by tmesis »
08 May 2022 09:56
One disappointing thing was the number of Reading fans who thought it amusing to shout/sing abuse towards Ascot and their players. It's pretty standard in the league, obviously, but it's gratingly embarrassing at non-league level, unless done humorously. Calling someone a "fat c***" repeatedly isn't the height of hilarity, although the guy saying it seemed to disagree.
What was good, apart from the win, was that the players seemed genuinely delighted to have won the cup. I recall seeing us lose a final (against Maidenhead?) many years back, and the players clearly didn't give a shit.
The big difference for me was the finishing. The three first half goals were incredibly well taken, but there weren't too many other big chances created. Ascot started pretty well, but once that first goal went in, the Reading players really strode around with confidence, and the Ascot players seemed to give them too much respect and space, and really struggled to create anything themselves.
In the second, they hussled the Reading players far more, forcing them into error after error, and having much the better of the play. I don't think Reading had a shot in the second half until about the 85th minute. Had Ascot played that way in the first half, it could have been a different game.