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2000/01 Reports

Competition Date Opponent Venue Result
Avon Combination League Cup Monday, 11th December (7.00pm) Bristol Rovers Home Drew 1-1

Reading goal: Rougier
Attendance: 37

Reading line-up: Howie, Gurney, Haddow (Gamble), N Smith, Hunter, C Smith, Norbert, Caskey, Gray (Lockwood), Henderson, Rougier
Sub not used: Tyson

Report from The Scribe:

This was another game that Reading should really have won, and failed to do so. This was mainly because we failed to play as a team, with too many players playing only as individuals. Two examples show this - Stuart Gray went off injured by one of our own players after three of them went for the same ball, and Darren Caskey was spoken to the referee for foul language aimed at Tony Rougier after Rougier had failed to pass the ball! To give you an idea of the quality of the Bristol Rovers sides, one Michael Meaker was their captain.

The pitch was wet, soft and cut up very quickly, but there was no standing water. There was also a light rain throughout the match. Bristol Rovers took the lead in the first half - a ball was played forward to their front man who got the benefit of a lucky bounce before firing a good shot to Scott Howie's left from the edge of the area.

Reading equalised halfway through the second half - Barry Hunter burst through and then laid the ball off to Guilliaume Norbert. His low cross found Rougier on the six yard box, who turned it home. In the last 20 minutes, Bristol Rovers were the better side but the game ended at 1-1.

Overall, Reading's passing was poor, with even simple cross-field balls too often going astray. A bright point was the performance of Norbert, who showed up more than in his debut last week. He wasn't completely in touch with the rest of the team (but then the same could be said about quite a few of the others as well!). He did however manage some dangerous crosses and always worked hard. Both his heading and tackling back were also good, and he looks like a useful possible acquisition.

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