Andy Hughes dropping back to right-back. Murty was suffering from flu. This means that it was Joe Gamle's first League start.
Nicky Forster's goal puts him equal top with Jamie Cureton for League goals this season.
The clean sheet was Reading's fourth in a row, equalling the longest of the season in League matches (the first four games). Marcus Hahnemann has now not conceded a goal for 383 minutes but is still 720 minutes, or eight full games, short of the club record of 1103 minutes set by Steve Death in 1979! For comparison, Phil Whitehead kept a clean sheet in League games for 371 minutes at the start of the season, plus 57 minutes in the last League game of last season (excluding the play-offs, of course) making a total of 428 minutes.
This was Reading's first win and first points at the McAlpine Stadium, our three previous visits (1995/96, 1996/97 and 1997/98) all ending in defeat. We had however won at Huddersfield's previous ground, Leeds Road, on quite a few occasions.
Reading are the first team in the division to reach 50 points (we now have 52) and can therefore reasonably be said to be safe from relegation this season.
The win took Reading to the top of Division 2 for the first time since 4th November, 2000, when our one-week reign at the top was ended by the supreme incompetence of referee Harry Webb away to Walsall.
Match preview:
At the start of the season, all three of the relegated clubs were tipped as contenders for a swift return to Division 1. After ropey starts, all of them are now hovering on the fringe of the play-off race. Huddersfield Town are one of those three, of course, and that means that this will be a tough game.
There is a theory that the Huddersfield manager, Lou Macari, is happy to get draws against clubs he thinks are the top sides, even at home. It also appears to be true that his instructions are very much to sit on a one-goal lead rather than to look for more. This could be bad news for us, because our generally better performances away from home are because the opposition attack us and we can attempt to catch them on the break.
Huddersfield have lost a player or two through suspension and injury but also have some returning, so it is unlikely that they will be significantly better or worse than in their recent games, which have seen them unbeaten in the League since mid-October. The Reading starting line-up is to be the same as for the QPR game, with changes only on the bench. I expect that Neil Smith might replace Joe Gamble as a substitute, if Smith is fit enough, but otherwise would not expect to see the returns of either Matt Robinson or Adi Viveash at this stage.
The direct significance of this game is that a draw or win will take us top of the League, even if Stoke are likely to reclaim that spot on Sunday when they visit Northampton Town. Really I'm just looking to continue the recent good form and results, and the League table will look after itself.
Ticket information:
The normal McAlpine Stadium away accommodation for Reading games is 1,500. However, if necessary they can give us the whole of one end, which would make 4,054 seats available. This would seem unlikely. Admission is by pay on the day, and prices are as follows:
Adults - £14
Seniors / Under 16s - £8
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