Reading Roars!

I was eagerly looking forward to the Easter weekend clash beween Reading and Liverpool (less so the game with Charlton), who just a couple of days earlier had trounced a poor PSV in the Champions League. I admire the managerial minds of both Coppell and Benitez, both deeply immersed in the mechanics of the game and somewhat modest, too.

I dashed to The Turks, but alas they were broadcasting the rugby. I sped to the Three Guineas, past O’Neills, but again it was the oval, not round, ball that was on the big screen. I did catch the score, however, on a different monitor, and it was Rafa’s Reds, minus midfield maestro Xabi Alonso but with the magisterial Mascherano, who were ahead, through Spanish defender Alvaro Arbeloa.

Disappointed, I returned home and slumped in front of the computer, to follow the game online.
I was, naturally, delighted when Reading bounced back early in the second half, with Brynjar Gunnarsson whipping the ball into the goal from the right.

Unfortunately, Dirk Kuyt rose high in the 86th minute to score and restore Liverpool’s lead, all the way to the final whistle.

A pity, but still not a bad result for Reading against the 2005 European Champions.

As for goal footage, thank goodness for YouTube (despite the foreign commentary).

The Sun has published a journal of a loyal England football follower (who has missed just 2 games in 7 years) based in Reading, care worker Simon Copson. The diary spans 6 days, commencing on Thursday 22 March, and presents Simon’s thoughts as a travelling fan.

Simon describes following England as a “drug addiction” (addicted to our national side? Yikes) and concludes, following the riveting Andorra game, that he’d:

love to see Steve Coppell doing the job but he’s far too intelligent to take it.

Quite. As was Scolari.

Robbie Keane scored from the spot to condemn Reading FC to a 1-0 defeat at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon.

The penalty followed a harshly-judged handball incident in the box, with the ball unluckily striking new signing Greg Halford’s arm as it rebounded off Keane’s knee. Technically a penalty, but it was an involuntary action and really should have been waived by referee Alan Wiley.

Spurs climbed to 6th in the Premiership table and UEFA Cup territory. The Royals, disrespectfully described by The Mirror’s Mike Walters as the “M4 riff-raff“, are left looking still for their first win in two months.

Reading FC visited one of the “Big Four” on Saturday - poetic Arsenal - and fortunately I was there, thanks to my friend, and lifelong Arsenal follower, John McGarvey. Cheers John!

Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal have been one of the most exhilarating teams to watch in recent years, from The Invincibles to the reinvented and exuberant side of the present, characterised by youth. They’d played Reading already in the season and gave them an absolute thumping. I wasn’t expecting such a decisive defeat this time.

The first thing that struck me when I took my seat close to the pitch at the hugely impressive Emirates was the size of the crowd. A little more than 60,000 had turned up to see the Gunners take on Reading (still one of the smaller teams in the league). Respect.

The contingent of Reading fans, a swathe of blue and white, was pretty small, but highly vocal when they needed to be (they were also much more vocal outside the ground). When they did pipe up, their chanting was met with the derision of Arsenal fans.

While Reading players were the main attraction for me, I was excited to see the red-and-white shirts of Arsenal exiting the tunnel. Thierry Henry, the star draw, wasn’t playing, but teen Catalan sensation Cesc Fábregas was there, as were Brazilian internationals Julio Baptista and Gilberto Silva.

The first half was dominated by Arsenal. However, while they teased and prodded, Reading remained resilient and the 45 minutes passed drearily.

The second half told a different story. There was much more zip and intent to Arsenal’s play.

In one breathtaking moment, Baptista released the ball to Fábregas, who had a glorious chance to put the Gunners ahead. But he fumbled the opportunity and Reading were safe. Moments later, Cesc’s miss was forgotten, with Gilberto converting a penalty after Andre Bikey brought down Gael Clichy.

Arsenal, and Fábregas in particular, were now ruling the midfield and a second goal came from the foot of a darting Baptista, who was fed by yet another Brazilian, young Denilson.

Reading made changes and once again showed grit in the closing minutes of the game, prompting some excited comments from jittery Arsenal fans behind me. I thought it amazing that they should criticise Baptista, a forward who, while not scintillating, had cemented Arsenal’s lead.

Fábregas, so influential during the game, ironically presented the Royals with an 87th minute goal, as he accidentally knocked the ball into the net from a John Oster corner. Confident Reading continued to push forward and Steve Sidwell nearly brought the score level (but for a Lehmann save). The game thus ended a respectable 2-1.

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.

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

“The Reading fairy story goes on”, said Gary Lineker (actually, Gary, it’s fairy tale), “With scripts like this, it’s more Coppola than Coppell.” I’m assuming he didn’t mean Sofia-directed Lost in Translation. Actually, I’m not sure what he meant exactly, but it sounded good.

Gary’s words followed this afternoon’s televised FA Cup encounter between Reading and Man United which ended in a 1-1 draw. I’m pleased - no, very pleased - to add that my prediction of a draw was spot on.

Reading took control of the game early on, but it was United who scored first. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had tormented the Royals previously in the Premiership, teased Dave Kitson with his trademark stepover trick before passing to Michael Carrick. Carrick duly drove the ball into the net.

As the game wore on, Ronaldo continued to cause Reading problems, delighting the Old Trafford crowd with some nifty moves against Seol Ki-Hyeon (twice) and Nicky Shorey. Furthermore, the Portuguese player had three great opportunities to score - his first shot on goal was deflected off a Reading player, and his second was touched out of play by reserve Reading keeper Adam Federici.

The really exciting football, however, came in the final 30 minutes, with the Royals equalising via a beautiful Brynjar Gunnarsson header, swooping over a crowded box.

Both sides played with extra urgency. Substitute Stephen Hunt in the 90th minute was tearing down the middle of the pitch surrounded by five red shirts. A minute later Louis Saha struck wide in his bid for glory.

Super sub Henrik Larsson also had a couple of good opportunities to settle the game, but ultimately he could not transform proceedings as he did for Barcelona in last season’s Champions League Final.

Now we can look forward to a replay at the Madejski, and how about this for a new prediction: Reading to defeat Man United and progress to the next round.