| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Nationwide League Division 2 | Saturday, 14th April (3pm) | Peterborough United | Home | Drew 2-2 |
Match facts:
Reading goals: Nicky Forster (73
minutes), Nicky Forster (79 minutes)
Assists: Sammy Igoe, John Salako
Opposition goals: After 29 and 83 minutes
Half-time: Reading 0 Peterborough United 1
Gamebreaker: Final whistle
Attendance: 22,151
Weather: Sunny spells
Referee: David
Crick (Worcester Park, Surrey)
Reading line-up: 1 Phil Whitehead;
7 Graeme Murty, 5 Adi Viveash, 23 John Mackie (8 Adie Williams,
16 minutes, (14 Sammy Igoe, half-time)), 28 Nicky Shorey; 11 Andy
Hughes, 6 Kevin Watson, 16 Phil Parkinson, 29 John Salako; 10
Nicky Forster, 7 Anthony Rougier (9 Martin Butler, half-time)
Subs not used: 30 Frank Talia, 12 Jamie Cureton
Reading yellow cards: Graeme Murty (dissent, 64 minutes)
Reading red cards: None
Match report:
None.
Match notes:
The only change from the Tranmere Rovers game was that Martin Butler replaced Bas Savage on the bench. When Butler came on as a substitute, it was his first appearance since getting injured on 6/11/2001.
The match ball was delivered by one of two abseilers from a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter, which hovered above the stadium where those of us in row AA could not see it!
Before the game, John Madejski walked around the pitch, and then proceeded to take a normal seat near the scoreboard between the East and South Stands. I hope that he managed to find somewhere with considerably less moaners than where I sit.
The result was Reading's fifth successive home draw, and the eighth draw in nine games. It also means that we are unbeaten in 12 games (three wins, nine draws), have lost only one game in the last 24 (11 wins, 12 draws), and only twice in the last 30 League games (16 wins, 12 draws).
Nicky Forster's two goals take him to 18 in the League for the season.
The attendance was a new ground record, beating the 22,034 who attended the play-off semi-final second leg against Wigan Athletic last season. It was easily the highest number of Reading fans in attendance at any Madejski Stadium game, and probably the highest for any game in the last 30 years (apart from the trips to Wembley and the Millennium Stadium).
The overall average attendance for the League season is 14,115, the highest for about 50 years. It's also the highest average in Division 2 this season.
Match preview:
Another day, another draw. Well, it has to be the most likely outcome.....
Reading take on Peterborough United knowing that there is a slight possibility of securing automatic promotion on Saturday. I have to say that I consider it unlikely - even if we win our game, there's no real reason to expect that Brentford will lose at Queens Park Rangers. Other scenarios are that if we get a worse result than Brentford we will need to win at Griffin Park on the last day of the season, whilst if we match them this Saturday we will need a draw the following Saturday (except that if both of us lose this week we might need to beat Brentford to also stay ahead of Cardiff City).
The club have already announced that Martin Butler will be on the bench for this game. Presumably so also will be Frank Talia and Adie Williams, so that leaves space for two out of Jamie Cureton, Bas Savage, Sammy Igoe, Michael Branch, James Harper, Joe Gamble, or anyone left out of the starting line-up. I would expect the same team as at Tranmere and probably Cureton and Igoe on the bench.
Peterborough's wily old manager Barry Fry will no doubt have his team well prepared for this game, even though they have nothing to play for (well, apart from contracts!). They are unlikely to roll over and die but it's not so clear whether they will come for a draw or not. Fry has never been afraid to try something different, and he has spoken about playing 17-year-old goalkeeper, Luke Steele. Steele spent some time with Manchester United earlier this season, as well as playing for England Under-18s, and Fry has said that he will sit on the bench in the last three games of the season. He also implied that he would get on the pitch for one of those games.
Back in November, a Kevin Watson-inspired performance saw Reading take all three points from London Road with two very late goals from Darius Henderson. For me, that game remains the highlight of this League season so far, with the second goal even meaning an old-style terrace surge. Ideally, should we win this game, the result will be clear somewhat earlier in the afternoon. There's going to be another big crowd, with only a few hundred tickets unsold, and Reading fans in the South Stand for the first time this season.
Ticket information:
There is reserved seating for the North Stand and also tickets available for home fans in the South Stand for this game. Prices and other details are the same as for standard home games, and are available here.
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