Reading 0 v 1 Stevenage

Saturday 7th January 2012
FA Cup Third Round
Madejski Stadium, Reading
Admission: £12.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 11295
Match Rating: 2

It was a fairly late decision to take in the magic of the FA Cup on Third Round day today. The match, in truth, was not one to potentially set the pulses racing, with the favourites at home against a team in just one division below, however bargain ticket prices made watching league football teams at a stadium I had not previously visited for the price that Conference South teams charge made a visit to Berkshire sufficiently attractive.

The modestly named Madejski Stadium is located almost three miles south of Reading rail station, close to the M4, and many buses are available to ferry supporters. Set above a retail park, it is very well designed outside and inside, and certainly has more character and uniqueness than other recently built stadia, being easy on the eye and with excellent views and legroom. It has seating all around and is single tiered apart from the west stand, which is two tiered. A slight wave design to the roof and a gap between the top of the stand and the roof certainly enhances the look of the ground. The programme, which unusually was a full edition for a cup match, was typical glossy Football League fare, but it ranks as one of the better ones, with plenty of interesting articles to read, although match reports of every FA Cup match played by the club in the last two seasons, when they enjoyed runs to the Quarter Finals, was rather tiresome.

Today's match would be between sides in good from in the Football League. Before losing last time out at Cardiff on Monday, Reading won their previous four games, and had won six out of seven, which has propelled them up to fifth in the Championship, albeit eight points behind the top two. They also have excellent recent pedigree in the FA Cup, reaching the Quarter-Finals in the last two seasons, when they have claimed the scalps of Premier League Liverpool, Burnley, West Bromwich Albion, and Everton. Graham Westley, Stevenage's manager, is not everyone's cup of tea, least of all mine, but there is no denying he is doing a quite remarkable job at the Hertfordshire club, taking them from non league football to a play-off berth in League One, in sixth place. Their recent form has been very similar to Reading's - before losing at home to Leyton Orient last time out, they won their previous three games and were unbeaten in thirteen games. Reading and Stevenage were also drawn together in last season's competition, with Reading winning 2-1 thanks to a late goal at Broadhall Way in the fourth round.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, Reading were desperately disappointing throughout, as they appeared lethargic with precious little cohesion in their play, whilst Stevenage hustled and harried, made interceptions and always looked the stronger and more likely side to score. On 21 minutes they deservedly took the lead when Darius Charles took the ball just outside the area and unleashed a low drive into the corner beyond the reach of the keeper. The only surprise at half time was that Stevenage had not increased their lead, with Reading having just one sight of goal.

Reading improved slightly after the break and managed to create some half chances, although it wasn't until the final 25 minutes that Reading finally started to mount some sustained attacks on goals, but still they never managed to create any gilt-edged chances, and indeed, it was Stevenage who came closest to scoring ten minutes from time when a powerful low drive was just turned aside by Adam Federici in the Reading goal. However, it was Stevenage who deservedly progressed to the fourth round and gain revenge for last season's defeat to Reading. Reading were desperately disappointing on the day, very surprisingly given their recent good form and pedigree in the FA Cup, but now they can concentrate fully on pushing for promotion back to the Premier League..

Video highlights at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxxqJxSwqfk

Northampton Town 0 v 3 Reading

Saturday 23rd June 2011
Pre-season Friendly
Sixfields Stadium, Northampton
Admission: £10.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 1554
Match Rating: 3

A bargain offer from the London Midland train company, currently offering half price tickets, plus the opportunity to watch football at a Football League stadium I had not previosuly visited at virtually half price, inspired me to make the trip to the south-east Midlands for an otherwise not outstandingly attractive friendly game with Reading, of the Championship, paying a visit to League 2 side Northampton Town.

Sixfields Stadium is located about a half hour walk westwards from Northampton train station, passing Franklin's Gardens, home of Northampton Saints Rugby Club along the way - whilst it is not a particularly pleasant walk, through industrial estates for the most part, it is flat almost all of the way. The all-seater ground consists of four separate stands, three small ones and a larger main stand. Being built in the mid-nineties, it is certainly one of the dullest stadia I can remember, lacking any character, although on the positive side, it is very neat and tidy and views are flawless from anywhere in the ground, with the stands close to the pitch and no obstructions of view. Another nice feature of the main (West) Stand is the first floor conservatory style concourse behind the stand. The stadium is set at the bottom of a large hill behind one of the goals, and the low stand behind that goal as well as the unfilled corners make it possible to watch the action from there - and plenty of people do just that, even though one of the goal areas is out of view. Programmes are always hit-and-miss affairs for pre-season friendlies, but full credit to Northampton Town for producing an interesting and informative publication which would appear to be the same style and size as they produce in the regular season, except this edition covers all three of their home friendlies.

This game was between two clubs who finished at opposite ends of the Football League last season, with Reading narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League, losing in the Championship play-off final, and Northampton Town only narrowly escaping relegation from the Football League after a sustained shockingly poor run of form in the second half of the season, the first half of which saw one of their greatest results of all time, defeating Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup, having previously knocked out Reading on penalties at the Madejski Stadium.

On an overcast and relatively cool day for July, this was a surprisingly entertaining game for a friendly, hardly played at full-tilt, but it was an open game with regular chances at either end. The hosts had the better of the first half, and credit to them for always looking to play passing football along the ground, although they rarely looked like scoring. The visitors looked much more threatening as half-time approached, and right on the stroke of half time, they opened the scoring when Hal Robson-Kanu perfectly dinked the ball into the box and Shane Long - surely Premiership bound before the end of this transfer window - just beat the keeper to nod the ball home. A slightly harsh scoreline on the home side, who had acquitted themselves well. The second half was a completely different affair though, as Reading completely dominated proceedings. On 49 minutes they were awarded a penalty for a clumsy foul by the Northampton captain, John Johnson, on Mikele Ligertwood and Long sent the keeper the wrong way for his second of the game. Reading stretched their lead to three on the hour, when Robson-Kanu did well in holding off a couple of defenders before rifling low past the keeper. Immediately after this goal, Reading changed eight of their players in one go, although this didn't appear to break up their momentum as they continued to carve out some good chances. It was damage limitation for Northampton, although they should have scored with quarter of an hour remaining, when a Northampton forward took too long to get a shot in, and lost possession as he tried to find room for himself. In the end, it was a comfortable 0-3 away win, a scoreline which flattered Reading, who were rewarded for their clinical approach, although Northampton could certainly take positives too from their first half showing.