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2001/02 Reports

Match facts:

Reading goal: Nathan Tyson (86 minutes)
Assist: Adam Campion
Opposition goals: After 4 minutes, 26 minutes, 48 minutes, 60 minutes and 74 minutes
Half-time: Cardiff City 2 Reading 0
Gamebreaker:
Attendance: 359

Reading line-up: Simon Cox (Jamie Young, 62 minutes); Adam Lockwood (Ricky Allaway, 46 minutes), Chris Casper, Barry Hunter, Justin Wilson (Declan O'Hara, 46 minutes); Adam Campion, Steve Laidler, Keith Jones, Dwane Lee; Nathan Tyson, Jamie Cureton.
Sub not used: Louie Soares, Alex Stanley
Reading yellow cards: Steve Laidler (90 minutes, time-wasting)
Reading red cards: None

Match report:

By Plastic Dreamer:

Reading got off to a bad start, conceding a goal after only four minutes. Cardiff looked like a team, whilst we just looked like a group of players who had never met each other before. Barry Hunter and Keith Jones looked out of their depth at this level, with Jones setting up more Cardiff attacks than he did Reading.

After 26 minutes it was 2-0, and it could have been worse as Simon Cox made a good save a few minutes later. Our best spell of the game followed, as good work from Nathan Tyson made a shooting chance for Jamie Cureton after 33 minutes. However, Cureton miskicked and he did the same thing with his next chance a few minutes later.

At half-time, we decided to play "Jamie Cureton-watch" in the second half, and he in fact touched the ball only twice in the entire 45 minutes! It seemed that he had been told to get a run-out but not to do much more.

Reading brought on Ricky Allaway and Declan O'Hara at half-time but it made little difference as Cardiff took a 3-0 lead after 48 minutes. They had some good play around the edge of the area, before scoring with a chip from the 18-yard-line. Two minutes later, Cox made a point-blank save to keep the score down, and after 52 minutes it looked as though we might get back in the game when we were awarded a penalty (although no-one was clear as to why, with theories being either handall or a push). Perhaps justice was done as Tyson put it over the bar.

On the hour mark, there was a goalmouth scramble which ended with a Cardiff player backheeling the ball into the net from about eight yards out. Once play had stopped we could see that the Reading goalkeeper Cox was lying injured on the floor, and he was replaced by Jamie Young.

The first of Cureton's two second-half touches came after 70 minutes - just thought I'd mention it. After 74 minutes, Cardiff's fifth and final goal came from our failure to clear the ball as it cannoned around our six-yard box, a home player eventually putting it in. Things could have been worse as Cardiff were pulled up for offside twice when they clearly weren't, stopping two one-on-one chances.

We had another shot when Adam Campion latched on to a Jones through-ball and shot across the goal. Then after 86 minutes Campion played a ball down the left channel which Tyson ran onto and shot across the goalkeeper into the far corner of the goal. This sealed Tyson's performance as easily our best player.

There was one further incident - Steve Laidler was attacking with the ball, and crossed it just as the referee blew for a Cardiff free-kick. The ref decided that he was time-wasting and booked him. A sorry end to a bad day.

Match notes:

Jamie Cureton made his return from injury.

Trialists Justin Wilson and Dwane Lee played in this game. Wilson played for the Under-19s in their friendly at Southampton on Saturday, but it was Lee's first showing in a Reading shirt.

Match preview:

This game is scheduled for Ninian Park. Prices are £3 for adults and £1 for children.

This is a League Cup game - click here for full details of this season's Avon Insurance Combination League Cup competition.

Reading have named the following team: Simon Cox, Adam Lockwood, Chris Casper, Barry Hunter, Justin Wilson (trialist), Adam Campion, Steve Laidler, Keith Jones, Dwane Lee (trialist), Nathan Tyson, Jamie Cureton. Substitutes: Jamie Young, Ricky Allaway, Declan O'Hara, Louie Soares, Alex Stanley.

Ticket information:

None.

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