After a pointless month in the league through November it was vital we returned to winning ways at home against Cambridge United. Reading lost two league games in November and the postponement at Bournemouth couldn't have come at a worse time with all the other teams at the top collecting points, but hopefully today signaled a return to winning ways as Reading put three past Cambridge without reply. It wasn't the best performance ever - but it was a decent solid performance that was enough to see off a half decent visiting side. In the end it was an entertaining game played in front of a below average crowd - however the main thing was collecting three points and close the gap on the leaders.

With Newman out suspended Robinson made a return to the defence - and with Gurney playing at full back it meant we had two different full backs than the team that beat Grays at the Madejski two weeks ago. In midfield Caskey was left on the bench to give Igoe a start alongside Jones and Parkinson. Having won player of the month for November, Parkinson went on to do more than enough to put himself in the frame for the same award for next month, and with Igoe putting over plenty of crosses from both sides of the pitch we didn't seem to miss Caskey too much. In fact after the first minute Pardew's decision to leave Caskey on the bench seemed to be the right one as Reading got off to a dream start.

Butler was brought down on the left side of the pitch, just outside the box, and with Caskey on the bench Igoe stepped up to fire the free kick across into the box on the right to find Viveash. Viveash's header flew diagonally into the middle of the box, and after a bit of a bundle on the goalline was in the back of the net. 1-0 to the Royals with only a matter of second gone. After some big home wins not too long ago the home fans could be forgiven for hoping it was going to be the start of a whole series of goals, but Cambridge weren't going to let that happen and the game quickly calmed down.

It wasn't clear what Cambridge's game plan was going to be, but a goal down right from the start meant they had to change it all around to try and get back into the game - to their credit they kept trying to play the ball forward on the ground. Thankfully Reading seemed more than able to soak up the limited pressure Cambridge put on Reading during the first half. Cambridge took plenty of time trying to construct some moves playing it from left to right and then back again, but they were getting closed down almost instantly by the Reading midfield and they away side struggled to break through. When they did manage to get in the box Mackie and Viveash were more than capable of clearing up any danger. At a goal up Reading were more than happy to allow Cambridge to enjoy a bit of the ball, and it was clear we weren't going to be in for a big goal win - instead a sensible approach to collecting the three points.

Just after 15 minutes Jones fired an excellent drive into the bottom right corner of the net - however play had already been stopped well before hand for an offside. After a long spell without any real chances Reading made it two-nil ten minutes before the break. Robinson got down the left wing well, beating his man and then sticking over a great cross to Parkinson who had managed to get himself all the way forward and into the left of the area. The ball and Parkinson found each other and the ball flew into the back of the net. A beautiful goal to make it 2-0 at half time.

Almost straight after the break Reading had the chance to seal victory. The ball was played into the path of Cureton who made a dash towards the area, just right of centre, with the Cambridge defender. With the two players side by side Cureton broke into the box before going down after contact from the defender. With the linesman flagging like a nutter it was judged that the contact was inside the box. The away side weren't too happy - but it made no difference. Cureton stepped up to take the penalty kick... and didn't even get close! After watching fans at half time taking penalties and sticking them all away, it was a bit disappointing to see Cureton's spot kick well wide of the base of the left post.

Shortly after that Robinson set up Butler again for what should have been the third goal. Butler did all the hard work to get to the edge of the box in the centre, but then failed to play it to his right after drawing two defenders. Cureton, unmarked on the right just inside the box and onside could only watch as Butler drove a tame shot straight at the Cambridge goalkeeper. After Reading had failed to wrap up the game Cambridge saw their chance to get back into it and enjoyed their best spell of pressure of the game so far. After a good ten minutes of pressure they were unlucky not to pull one back.

The Reading defence looked all over the place as Cambridge threw players forward - luckily Whitehead had everything under control. Firstly he tipped a header just over the bar, and moments later pulled off a great reaction after a volley from the left side of the box - well inside the area. Although he didn't have much to do in the first half Whitehead was more than making up for it - not only pulling off the two blinding saves but coming well to cleanly catch some dangerous balls played into the Reading box. With Cambridge looking like they might get back into the game Reading started fighting back and the game really picked up. The referee helped out with a couple of really stupid bookings - for example booking Butler when he was walking away after a Cambridge United player took a free kick early and deliberately kicked it at him... The East Stand started really getting behind the team, and they responded with a third goal.

With twenty minutes to go we won a free kick in typical Caskey position just outside the box on the left. Hodges, Gurney and Parkinson gathered around the ball. Parkinson to stand in way and either Hodges or Gurney to put in the free kick. All of a sudden, and to our total surprise, Gurney strode up and fired in a low free kick that flew across the ground, through the wall and tucked itself delightfully into the bottom left corner of the Cambridge net. The home fans loved it - but not as much as Gurney who legged it to the East Stand to celebrate in style after scoring his first Madejski Stadium goal for the Royals. 3-0 and the game won.

