| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Nationwide League Division 2 | Saturday, 19th January (3pm) | Blackpool | Home | Won 3-0 |
Match facts:
Reading goals: Nicky Forster (20
minutes), Nicky Forster (22 minutes), Nicky Forster (51 minutes)
Assists: Sammy Igoe, Anthony Rougier (none for second goal as the
ball came off a defender)
Opposition goals: None
Half-time: Reading 2 Blackpool 0
Gamebreaker: Reading's second goal
Attendance: 13,732
Weather: Dry, cool
Referee: Mark
Warren (Walsall)
Reading line-up: 31 Ben Roberts; 2
Graeme Murty, 8 Adie Williams, 23 John Mackie, 28 Nicky Shorey;
14 Sammy Igoe, 11 Andy Hughes, 16 Phil Parkinson (19 Joe Gamble,
83 minutes), 29 John Salako; 10 Nicky Forster (12 Jamie Cureton,
57 minutes), 7 Anthony Rougier (24 Darius Henderson, 73 minutes)
Subs not used: 21 Jamie Ashdown, 26 Alex Smith
Reading yellow cards: John Mackie (kicking the ball away, 87
minutes)
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
For the first time this season, we dealt effectively with a team arriving with only a 0-0 draw in their minds by scoring relatively early on. From the start, Reading looked a class above our opponents, although the first two shots worthy of report came from long-range Blackpool efforts, both going wide. Another scare came when Ben Roberts tried to shield a ball out for a goal-kick, but then realised it was not going to make it and kicked it out near the corner-flag instead. Neither the linesman nor referee knew whether it should have been a throw or a corner, and neither made a signal. Blackpool settled the argument by taking a quick corner, which came to nothing, and when the ball was dead the entire Reading defence surrounded the referee to complain about it!
Most of the game was however played in the Blackpool half. The first time we opened up their defence was when Nicky Forster had the ball on the left, with about four defenders in attendance, whilst John Salako and Andy Hughes were unmarked on the right of the penalty area. Forster worked the ball to the edge of the area but then chose to shoot. It would have been OK had he scored, but instead the ball was blocked and amazingly some of the more fickle Reading fans started booing him! Where do we get these people from?
Two minutes later it was a different story, as a pass from Nicky Forster (note!!!) found Sammy Igoe on the right in an offside position. Igoe took the ball forward, and pulled his cross back to Forster who had arrived unmarked in the area and headed home. When Forster passed the ball, I was actually shouting to him not to pass as I could see that Igoe had started his run too early, but the linesman was incompetent and on this occasion it worked in our favour.
The goal meant that Blackpool would have to change their plan and look for an equaliser, but almost immediately things had got even worse for them. Our defence launched a hopeful clearance in the general direction of Forster. The Blackpool keeper decided to come out to the edge of his area to collect the ball, whilst their centre-back decided it wouldn't get that far and tried to head it back to him. Instead they more-or-less collided under pressure from Forster, and the centre-back headed the ball gently over the keeper and towards the goal. Forster sprinted after and tapped the ball in (with his right foot, incidentally - remember that for later).
So the Blackpool plan had to change again, and they decided to make a substitution. Before they'd even managed to do that Hughes had fired over, whilst Anthony Rougier was dispossessed in the area before he could get a shot in. When the sub did get on the pitch, it turned out that the Blackpool plan was a switch to 3-5-2, essentially an attempt to keep the score to 2-0 rather than hoping for anything better I think.
Rougier had another chance in the penalty area, but this time hit the bar. Getting closer, anyway! The Blackpool defence had worked out that their only way to stop Forster was to foul him, and picked up one yellow card between them for their efforts.
The Blackpool fans were sitting in absolute silence, undoubtedly stunned by the game. However in the last ten minutes of the half, their side showed a bit more life. Whether it was the tactical change, or whether we had eased off a little, I couldn't tell but our goal attempts were limited to a quick free-kick from Salako that was comfortably saved, whilst they had a couple of headers that went wide.
