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2001/02 Reports

Match facts:

Reading goals: Adi Viveash (57 minutes), Terry Fleming (own goal, 74 minutes)
Assists: John Mackie?, Nicky Forster
Opposition goals: After 14 and 32 minutes
Half-time: Cambridge United 2 Reading 0
Gamebreaker: Final whistle
Attendance: 3,841
Referee: Graham Laws (Whitley Bay)

Reading line-up: 1 Phil Whitehead; 2 Graeme Murty, 23 John Mackie, 5 Adi Viveash, 28 Nicky Shorey; 12 Jamie Cureton, 11 Andy Hughes (15 James Harper, 58 minutes), 16 Phil Parkinson, 29 John Salako; 10 Nicky Forster (4 Keith Jones, 83 minutes), 7 Anthony Rougier (24 Darius Henderson, 66 minutes)
Subs not used: 21 Jamie Ashdown, 32 Leo Roget
Reading yellow cards: Jamie Cureton (dissent, 78 minutes)
Reading red cards: None

Match report:

Perhaps the reason I am not a Division 2 manager is that I would never in a million years dream of playing Jamie Cureton on the right side of midfield, especially not in order to accommodate Anthony Rougier in a forward position. However, that is how Alan Pardew decided to replace the suspended Sammy Igoe in this game.Most people thought it wouldn't work and it didn't. It did take 40 minutes before we changed this formation, by which time we were two goals down, and even then the change was to swap Cureton and Nicky Forster, so that we now had Forster on the wing.

Any more decisions like this, and the knives will be out for Pardew again. To compound the error, he also had Cureton taking many of our free-kicks and corners, thus ensuring that the best natural goal poacher in the division, if not the Nationwide League, had no chance of doing what he does best.

As it was, we managed to get one point from this game, a return that is entirely unacceptable for a visit to a team whose only attributes are youth and a willingness to work hard.

After opening skirmishes in which neither side really threatened, Cambridge took the lead after a quarter of an hour or so, when a left-wing cross along the ground found their centre-forward who was easily able to steer the ball past Whitehead. I thought that this would wake Reading up, but it did no such thing and on the half-hour we were two down. This time it was a long throw from the right, flicked on by a home player, and then fumbled by Phil Whitehead out to the feet of a Cambridge player who was able to score from a few yards out.

Inbetween the two goals, we had one really good chance to get back on terms when Andy Hughes made contact with a right-wing cross at the far post, but from only a few yards out he managed to send the ball back where it came from rather than into the net.

Five minutes before half-time, Cureton and Forster swapped positions and this undoubtedly did improve things, but all we had to show before half-time was a decent long-range effort from Graeme Murty that went over the bar.

Our first three decent chances in the second half all rather surprisingly fell to Adi Viveash, pushing up for set-pieces. The first of these was a header from a corner that the Cambridge keeper saved well, whilst the third was a header that clipped the bar. However, from the other chance he reduced the deficit, directing a header nicely wide of the keeper after John Mackie (probably!) had flicked on a cross. Immediately after the goal, James Harper came on as a substitute for Andy Hughes.

At this stage, we were looking the more likely winners, although still nowhere near firing on all cylinders, and it was no great surprise when we got an equaliser. Forster took the ball down the right, and fired over a low cross which someone turned into the net. I thought it was an own goal, but our second sub Darius Henderson was certainly in the vicinity as well.

A draw was no use to Cambridge and so they now started to push forward a bit more. They were rewarded with a penalty when one of our defenders pole-axed a forward in the corner of the penalty area. I thought it was Nicky Shorey but most others say Adi Viveash. It didn't matter too much because Whitehead threw himself magnificently to the right to block the kick, and not even at the expense of a corner. That might have been the end of Cambridge's season, of course.