In the end this was just the performance we needed. Cambridge didn't look a bad side even though they failed to create that many chances and, excluding a long spell in the second half, we looked tight at the back and strong in midfield. Up front Butler and Cureton will be disappointed they didn't get on the score sheet, but it's great when three non-forward players can get the goals. Parkinson must take man of the match - especially after so many people had started writing him off.

Graham

Following report from Neil Cole:

Reading were back to their best at home today, and went some way to repairing the damage caused by the two successive defeats that preceded this meeting with Cambridge United. The home defeat to Colchester seems a long time ago, and we were helped to forget that woeful performance with a comprehensive home victory which keeps us in touch with the leaders. Another three goals today takes our home tally to an impressive 32 this season; if we could begin to match that with our away record, promotion would be a certainty.

The starting line-up was sure to raise a few eyebrows, as captain Darren Caskey was dropped and was forced to watch 87 minutes of the game from the bench. Caskey has not been particularly effective of late, as speculation surrounding his future seems to have had a negative impact on his game. There have also been rumours of an attitude problem, rumours which were strengthened by Caskey’s substitution at half-time against Colchester, and his appearance in the reserves in mid-week. It seems ever more likely that we will lose Caskey at the end of the season, after five years of inconsistent performances from the former Tottenham man.

The postponement of the Bournemouth match meant Ricky Newman’s one match suspension was carried forward to today, and robbed Reading of one of their players of the season so far. Fortunately, the suspension coincided with the return to fitness of Matt Robinson. After a successful appearance for the reserves, Robinson was in the starting line-up today at left-back, with Andy Gurney switching back to the right. Caskey’s place on the right of midfield was taken by Sammy Igoe, deservedly back in the starting eleven after several good substitute appearances.

Any doubts over whether Reading could re-discover their scoring touch were removed within the first minute, as the Royals took the lead with the first attack of the game. As a cross came in from the left, Cambridge’s last man stumbled in the box and Adi Viveash was free at the back to head Reading into the lead. Viveash’s second goal for the Royals was of great importance, as the early goal restored the team’s confidence in its own ability. Statistics show that when we have scored the first goal, just two points have been dropped all season. That was at Wigan away, one of the toughest fixtures of the season where the eventual point we gained was a creditable result. It seems that once Reading have taken the lead, it becomes very hard for any team to stop them going on to take all three points.

The rest of the first half was dominated by Reading, and Cambridge were forced to defend in numbers to stop the game becoming a rout. Martin Butler was kept very quiet, and was unable to score against his former club. Yet today showed that we do not need to rely on the strikers, and when the second goal came it was from player of the month Phil Parkinson. The veteran midfielder has proved that he is still a vital part of the team, and there is every chance of him winning a second championship medal with the club this season. The goal was again the result of a cross from the left, with Parky heading in from the near post.

Despite the scoreline, as the second half got underway it was the Cambridge fans who were making all the noise in the stadium. They were further encouraged by a penalty miss from Jamie Cureton, who shot wide after Martin Butler had been brought down in the area. Regular penalty taker Caskey was still on the bench, but Cureton looked confident as he had scored plenty from the spot for Bristol Rovers. Yet the miss indicated perhaps it might not be our day after all.

Encouraged by their travelling support, United got into the game and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. For fifteen minutes, it was sustained pressure from Cambridge, and if it hadn’t been for Phil Whitehead it could have been a very different result. Whitehead had a superb game, and as well as making two excellent saves in the second half, he commanded his box brilliantly and caught every cross that came into the box.

Mid-way through the second half, the Reading fans finally got singing as they realised the game wasn’t over. The atmosphere for the last half-hour was excellent in the East Stand, and Cambridge failed to keep the upper hand for long. Although we had missed Caskey when it came to the penalty, Andy Gurney showed there is more than one player at the club who can take a free-kick. The usual Hodges dummy routine was followed by the ball being rolled out to Gurney, who blasted the ball into the bottom corner from thirty yards. Gurney looked as surprised as anyone that it had gone in, but you can be sure he’ll be fighting Caskey for the ball next time we get a similar situation.

The third goal killed Cambridge off, and for a while we threatened further goals. Tony Rougier came off the bench looking very sharp, and he nearly set up a goal with an outrageous pieces of skill. Rougier twisted past his marker in the left corner before firing the ball across the box and somehow evading the oncoming Reading strikers.

Reading stay fifth after this result, but move a little closer to the top four of Walsall, Rotherham, Millwall and Wigan. It’s back to the cup at York next week, but we must not forget where our priorities lie. Notts County the following week is far more important, and today’s result should encourage a few more Royals to make the trip up there.

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