Had there been any thoughts about a Blackpool revival, they lasted no more than five minutes into the second half when Forster sprinted away from a leaden-footed defender and calmly slotted the ball into the net. 3-0, a Forster hat-trick, and quite a similar goal to the one he scored at Bloomfield Road on the opening day of the season. This goal was also with his right foot, so had he tapped the second one in with his left, as he could easily have done, he would have had one of those rare left-foot, right-foot, header hat-tricks.
A few minutes later, Forster was replaced by Jamie Cureton (and ironically a couple of minutes after that the centre-back most tormented by Forster went off injured). I'm sure that Alan Pardew wanted to give Cureton a decent run-out and a chance to get a goal in a game clearly already won. However, despite one shot from the edge of the area he never really seemed to get an opportunity. Partly, this was because he was offside on a large number of occasions.
Blackpool had more attacks towards the end than in any other part of the game, but none of their goal attempts were on-target, until Roberts was finally forced to make a decent diving save in the last ten minutes.
Darius Henderson and Joe Gamble had short run-outs near the end, with Henderson getting a chance at the far post when he couldn't get the ball properly under control. The game therefore ended 3-0.
After a bit of a battle, Forster managed to get hold of a match-ball, and conveniently we then heard that both our nearest challengers in the league had lost at home. Not a bad day all round!
Match notes:
Compared to the Huddersfield Town game, Ben Roberts replaced Marcus Hahnemann in goal, and Graeme Murty came in for Joe Gamble with Andy Hughes moving to the centre of midfield. Alex Smith came back onto the bench with Matthew Robinson and Keith Jones out of the 16 named players.
Roberts made his debut for Reading and kept a clean sheet - the last goalkeeper to do that in a full game was Tommy Wright in October 1996, although Jamie Ashdown did not concede a goal when he played 16 minutes as a substitute in September 2000.
Nicky Forster's hat-trick was his first for Reading, and means that he is now our leading scorer this season with 11.
The clean sheet was Reading's fifth in a row, and it is now 473 minutes since we last conceded a goal.
Reading go four points clear at the top of the table with the win and now have a goal difference of +18, the best in the division.
Match preview:
After a run of good results, most fans will be expecting a win at home to Blackpool this Saturday. However, realistically it's not going to be that easy. Blackpool will undoubtedly arrive at Madejski Stadium with the intention of getting a 0-0 draw, and Reading have shown a lack of ability to break sides down when they play with ten or eleven players behind the ball. As I understand it, one of Blackpool's weaknesses is a lack of pace up-front, so if that's true they should at least pose little threat on the break.
Perhaps the difference between this season and last season in games such as this is that this season we have rarely managed to score an early goal. If we can get one, then everything opens up and the away side leave more holes. When we played Blackpool away at the start of the season, there was a large difference in class between the two sides, but I expect they have improved since then, even if they have sold last season's top scorer.
The Reading team is likely to include two changes from the win at Huddersfield. A forced change is to replace Marcus Hahnemann now that his loan deal has expired. Clearly Ben Roberts has been signed to play rather than sit on the bench, so he will make his debut. Also, if he has fully recovered from flu, I'm sure that Graeme Murty will return to the right-back role. Whether Andy Hughes or Joe Gamble play in the centre of midfield alongside Phil Parkinson will be the main selection decision - I would expect Alan Pardew to play Hughes there.
Not that anyone has forgotten, but we are top of the league! And if we keep winning games, we will stay there, even though there are a couple of teams with games in hand on us. So the game really is about getting three points.
One final thing - we have four players (Adie Williams, Phil Parkinson, Keith Jones and Anthony Rougier) who are one yellow card away from a suspension (a two-game suspension in the case of Parkinson). We have cover for the last named three, but with today's news that Adi Viveash will be out for a few more weeks, we really cannot afford for Williams to get booked.
Ticket information:
There is a special offer relating to tickets for this game. If you buy a ticket for this game, the game against Colchester United (26th January) and the game against Notts County (9th February) AT THE SAME TIME, then you get a free ticket for the top-of-the-table clash with Stoke City on 23rd February.
The prices and other ticket details are the same as for standard home games, and are available here.
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