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2001/02 Reports

Match facts:

Reading goal: Nathan Tyson
Assist: Bas Savage
Opposition goal:
Half-time: Reading 1 Swindon Town 0
Gamebreaker:
Attendance: 53 (excluding RFC officials)
Weather:
Referee: Dermot Gallagher (Banbury)
Linesmen: K Greening, M Edmonds

Reading line-up: 1 Jamie Ashdown; 2 Gareth Edds, 5 Leo Roget (12 Joey Alcott), 6 Alex Stanley, 3 Matt Robinson; 4 Neil Smith, 7 Joe Gamble, 8 James Harper (15 Simieon Howell), 11 Alex Smith; 10 Nathan Tyson, 9 Bas Savage
Subs not used: None
Reading yellow cards: None
Reading red cards: None

Match report:

By The Scribe:

This was a game that Reading should have won. It was overall, though, a poor game with occasional bright spells. The quality of the game was not helped by a poor pitch - I don't know why Reading play their reserve games at Newbury rather than somewhere where we can play our normal passing game. On the other hand, anyone that can pass a ball on this surface can do so anywhere.

Reading's goal came in the first five minutes when Bas Savage flicked on a header for Nathan Tyson to run on through and score neatly past the Swindon goalkeeper.

After 20 minutes, Jamie Ashdown made a good double save, the first one being a parry where the ball stayed in the danger area. Soon after, Tyson headed just over following a good passing move, and then a little later another Reading player headed the ball just over from a corner-kick. Swindon had another chance, when a long through ball to the edge of the area led to a shot just over the bar, whilst Reading's final attack of the half saw good interplay down right between Neil Smith and Gareth Edds before ending with another header off target, this time narrowly wide from Savage.

The first half had been busy, and although Reading had most of the game, it needed someone to slow things down. Apart from the condition of the surface, their was some hail and rain towards the end of the half to make it even more difficult to play.

Early in the second half, Leo Roget was replaced by Joey Alcott, meaning that Matt Robinson went to centre-back and Alex Smith dropped back to left-back. I could not tell whether this was just another chance for Robinson to try out in the heart of defence or whether Roget had picked up a knock.

No action of note happened through most of the second half until a strong Tyson run down the left, finished with two Reading players in the centre missing his fast low cross. Two minutes later Swindon had equalised, with their centre-forward getting the ball 15 yards out from goal, and getting far too much time to pick the correct spot with his shot.

The only time that the game became physical was when Savage was checked into the fence by a defender, but he was able to continue and later set up Tyson, whose fierce cross-shot came back off the crossbar in the final significant action of the game.

Trialist Gareth Edds did reasonably well. He made some interceptions and good tackles but also gave the ball away a few times (although that might be easily excused due to the pitch or not properly knowing his team-mates). To me, he certainly looked worth another look.

Match notes:

To follow

Match preview:

Reading have announced the following line-up:.

The announced Reading line-up is:
Jamie Ashdown, Gareth Edds, Matt Robinson, Leo Roget, Ricky Allaway, Neil Smith, Joe Gamble, James Harper,Alex Smith, Nathan Tyson, Bas Savage
Subs: Alex Stanley, Simieon Howell, Joey Alcott

That includes trialist Gareth Edds from Nottingham Forest, presumably at right-back.

Ticket information:

None.

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