| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Friendly | Wednesday, 20th March, 1872 (2.30pm) | Reading Grammar School Football Club | Home | Drew 0-0 |
Match facts:
Reading goals: None
Touch-downs: Two
Opposition goals: None
Opposition touch-downs: One
Half-time: Possibly no half-time, but if there was the score at
that stage is clear
Attendance:
Weather: At 9am that morning, the weather was bright with a north-westerly
wind and the barometer showed 29.85 inches (1011 millibars). Over
the next 24 hours the maximum temperature was 40 degrees
Fahrenheit (4 degrees Centigrade). It was dry.
Referee: Probably two umpires, one provided by each club
Reading line-up: Not known for
certain but according to a 1913 newspaper the first photograph of
the club dates from this era and contained J W Martin, W J
Martin, C Holbrook, H F Rogers, W B Haygarth (presumably should
be E B Haygarth), Harry Miller, T Cook and A Margrett plus four other players (so 12 in total). As this game
was played with 12 players, it is possible that the photo dates
from this game.
Subs not used: Substitutes not allowed?
Reading yellow cards: Not yet invented!
Reading red cards: Not yet invented!
Match report:
From the Reading Mercury, 23/3/1872 edition:
"Foot Ball Match - On Wednesday afternoon the Reading Foot Ball Club played the return match with the Reading Grammar School Club on the Recreation Ground. The game lasted about one hour and a half but no goal was obtained on either side. The Foot Ball Club had two "touch-downs" whilst their opponents only had one, so that the former had a slight advantage. There were twelve players on each side."
There is no report of the game in the Berkshire Chronicle.
A more detailed weather report, from the Reading Mercury of 23/3/1872:
As at 9am on 20/3/1872 in the Reading public
gardens:
Observed height of barometer - 29.85
Hygrometer - dry bulb 42, wet bulb 41
Dew Point - 39.7
Moisture - .912
Thermometer - Max 45, Min 31
Wind - NW
Rain - 0.00
Weather - bright
As at 9am on 21/3/1872 in the Reading public
gardens (only those items that might have applied to the previous
day):
Hygrometer - dry bulb 40, wet bulb 39
Dew Point - 37.7
Moisture - .933
Thermometer - Max 40, Min 26
Rain - 0.00
Match notes:
This was Reading Football Club's second ever game, the second draw and the second clean sheet. This was a return match - click here for information on the first game including some further information about rules that would have applied at this time.
Normally a return match would take place at the home of the other club - in the 1872/73 season there is a game against the Reading Grammar School Club that takes place on their pitch so perhaps the fact that this particular return match took place at the Reading Recreation Ground was due to the school's ground being unavailable. As the school was rebuilt between 1866 and 1871, reopening only on 11th September 1871, it is possible that their pitch did not exist by this date.
When the Football Association was formed in 1863, one of the 13 laws they adopted for the game allowed for teams to gain touch-downs. A touch-down occurred when a ball had been kicked over the opposing goal line and (believe it or not) was then touched down. It allowed a subsequent free kick at goal. The touch-down was abolished from the FA laws within a few years, and it may even be that this Reading game was played by laws other than those of the FA at the time.
The club history "Biscuits & Royals" (published in 1984) gives the score as 2-1 to Reading Football Club. This is obviously based on a misinterpretation of the touch-down rule.
Match preview:
Advert in the Reading Mercury, 9/3/1872:
"Reading Football Club - the return football match between the Reading football club and the Reading Grammar School club will be played on Wednesday March 20th at 2.30pm on the Recreation Ground."
From the news section of the Reading Mercury, 16/3/1872:
"Football Match - On Wednesday next the Reading Football Club and the Reading Grammar School Club will play a return match on the Recreation Ground, commencing at 2.30pm."
From the news section of the Berkshire Chronicle, 16/3/1872:
"Football - A match will be played between the members of the Reading Football Club and the Reading Grammar School Club, on Wednesday next, at the Recreation Ground."
Again, there was no advert placed in the Berkshire Chronicle for this game.
Ticket information:
The game will be played at Reading Football Club's home ground of Reading Recreation Ground on King's Meadow. As this is in a public park and is not an enclosed ground there will be no admission charge.
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