Sent Off From The Bench

A first half hat-trick sealed the points well within the first 45 minutes for a Reading side who may be starting to click. Nigel Adkins fielded an unchanged side from the one who (somewhat fortuitously) beat Watford last weekend, with Danny Guthrie and HRK still sidelined through injury. It took 12 minutes before ALF rifled a shot past stand-in keeper Andrew Lonergan, and then again on the 28 minute mark. Within 33 he'd completed his hat-trick. McCleary dispossessed last man Tim Ream, and after bearing down on the keeper squared the ball to Le Fondre for his hat-trick. If you've ever played FIFA it was pretty much exactly how you'd score on the world's leading football video game. It was 4-0 before half-time when Alex Baptiste was adjudged to have handled inside the area (it was very fine margins) and Our Saviour converted from the penalty spot, expertly stroking the ball beyond the fingertips of Lonergan and into the bottom right corner of the net. The second half ...

Not exactly a great start to the new year in terms of weather, but Reading eventually brightened spirits with a last gasp goal to secure a point against promotion contenders Nottingham Forest. Reading looked lacklustre for almost the entire game, allowing former player Greg Halford to score with 10 minutes of the first half remaining. Putting away an Andy Reid free-kick with a looping header into the top-left corner of the net. In the second half Matt Derbyshire had two opportunities to seal the win for the away side, but both times fired wide right of the goal. Nick Blackman looked the liveliest player on the pitch in the first half and this continued far into the second until the addition of Royston Drenthe seemed to spark something in Reading. A fierce Guthrie shot from the edge of the area signalled the start of the Reading onslaught but it wasn't until the 95th minute when Matt Derbyshire fouled Gunter that Reading managed to get a decent ball into the box. For the phases ...