| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Division 2 | Saturday, 4th March | Bournemouth | Home | Won 2-0 |
Match facts:
Reading goals:
Assists:
Opposition goals:
Half-time:
Gamebreaker:
Attendance:
Weather:
Referee:
Reading line-up:
Subs not used:
Starting formation:
Reading yellow cards:
Reading red cards:
Match report:
I'm sure that we all remember last season's game against this bunch of cheats, when an obviously corrupt referee and linesman connived with a diving centre-forward to rob us of a deserved victory. This game was never as entertaining as that one, but was far more satisfying.
The few fans of the cheats weren't going to make much noise anyway, but there's nothing better to shut them up than a second-minute goal. We got a free-kick just outside the area, the cheating Bournemouth keeper lined up his wall carefully, and then super Darren Caskey just chipped the ball over it into the unguarded side of the net!
It's not as if they didn't know what we were going to do. After all, Caskey scored a perfectly good goal just like this at Dean Court earlier in the season, when the keeper admitted it went over the line but the referee and linesman remembered they had been bribed to let cheating Bournemouth win and so disallowed it.
In the rest of the first half, we hardly strung three passes together. We kept giving away possession, but the opposition created no chances at all in the entire half. However, Matthew Robinson, who had another fine game, went close with a header from the edge of the area before Caskey again took centre stage.
We worked the ball to the right wing where Caskey and Gurney were up against two defenders. Caskey received the ball - the obvious pass was to Gurney but instead he turned and put over a good quick cross. Bournemouth scrambled it away for a corner. Caskey took the corner and found Williams' head. The header was towards goal but going wide until Nicky Forster directed it in. A simple goal from a set-piece - will wonders never cease?
There was still time for Butler to miss a good chance before the break. From a cross he lost his marker and had a heading opportunity from a few yards out. Unfortunately it was straight at the keeper.
At the start of the second half, Bournemouth brought on their big ugly equivalent of Keith Scott to play alongside the other diving cheat up front. The away fans gave him a big reception, and I am delighted to say that he totally failed to deliver!
Again Reading created the better chances in the half. A low-driven cross went past everyone to find Forster unmarked at the far post without a defender or the keeper in sight. Incredibly he managed to put it over from five yards out.
Then from Bournemouth's one reasonable attack of the entire match, Howie made a good double save, one from each of their two forwards. He didn't hold the second shot either, but we cleared the ball away for a corner that came to nothing.
Bournemouth continued to press, but without the help of that twelfth (or thirteenth or fourteenth) man they were unable to make any further openings. You have to say that if they didn't benefit from the consistent dubious decisions of officials over the season, they would probably be down there at the bottom with Chesterfield.
In fact one of their lumbering attacks should have presented us with another goal. We cleared the ball to Forster. Although in his own half, the only player between him and the goal was the Bournemouth keeper. Forster got the ball under control and took it as far as the penalty area, still with no defender having got back. Unfortunately he then hit it straight at the keeper. Come on, Nicky! We've got Paul Brayson to do that. Of course, the fact that Forster had scored earlier in the game means that there is less similarity between him and Brayson than there is between a blade of grass and the Empire State Building.
From this breakaway attack, we could still have scored as the ball rattled around the area for a bit, but the final shot from a tight angle came from Lee Hodges and was pulled well wide (wide enough for a throw-in, in fact).
The South Coast cheats knew that they were getting nothing from this game, and so resorted to their main tactic of gamesmanship. Peter Grant was stretchered off after a nasty foul that only attracted a yellow card (but was far worse than the one Hunter got sent off for in the away game). Butler was also fouled on numerous occasions, with the referee never giving more than a free-kick and sometimes not even that.
Then a few minutes from time came the moment we all feared. Bournemouth got the ball into the box and one of their players (not Stein this time) fell over theatrically. We held our breath but the referee just waved play on. I would have liked to see the diver booked but we should be thankful for small mercies, I suppose.
The game ended with a deserved 2-0 victory for the Royals. The fans applauded the players off the pitch, but just as they reached the tunnel, the team all returned to the centre-circle to salute the fans. "Good Vibrations" played over the tannoy and all is well with the world. This is how it should be.
The main disappointment about this game is that we could easily have scored five goals. It's about time we really turned someone over, and hopefully that someone will be the doomed Oxford United on Tuesday.
Match notes:
Match preview:
None.
Ticket information:
None.
News . Opposition . Reserves . Academy . Where Are They Now? . Columns . Kingsley . MadStad . Interactive . Links . Site Map