Reading Roars!

The FA Cup replay between Reading and Man United promised to be an exciting affair. And so it proved.

Reading roared into life after just 30 seconds, searing up the pitch as a thrilling wave of noise cascaded from the Madejski stands. Mark Lawrenson, commentating on BBC1 alongside John Motson, reminded us that the Royals will never have a better chance of making it to the quarter-finals.

But then it all went horribly wrong.

First Heinze shocked Reading, scoring from outside the box. It was a strike that really should have been stopped by Federici. But, no, it went in and the clock read just 2 minutes.

Worse was to follow. In less time than it took to boil an egg, Louis Saha doubled Man United’s lead, angling the ball past Federici, and Reading were beginning to crack.

And then another goal: Solskjær made the score 3-0 to the visitors. Six minutes gone and woeful Reading were being routed.

The Reds were quite simply rampant - and the Royals were risible. Reading’s game plan looked as muddy as the Madejski pitch.

Motson got excited. “I don’t believe it,” we were told. “I really don’t believe it,” he added, as if we didn’t believe that he didn’t believe it first time round. The crowd seemingly didn’t believe it either, and began the lame, unmotivating chant “Que sera, sera”.

But then things began to change.

Reading took on a different formation, 4-4-2, and the reward was immediate: an Oster corner (taken in what looked like a sandpit), led to an unmarked Kitson scoring from a header.

Oster continued to threaten, and was later responsible for two opportunities that found Kitson offside and Bikey heading wide.

At this stage I was thinking of the great Liverpool comeback against Milan (that comeback). Could Reading achieve something similar?

Much of the second half was uneventful. The last 10-15 minutes were, however, electrifying. Reading were, all of a sudden, making all the right moves, shaking United (who now had Rooney and Ronaldo on the field) and creating opportunities. Substitute Leroy Lita’s headed goal in the 84th minute was almost inevitable, and Gunnarsson rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike in the 92nd minute.

Sadly, however, as Reading valiantly pressed on, in search of that important third goal, the final whistle blew and the drama was over. The first quarter of an hour of the game was unfortunate. The final quarter produced perhaps the best Reading performance I’d ever seen.

And now for something completely unrelated to football.

A new Latin American night is to be launched on Saturday 24 March at the LV Lounge, a rather swish venue opposite The Oracle’s HMV/Waterstones entrance and next to the George Hotel.

Offering rhythms and music such as salsa, reggaeton, bachata, rumba and more, the party begins at 8pm and ends at 2am.

The entrance fee is a reasonable £4, with a free beginners salsa lesson bunged in.  There may be the added bonus of catching a certain blogger there, grinning like an idiot and tripping over himself.

The possibility of Steve Sidwell departing Reading FC at the end of the season persists. The midfielder, whose contract expires in the summer, has been offered £25k a week, but has yet to put pen to paper.

Manager Steve Coppell said:

He respects our position and I respect his. It’s an exciting time for him and if he can get something elsewhere that tickles his fancy, then we’re resigned to losing him.

If Sidwell does leave, perhaps the club would consider putting in an offer for another highly influential midfielder: troubled genius Ronaldinho. The wonderful Brazilian, now no longer smiling, reportedly wants a change of scenery. They just need to find that billionaire backer first…

In today’s Guardian, Richard Williams poses the exciting question: “Could a new Manchester United or Arsenal be arising in Royal Berkshire?”.

Williams points out certain advantages that the club possesses: a catchment area to be envied, which includes wealthy parts of the South; plans to increase the stadium capacity to 38,000; and Madejski’s desire to sell the club to a billionaire.

Daniel Taylor, also a Guardian sports writer, commented yesterday:

Reading deserve more than to be patronised as just another small club who got lucky. This is a team whose artillery is far more advanced than a sling and a stone.

As for the club’s ambitions, Taylor wrote:

When Gunnarsson was asked whether he would rather play in an FA Cup final or the Uefa Cup he instinctively replied: “FA Cup, of course.” Wrong answer. He should have said: “Both.

Reading will be rewarded with either Middlesbrough or West Bromwich Albion, far from difficult opponents, if they overcome Man United at home.

Royals boss John Madejski said:

There’s just the small business of Manchester United before we get too excited about the Quarter-Final, but we’re confident we can take any side on.

We’re delighted United are coming back to Reading, it’s what The Cup’s all about, and it’s great to get a second bite of the cherry on our own turf.

We’ve beaten Boro recently so we would be up for playing them or West Brom, but we’ve got a herculean task in-front of us first.

Reading memorably defeated Boro 3-2 in their Premiership opener and had knocked out West Brom in the FA Cup a little more than a year back.

With Reading successfully holding Man United to a 1-1 draw this afternoon in the FA Cup, ensuring a replay at the Madejski, let’s remind ourselves of the Royals damage inflicted last time on the Red Devils, thanks to fans’ video action:

• Kevin Doyle’s penalty puts Reading ahead, videoed by a spectator - Watch the video
• Doyle penalty, filmed by a fan from the North Stand - Watch the video
• Doyle penalty, seen from the East Stand - Watch the video
• Crowd reaction after the same penalty - Watch the video