Late Draw As Royals Continue To Struggle

23 September 2017
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Reading seemed destined to succumb to a third successive home defeat without scoring until Jon Dadi Bodvarsson came off the bench to salvage a point with a superb late strike, and had Liam Moore made better contact with the last kick of the match, would have taken all three points. It was however not a Reading performance worthy of a victory in spite of a staggering seventy-four percent possession. In fact Tomori came close to wrapping the game up immediately before Bovarsson's equaliser running through Reading's defence with relative ease before dragging his shot wide. A draw was fair result mainly because neither side played well enough to deserve to win.
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Royals Limp Out Of League Cup

19 September 2017
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Swansea progressed to the last sixteen of the Caraboa Cup with a comfortable victory over a Reading side with insufficient fire power to mount any kind of sustained pressure on their Premier League opponents defence. After a goalless first half Swansea took the lead early in the second half when Mawson was allowed sufficient space to flick home a Sanches corner at the near post. Swansea looked in control from that point and secured their victory courtesy of a refereeing blunder from Andy Davies. Davies' poor positioning resulted in him deflecting an Evans pass to Fer on the half way line. With the Reading defence pushing forward Fer slid the ball to Ayew who ran through to curl the ball past Jaakkola. Reading had looked unlikely to find and equaliser and the second goal put the result beyond doubt.
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• Match Report and Fan Opinion: Reading 0 Swansea City 2

Reading Scramble Point At Brentford

16 September 2017
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Reading came away from Griffin Park with just a point, after another disappointing afternoon in the Championship. The Royals were perhaps lucky to secure even that point after being behind for most of the game to a well worked 16th minute goal from Brentford.

The home side might have expected their first win of the League season against a poor Reading side after having much the better of the first half, and thoroughly deserved their lead at the break. The Royals were improved in the second half and drew level when Moore was tripped inside the area with seventy minutes on the clock. Liam Kelly, who had a lively game for the Royals, stepped up to score the penalty to make it 1-1.

Despite coming from behind, it was Brenford that finished the stronger side. Mannone was forced to make a couple of save to keep Reading in the game, and Brentford would have won it if a further couple of efforts hadn't been put wide and high.

Brentford successfully limited Reading's possession football in the first half and should have made more of their chances. However, throughout the game, it remained a familiar story for Reading with a lack of power up front. Bodvarsson managed just a half before being substituted at the break as manager Jaap Stam tried to inject some life into the Royals. On this performance there is plenty of work for Stam to do to bring this season to life.

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Reading Travel To Winless Brentford

15 September 2017
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Reading travel the short distance to Brentford this weekend hoping to improve on recent results. Both Reading and Brentford have suffered slow starts to the season, with Brentford still without a league win after seven games. The Bees are favourites with That's a Goal's accumulator tips to be relegated and are one off the bottom of the table with their only points of the campaign coming from three draws. Brentford fans will see this as a great opportunity for their first full three points, playing against a 17th placed Reading side who have only picked up two wins themselves in the league.

Despite securing up some impressive signings before the transfer window closed, the Royals were unable to find the net last Saturday and slumped to a 0-1 home defeat against Bristol City. It was a frustrating afternoon for Reading who did most things right but failed to convert their chances. The game saw new signings Aluko and Edwards both involved, and they will both be hoping to build on their debuts. Aluko played the full 90 minutes, but Dave Edwards came off the bench to replace Liam Kelly and will be hoping to claim a starting place.

Bodvarsson, back from injury, started the fixture but was guilty of wasting our best chances. Manager Jaap Stam may well vary things up front for the trip to Brentford but will still be missing Kermorgant who finished last season so strongly and is seriously missed this term. Reading will almost certainly need more than one goal if they are to collect three points from this fixutre - which is a huge ask. Our last clean sheet at Griffin Park was 23 games ago.

Last season we were on the wrong end of a 1-4 scoreline, with Kermorgant scoring our only goal from the penalty spot. However, the season before that, back in the summer of 2015 we were 3-1 winners with two goals from Blackman and one from Sa. A similar result feels hard to imagine right now even against a Brentford side that is well off the form they were expecting this season. The Bees should be desperate for the win, so it could be another frustrating afternoon for the travelling Reading fans.

Recent Meetings With Brentford

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