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2002/03 Reports

Match facts:

Reading goals: Andy Hughes (79 minutes), Andy Hughes (91 minutes, in second-half injury time)
Assists: John Salako (2)
Opposition goals: None
Half-time: Walsall 0 Reading 0
Gamebreaker: Reading's second goal
Attendance: 5,327
Weather: Dry, sunny
Referee: Phil Dowd (Stoke-on-Trent)

Reading line-up: 31 Marcus Hahnemann; 2 Graeme Murty, 6 John Mackie, 8 Adie Williams, 3 Nicky Shorey; 10 Nicky Forster (14 Sammy Igoe, 90 minutes), 11 Andy Hughes, 4 Kevin Watson, 17 John Salako; 12 Jamie Cureton (16 Phil Parkinson, 82 minutes), 9 Martin Butler
Subs not used: 1 Phil Whitehead, 5 Adi Viveash, 7 Anthony Rougier
Starting formation:

Reading yellow cards: John Mackie (dissent, 29 minutes)
Reading red cards: None

Match report:

Of course, trips to the Bescot Stadium were exactly not what people had in mind when they were talking about going to better grounds and bigger clubs after securing promotion. Since our last visit Walsall have started work on a new end stand, which will undoubtedly be quite impressive when complete. Building work is stil going on, so that meant that Reading fans were in a corner next to the Walsall family area, and also that I was able to get a quick conversation with their mascot, who I assume is a swift. He asked after Kingsley Royal, and we told him that there had been big changes since their last meeting!

In the game itself, Walsall nearly had a goal in the opening seconds. An offside flag was the only thing that stopped their move, and although I had precisely the wrong angle to be certain about this, my impression was that it was close.

Generally speaking Walsall had the better of the first 25 minutes of this game, but they failed to make anything from it. The "Hahnemann effect", whereby all shots head straight for our goalkeeper, was working nicely as usual, and although there was one dodgy moment in our penalty area Adie Williams cleared the ball and the score stayed at 0-0.

Nicky Forster's pace on the break had been worrying the Walsall defence. During the first half, he was cynically fouled near the halfway line as he started to make a run into space, and what's more by a player who had already been booked. The referee ran over whilst reaching for his yellow card, but when he realised the culprit had been booked previously he decided to just give him a lecture. (This was the same player who should have been sent off in the first few minutes of the 2001 play-off final, for pulling back Sammy Igoe and denying a goal-scoring oportunity. On that occasion, the referee pretended not to see the foul and waved play on. Perhaps we should be grateful that this time we got as much as a free-kick.)

There was however a change in the match in the period leading up to half-time. Our passing game started to work properly, probably for the first time this season. There were several long spells when we were moving the ball nicely around the pitch, all moves revolving around Kevin Watson of course, and looking for the penetrating pass to release Forster or John Salako. Add to that several times when Nicky Shorey brought the ball out of defence and ghosted past the Walsall players, and things were looking pretty good.

Our best chance of the half came when Jamie Cureton took a free-kick just outside the area, but his shot was saved by the Walsall keeper. Really, we should have had a goal at some point in that spell but like Walsall earlier in the half, it didn't happen.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with both sides having good spells. Walsall's good period resulted in a header and a shot, both straight at Marcus Hahnemann but towards the end of the game we started to look much the stronger side. Perhaps this is the first time that we have been significantly fitter than the opposition because holes started to open up all over the Walsall defence.

Martin Butler, against his old club, superbly created a chance for himself by chesting the ball past the last defender but he got under the ball and his shot was saved only by the upper tier of the new stand. A few minutes later, wew were 1-0 up after John Salako took the ball down the left-channel on the break and passed to Andy Hughes, who had made a strong run from midfield. Hughes seemed to scoop his shot into the net.

Walsall came back and were very close to an equaliser when a ball flashed across our goalmouth with no-one able to get a touch. One of their midfielders was then sent off for a second yellow card - he had stopped another Reading break with a foul on the halfway line. He might have had the right idea, because in the final minute another good break ended with a second Salako cross for a second Hughes goal.

We should have had a third in injury time when Hughes made a break down the right channel and was in a goalscoring position. However, for some reason he tried to set up Butler instead, and the pass was just behind our centre-forward so he couldn't get a good shot in.

At the final whistle, John Mackie went completely nuts and jumped into the away fans area. The rest of the players looked pretty happy, and of course this win took us into the top half of the table (see match preview for the significance of that!).

Match notes:

The starting line-up was the same as for the Burnley game, but Adi Viveash replaced James Harper on the bench.

Marcus Hahnemann kept his sixth clean sheet in a row for Reading. Jamie Cureton's four-game scoring run came to an end.

This was our first away win since the trip to Chesterfield on 16th March.

Match preview:

The first of several revenge missions this season. On our last visit to Walsall the season before last we were undone by amazingly incompetent refereeing from an official who did not have the temperament to be in charge of such a game. It was also Walsall who secured a draw at Madejski Stadium towards the end of the season which made us favourites for the play-offs rather than automatic promotion. And of course it was Walsall who beat us in the play-off final at Cardiff. Against all expectations, they managed to stay in Division 1 for this season despite sacking their excellent manager and appointing Reading reject Colin Lee.

I think that the days when Alan Pardew was foolish enough to name Jamie Cureton on the bench and play one up front (something that also happened on the last visit to Bescot Stadium, incidentally) are over, at least for a while. It seems pretty likely that we will put out the same team that started against Burnley on Tuesday. The problem might be that we did not play that well for most of that game, and Walsall are unoubtedly a better side than Burnley. However, the three points will of course give us more confidence, and we won't be in the "frightened rabbit" frame of mind that Pardew so successfully instilled in the players before our last two away games.

Martin Butler has now scored his 100th career goal, and will be eager to get more against a club who played him in defence and then decided he was not good enough. Cureton will be looking to extend his lead at the top of the scoring charts, whilst I assume that Nicky Forster will get better with each game as I think he is still suffering some after-effects from his recent illness. With John Salako in form and delivering a string of quality crosses, it's difficult to believe that Walsall can stop us scoring. The question will be whether we can keep another clean sheet - Marcus Hahnemann played for Walsall on trial over the summer and it will be interesting to see what reception he gets. His talents will certainly not be any surprise to the home side.

As we are currently equal 15th in the table, a win will almost certainly move us into the top half. That means that the players would qualify for a win bonus, and I can't help thinking that that sort of motivation may help us get another three points.

Ticket information:

Since our last visit, Walsall have been working on turning the home end (the Gilbert Alsop Stand) into an all-seated area. They expect to complete the work by November and use the lower part of the stand from September, but it will certainly not be finished by the time of our visit. This means that the old away end (the William Sharpe Stand behind one of the goals) will be used by home fans. Away fans will get blocks G, H and I of the Banks' Brewery Stand, which is the side stand seen on the right of the old away end. This area contains only 485 seats.

Tickets go on sale to season ticket holders on Monday, 19th August on a one per season ticket basis. It seems unlikely that any will remain for sale to Supporters' Trust members or general sale. Prices are as follows:
Adults - £16
Over-60s and under-16s - £12

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