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2003/04 Reports

Match facts:

Reading goals: Steve Sidwell (49 minutes), Scott Murray (59 minutes), Shaun Goater (79 minutes)
Assists: Kevin Watson (2), Nicky Forster
Opposition goals: None
Half-time: Reading 0 Nottingham Forest 0
Gamebreaker: Reading's second goal
Attendance: 16,833
Weather: Warm, mostly sunny
Referee: Ray Olivier (Sutton Coldfield)

Reading line-up: 1 Marcus Hahnemann; 2 Graeme Murty, 8 Adie Williams, 5 Steve Brown, 3 Nicky Shorey; 7 Scott Murray, 14 Steve Sidwell, 11 Andy Hughes, 17 John Salako (4 Kevin Watson, 27 minutes); 9 Shaun Goater, 10 Nicky Forster
Subs not used: 21 Jamie Ashdown, 6 John Mackie, 25 Ricky Newman, 16 Martin Butler
Starting formation:

Reading yellow cards: Adie Williams (foul, 23 minutes)
Reading red cards: None

Match report:

Note below in the match preview that I said (in advance!) that we should expect to be the better side in this game, and so it proved. At first, the game was fairly level and Nottingham Forest even had the first couple of goal attempts, but gradually we took control of the match before a tactical substitution turned it completely in our favour.

Their best early chance forced a good smothering save from Marcus Hahnemann as a Forest attacker tried to stab the ball past him. Andy Hughes had given it away with a weak backpass after coming back to cover. In many ways it was similar to the first goal conceded in the home friendly against Southampton two weeks ago.

Hahnemann had also made a comfortable diving save earlier, as had the away goalkeeper from a left-footed Nicky Forster shot. But he was forced into a much more difficult stop when Nicky Forster showed really good anticipation to lift a bouncing ball in the penalty area almost over his head. The keeper just managed to get back and tip the ball away for a corner.

With less than half an hour gone, Alan Pardew brought on Kevin Watson for John Salako in a tactical switch, with Hughes moving to wide left. With each of his first five passes, Watson played perfect and not always simple balls to Reading players, and his quick accurate long passes turned the game.

Our pressure resulted in a highly dubious penalty award (well, that's what I thought at the time and having seen it on television since, it was quite simply an incorrect decision). Both Steve Sidwell and the Forest goalkeeper went for a high ball in the penalty area, and when Sidwell landed on the ground the referee deemed it a foul. Some will say that this made up for last Saturday, but it didn't - that incorrect decision cost us two points, whilst this one had no effect on the result. And it wouldn't have affected the result even if Nicky Shorey had scored. His shot was well saved at the expense of a corner.

Just in case anyone thinks that the officials were biased towards Reading, the linesman demonstrated that normal service had been resumed as soon as possible by chalking off what should have been Shaun Goater's first goal for Reading. A right wing corner was headed goalwards by Adie Williams and poked home from three yards out by Goater. The linesman gave offside, despite the fact that the Forest goalkeeper was on the line and one of their defenders was two yards out from goal at the time Williams headed it. It's when the ball is played, moron. Perhaps that error did make up for the penalty award earlier, though.

So at the interval the game was still goal-less but we had been easily the better team, especially in the last 15 minutes before the break. The first goal did not take long to arrive, but the source was a little surprising. Watson played a left-wing corner to Sidwell who had run forward from the centre-circle to just outside the area. I'm sure many others were expecting to see the ball high in the North Stand, but Sidwell hit it fairly well, and it deflected past the keeper into the net. "We've gone and scored from a corner!", sang the stunned East Stand.

Scott Murray seemed to have come more into the game, probably because Watson was spraying the ball around the pitch and it was therefore reaching Murray in good positions regularly. One of these moves led to the second goal, as Watson neatly played the ball into space behind the Forest left-back, allowing Murray to use his pace to get there first and take the ball into the box. From a tight angle he shot and the ball squeezed under the Forest keeper who should probably have done better.

With one home debutant scoring, it was as well for the other, Shaun Goater, that he also managed to do so. With ten minutes left, Forster slipped the ball through the back-line, leaving Goater the chance to nip through after it and nick it past the goalkeeper. He was onside and this time the linesman agreed, although it was closer than the one disallowed in the first half.

Reading just played out time for the remainder of the game, and a couple of sloppy lapses could have let Forest get one back, but they weren't good enough to take advantage.

So after three games, we've only conceded two goals (both from dubious penalties) and but for the refereeing errors at Ipswich, would have won all three. Can't really ask for more than that, but the quality of this performance did provide more, as the win came in some style.

Match notes:

Before the game, James Harper received his 2002/03 Player of the Season award, and chairman John Madejski said a few words to the crowd with (as always) a broken microphone.

Compared to the Boston United game, Graeme Murty replaced Ricky Newman after recovering from injury, and John Salako came in for the injured James Harper, with Andy Hughes moving to the centre of midfield. John Mackie returned to the bench.

Scott Murray and Shaun Goater made their home League debuts, and both also scored their first goal for the club.

Steve Sidwell's goal was from a corner kick. The last time Reading scored a goal with a set play from a corner was on 30/3/2002, away to Bristol City when Andy Hughes headed in at the far post. The only one since then that might just count was Adie Williams' goal away to Sheffield United last season which was shortly after a corner but also after an opposition player had touched the ball.

Match preview:

This is a meeting of the two play-off semi-finalists from last season, and so should be a high quality clash. Since the play-off defeats, Reading have strengthened the team whilst Nottingham Forest have weakened theirs, so we should expect to be the better side.

Last season's equivalent game was a hard-fought 1-0 victory just four months ago. For most of the game, Forest's defence were able to shut down our attack, and it will be interesting to see if their top defender Michael Dawson is able to play after suffering from glandular fever. If he's out (and it seems likely as his only action so far this season is an hour of a reserve game on Wednesday), it will be a huge advantage to Reading as replacement Des Walker will no longer be able to cope with the pace of Nicky Forster. The main opposition threat will however come from their two forwards, Marlon Harewood and David Johnson, who were both at the top of the scorers' charts last season.

For Shaun Goater and Scott Murray, this game should see their home debuts, so they will be keen to impress. Alan Pardew is likely to use the 4-4-2 formation that allows them both to play, but on Wednesday the side looked better once he switched to last season's 4-5-1. We might well see that change if things are not working out by half-time.

Graeme Murty missed the League Cup game at Boston United, but is apparently fit to play. Nathan Tyson is eligible after completing his suspension hanging over from last season, but is unlikely to make the starting line-up.

Ticket information:

Prices and details are the same as for standard home games, and are available here.

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