Goal Drought Ends As Royals Hit Seven

Reading's goal drought ended in unexpected style as the Royals thrashed Bolton Wanderers 7-1 at the Madejski Stadium this weekend. This was the first time since November Reading had managed to score more than a single goal in a game. Reading had also only managed to score two goals in the last five fixtures - so to say a seven goal demolition came as a bit of a surprise is a bit of an understatement. The difference between the two sides was the quality of Reading's finishing in front of goal. Both sides had seven corners and Bolton enjoyed more of the possession - 52 percent compared to Reading's 48 percent. Despite those statistics Reading were 7-0 up before the visitors scored a late consolation goal.

Reading, at last, looked totally effective going forward and made maximum use of their chances in front of goal. Adam Le Fondre hit all the headlines and found himself named as Championship player of the weekend thanks to a hatrick that started 12 minutes into the game and was wrapped up 21 minutes later. Up-front Pogrebnyak was again excellent, and made it 4-0 before the break when Le Fondre unselfishly gave him the chance to score from the penalty spot. The game was won at half time but a comfortable second half display saw Gorkss, Akpan and Blackman add further goals as Reading recorded a big win. After a poor run this result made it two straight wins and saw Reading move into sixth place in the Championship table.

• Reading 7 Bolton 1 - Report and Opinion