| Competition | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| Division 2 | Saturday, 29th April | Bury | Away | Drew 1-1 |
Match facts:
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Referee: Trevor
Parkes (Birmingham)
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Match report:
Well, this was on of those meaningless end-of-season fixtures that really did end up like that.
Showing impeccable timing, Bury opened a new stand just before their last home game of the season. What they really need is a new pitch - the Gigg Lane surface, once one of the best in the land, now looks like a rutted country lane. And I hope that the Reading officials noticed it, because that is the price you pay for taking in homeless egg-chasers.
Watching the Reading players warm up (with the training session again led by Peter Grant), we noticed several youngsters. One had bleached hair - eventually we worked out that it was a new-look Darius Henderson, who again started the match. Nathan Tyson and Ricky Allaway were on the bench. Whitehead came in for Howie, and Hunter, Newman and Igoe returned to the starting line-up.
Early on, it looked as if all those changes had badly affected our game, as we struggled to make any impression, whilst Bury came close on a couple of occasions. The main fact about the first half, though, was that it was absolutely dire. Some of the most boring football on offer since the turn of the year. There was really only one moment of note and that was our well-worked goal just before half-time.
We had used the Neil Smith long throw tactic a lot of the time, so when he took a quick short one and passed to Matthew Robinson it took the defence by surprise. Robinson took the ball down the wing, put over a superb cross straight to Nicky Forster who headed the ball into the path of Darren Caskey. Caskey hit the ball just to the keeper's right, but the keeper dived to his left (!) and so it went in. It was quite similar to the second goal against Gillingham but not so spectacular.
We had far more of the game in the second half. Forster went on several direct runs. On one occasion he beat two men and was fouled in the area by the third but the referee gave a Bury throw. (He made up for that later when ignoring some shirt-pulling in the area at the other end.)
Sammy Igoe and Neil Smith had chances to stretch the lead - Igoe managed only a very weak header when totally unmarked at the far post, and Smith blazed over with the goal seemingly at his mercy.
Primus replaced Hunter who had just gone down with an injury (although Primus was ready to come on anyway) and Nathan Tyson made his debut, replacing Henderson. This was definitely Henderson's best game for us - he held the ball up well most of the time and made some good short passes. Tyson didn't really get into the game but showed pace and one good touch in his few minutes.
Bury came into the game more and hit the post with a shot from a tight angle. Just when it looked as if we would hold out for the three points, the Bury caretaker-player-manager tried a hopeful punt from 35 yards out and caught Whitehead off his line. Although he scrambled back, the ball dropped just under the bar and into the net. Whitehead had had little to do all game, and you have to say that Howie would probably have had the agility to get back and stop this one.
The game ended in a draw which means that there is only one team who failed to get any points from us this season. Step forward, Ian Holloway and Bristol Rovers, and take a bow.
Match notes:
Match preview:
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