| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Division 2 | Saturday, 18th March | Burnley | Away | Lost 0-3 |
Match facts:
Reading goals:
Assists:
Opposition goals:
Half-time:
Gamebreaker:
Attendance:
Weather:
Referee: Roger
Furnandiz (Doncaster)
Reading line-up:
Subs not used:
Starting formation:
Reading yellow cards:
Reading red cards:
Match report:
Perhaps we should have been worried about this game after seeing the starting line-up. Primus and Polston both returned from injury - replacing both centre-backs at once often causes problems for a while as the team adjusts. Also, Matthew Robinson returned at left-back with Murty switching to right-back. This meant that Gurney was on the bench despite playing well recently, and Hunter wasn't even in the named 16.
Jim McIntyre was also not even on the bench, despite an amazingly skilful cameo performance last Saturday. Was he injured? Caskey returned to midfield, though, and the formation looked like the same stable one that we have used to good effect in recent weeks.
Reading actually started pretty well. We had the first good move of the game where several players interlinked leaving Caskey to take a snap shot from just outside the area. It looked like it was dipping in with the keeper nowhere, but instead clipped the bar. Minutes later, Forster easily turned his defender and set off for goal. The defender pursued him, and pulled him back all the way from the touchline to the edge of the penalty area. Then once in the area, the defender just tripped him. Penalty! But no, we had forgotten to allow for the biased referees you always get when playing in Lancashire. Probably the most blatant penalty appeal we have had all season was just waved away.
Later in the half, the officials were at it again. The linesman on one side had already demonstrated that he had a shaky grasp of the rules with some bizarre throw-in decisions (all of which went against us), but then he managed to stop a promising attack more effectively than the Burnley defence were ever going to. In another good quick passing move, Butler got the ball and released Forster. Forster was clearly behind the right-back when the ball was played, but the linesman gave offside.
Whilst we had created these half-chances, Burnley had been limited to a couple of long-shots that went well wide and two corners that they couldn't even get off the ground. However, their midfield and defence had generally shut our play down quite effectively (which of course makes the loss of opportunities due to corrupt officiating even more costly) so it was no surprise that they gradually got into the game.
Their first major contribution was for the number 9 to elbow Polston in our area after he had cleared an attack. "Play on", said the referee, who almost certainly didn't see it.
Howie had made a good save at the near post from a shot leading to one of the poor corners but from the next corner they scored. Initially Robinson put the ball out for a throw-in when he didn't really have to, and then Burnley immediately forced a corner. From the corner their big centre-back rose unchallenged at the far post to head home. (They'd changed the corner-kick taker for that one, so perhaps it took us by surprise.) You'd have to say that either Williams or Hunter would probably have marked the centre-back more effectively.
At half-time, both Polston and Mad Dog walked all the way to the dressing room arguing with the referee. He smiled smugly, knowing that he had some more money to that new extension.
The half-time entertainment consisted of Burnley's Under-14 girls team playing 5-a-side against their Under-16 team. Both teams wore the same strip, leading to the most confusing game of football ever played. One team appeared to have more players than the other - I reckon one of them switched sides, and no-one else noticed.
We were never in the game in the second half. Our play got more disjointed and there was a real lack of effort. This might be partly due to the fact that we knew we were going to get nothing out of this game, but mostly I think it comes down to the old lack of passion. The players feel safe from relegation, and don't really see the point in giving their all. This needs to stop now! It is exactly the same problem as we had last year.
Anyway, the officials helped to make sure that we had no chance in this match. The dodgy linesman decided that we needed to defend more corners, so when Howie smothered the ball on the by-line he flagged immediately. Now I don't know whether the ball went over the line, because Howie's back was in the way. Neither could the ref or linesman possibly have seen it, for the same reason. But the home crowd appealed, so obviously he had to give it. From the corner, their centre-forward rose unchallenged at the near post to head home. If we're not practicing defending at corners this week, I will want to know why.
At this point, both teams made substitutions. Burnley brought on Ian Wright; we brought on Keith Scott. I think I know which team came out the better there.
We had a few chances to get on the scoresheet, but lacked the finishing touch. One incredible incident saw the Burnley keeper drop the ball and not get a free-kick. Whilst he lay on the ground, we failed to get a shot in, despite several opportunities. We almost seemed to have too many players there. Eventually the ball ended up in the keeper's hands. Then in a similar incident to Burnley's first goal, Scott had a free header at the far post from a corner - Scott put it over the bar. Now this is really beginning to annoy me - we've seen this at least five times this season, where he either hits the bar or puts it over when it would seem easier to score. As far as I'm concerned, he's had his day.
Burnley also had good chances to score. In one goalmouth scramble, Murty finally cleared the ball off the line and later he cleared a cross with a miskick when it would have been far easier to score an own goal. In fact if he'd caught it cleanly it would probably have gone in! Or he could have missed it completely like the Pox defender last week, and then the Burnley striker would have tapped it in.
Sadly, there was a third goal to come. We cleared a cross and as the defence moved out, Burnley played the ball out to the right, to a player who was clearly offside. The linesman who had been so quick to flag in the first half now kept his flag down. In fact, he was completely out of position and had no chance to make the correct decision. From the cross Burnley hit the bar but the ball ricocheted out to where Ian Wright was able to head in from about 6 inches. This was a goal that any professional footballer in the world, with the possible exception of Keith Scott, could have scored, but Wright celebrated as if it was something incredible. Whilst the Burnley players were celebrating in their own half we could have kicked off and almost certainly scored, but the referee helpfully waited until they were all ready.
At some stage in the second half we had brought on Ricky Newman and Darius Henderson as subs. Neither really had a chance to impress, but the key fact is that at last Pardew has finally played one of our youth players. Well done, Alan! And we won't hold it against you that you only brought him on with ten minutes left in an obviously lost game.
Match notes:
Match preview:
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Ticket information:
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