View From The South- Reading v Birmingham City

It had been a little while since I had faced the prospect of an away game. It had been very difficult to get hold of tickets to be fair, such is the strength of our core support meaning that whenever I checked to try and purchase tickets, I would invariably find that the Platinum and Gold season ticket holders had already hoovered them up especially for venues with limited allocations. The other reasons were that a number of our matches were played midweek in far flung places that it is just not practical to get back from and then have work the following day. I had to content myself with the SKY red button for those and acceptance that I just couldn’t go for some of the Saturday fixtures. The Madjeski (presently called the Select Car Leasing Stadium) however was different; I was able to purchase tickets and given that Reading is actually the closest league club to where I live, it would have been disappointing not to be able to attend. I was to be joined by Chris, Will, Jack and Young Seb. The original plan was to go up on the train, grab a pint in the Three Guineas and catch the bus to the ground. Unfortunately, the last train back was 11.34 and that from my experience can be dubious and the late train meant that Will would not be able to pick up his connection from Guildford. He eventually concluded; “Sod it, I’m going to drive!” It made sense therefore, for him to pick me up on the way so we could meet up with Phil, a mate of his in Shinfield, a Reading fan.

Our opponents have had a wretched season and find themselves looking over their shoulder although a very good win against Preston at Deepdale on Saturday will have eased their nerves a little. They have just sacked their manager and have an interim boss in the form of Paul Ince. They were 3-0 to the good on Saturday but nearly threw their advantage away so it is clear where their problems lie, namely defence. They will undoubtedly be hoping for the new manager bounce but our form has picked up a bit too in recent games with a good win against a Luton side on a good run and a creditable 2-2 draw against Stoke. From what I saw of the highlights, we certainly deserved the point and had opportunities to win the game. It was good to see Jordan James notch his first senior goal with a calm, composed finish to give Blues the lead.

As the time for Will’s arrival neared it was good to see that the wind had died down and storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin were finally behind us. The afternoon winter sunshine promised reasonable if cold conditions for the match. I noted that David Prutton’s prediction for the game was a narrow 1-0 win for the hosts but given that Prutton’s predictions are about as good as mine are for lottery numbers, I thought it unlikely. Blues have managed to get on the score sheet for the last ten games and Reading’s leaky defence have made clean sheets rare for them. However, football being what it is, who knows?

Will arrived on time at 5 pm and we set off for Reading. We stopped at The Six Bells at Shinfield and after a couple of pints of IPA we ordered some onion bhajis and a curry. We were joined by Chris, little Jack and Seb and Will’s mate Phil. Following a convivial meal, it was soon time to make for the ground. We parked in a quiet lane that Phil was familiar with and walked the short distance from there to the stadium.

It’s difficult to sum this game up. Blues played really well and were the better side throughout so the 2-1 defeat is a hard one to take. Blues had more of the ball, better of the play and looked more dangerous going forward. For 67 minutes it seemed a matter of time before Blues scored but of course, as those of us who have been watching football for as long as I have know, that if you fail to take your chances when on top, the other team is bound to get a chance and punish you. Reading hadn’t threatened us for the whole game up to this point three-quarters of the way through the match when Lucas Joao picked up the ball on the edge of our area from John Swift. A good touch and drop of the shoulder combined with quick feet allowed a side-footed effort from sixteen yards into the bottom corner past the diving but helpless Etheridge. It was a beautiful, sumptuous finish and a classy goal. Reading were ahead, against the run of play but that’s football; it ain’t fair sometimes.

Blues resumed on the front foot but then gave away a penalty on 73 minutes when Hernandez collided with Yiadom in the box. Reading fan, Phil told me after the game that the award was a bit soft in his view but it matters not as the penalty was emphatically converted by John Swift. Although Blues did get a goal back on 78 minutes when a lovely delivery by Gardner from a throw in by Bela was flapped at by Karl Hein in the Reading goal onto his defensive colleague who under pressure from Lukas Jutkiewicz could only put through his own net for 2-1. Blues should have equalised soon after when chances from Hernandez, Taylor and Jutkiewicz were saved, blocked or missed in a frantic last ten minutes. Reading ran out winners, albeit fortunate. It is horrible getting mugged but we have only ourselves to blame. Birmingham City should have won this game at a canter; finishing will have to be better against Huddersfield on Saturday.

The Good: Blues overall performance. Apart from the final pass and finishing, excellent. Back home by 11 pm.

The Bad: Failure to take chances against a poor Reading team. The result obviously.

The Ugly: The appalling odour produced by someone in our vicinity intermittently during the match!

Reading: Karl Hein 7, Andy Yiadom 8, Michael Morrison 7, Tom Holmes 6, Tom McIntyre 6, Danny Drinkwater 6, Andy Rinhomota 6, Tom Ince 6 (Tom Dele-Bashiru 89, N/A), John Swift 6, Junior Hoilett 6 (Yakou Meite 74, 6), Lucas Joao 6.

Subs not used: Luke Southwood, Brandon Barker, Kian Levy, Kelvin Abrefa.

Goals: Joao 67, Swift (pen) 73.

Bookings: None

Birmingham City: Neil Etheridge 6, Maxime Colin 7, Krystian Pedersen 7, Jeremie Bela 6, Jordan James 6 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 69, 6), Ryan Woods 6, Jordan Graham 7, Gary Gardner 6, Juninho Bacuna 7, Lyle Taylor 6 (Lukas Jutkiewicz 74, 6) Onel Hernandez 7.

Subs not used: Connal Trueman, Renedi Masampu, Marcel Oakley, Tate Campbell, Jobe Bellingham, Ivan Sunjic.

Goals: McIntyre (og) 78.

Bookings: Pedersen 45, Bela 51, Hernandez 72.

Referee: Simon Hooper: 6; Like all fans, I never agree with every decision referees make but on balance the officials were OK. We lost because we failed to score when on top which was for most of the game not because of a soft penalty.

Attendance: 12,073 (1,638 away fans)

Bazza KRO