With just a few minutes left, Harper had a 30-yard shot that slammed into the crossbar with the keeper just standing watching. Would have been goal of the season had it gone in. Cureton almost set up a chance for someone else, when he had the ball near the penalty spot, and despite being surrounded by four defenders and sitting on his backside, managed to stab it out into space. However, none of our other players had kept up with play and the chance went begging.

The referee played a generous amount of injury time, but neither side was able to get a winner. A number of our players were not on form today, and perhaps we should say that we still did well to come away with a point, but as far as I am concerned that's two more points thrown away.

Next Tuesday, we play Bournemouth, another side heading for Division 3. Perhaps we can play Jamie at centre-back in that game to see if he can succeed in that position.

Match notes:

Sammy Igoe served his one match suspension by missing this game. In the only change compared to the Wycombe Wanderers game, he was replaced in the side by Anthony Rougier, except that Rougier played up-front and Jamie Cureton played wide on the right. Keith Jones filled the vacancy on the bench.

When James Harper came on as a second-half substitute, it was his first game since Wrexham away on 29th December.

Reading's second goal resulted from a cross from Nicky Forster. The ball was touched in either by Darius Henderson or a Cambridge defender. I believe that it was a defender and so have marked it down as an own goal, but will change this if the official version is different.

Phil Whitehead saved a penalty in the 78th minute.

Match preview:

Top v bottom? Easy! Of course, absolutely no-one is thinking in those terms. Last season, a draw at the Abbey Stadium at about this stage of the season was a significant factor in our failure to gain promotion. Clueless tactics of trying to hang onto a one-goal lead against an inferior team were exposed by a side desperate for points and helped by one of the worst individual performances in Reading history (provided by Anthony Rougier in a very short outing as a substitute). This season,. Reading will go for a win whilst our closest rivals appear content to draw away from home and may yet pay the penalty.

There will need to be one change from the side that beat Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, as Sammy Igoe is suspended. One option would be to put Andy Hughes wide on the right and bring in another central midfielder, but Hughes has done so well in the centre (and not so well out wide before the forced switch) that this would rank as a surprise. Alternatively, James Harper or Rougier could replace Igoe - I'd like to see Harper in the side as I think he will benefit from being part of a confident team, and that will increase our chances of getting the best out of him. Rougier can come on as a sub after Jamie Cureton has scored his obligatory goal!

Cambridge are the first team in history to concentrate on the LDV Vans Trophy at the expense of their League position, and are certain to be in Division 3 next season. They are apparently susceptible to the quick break - if that is true against most teams, then they are going to be in real trouble against the lightening breaks that Reading can fashion. Fortunately from our point of view they are so far adrift that there is little point them shutting up shop and trying to get one point.

In fact, Cambridge have an interest in seeing us go up, as they will receive a further £50,000 payment as part of the Martin Butler transfer fee once we secure promotion from this division. However, that was also true last season, and they made no attempt to do us any favours then.

Ticket information:

Cambridge United are making major changes to their ground. They have demolished the old away end, leaving the only area for away fans as part of the stand to the left of the old away end. They have however removed some of the seats that were there to create extra standing room for away supporters, and this now has 1,050 spaces. They had planned to complete a new stand behind the goal by November, but had to suspend work due to not having enough money. There is no way that work will be complete by our visit, although they do now have plans to start again.

The pitch is eventually going to move 20 yards south (i.e. in the direction of the old away end) and there is also a plan to build up that end of the side stand to make extra room available for away fans. I suspect that this will not happen either. However, in September Cambridge stated that they might make the full length of the side stand available to away fans for selected games. Should we be in a position to fill that stand, then ours might be one of those games.

If games are all-ticket for away fans (which includes the Reading game), then a membership scheme aapplies for the home areas to stop away fans going in those parts of the ground.

As things stand, Reading have1,100 terrace tickets for sale, which can be bought by season ticket holders from Monday, 18th February, by supporters club members from Friday, 22nd February, and on general sale from Saturday, 23rd February.

Ticket prices are:
Adults - £10
Juniors - £7

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