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Cardiff 1-2 Reading

Steve Clarke equalled the Cup wins of his predecessor with a late win over a Cardiff. For a large parts of the game Reading dominated but still found themselves 1-0 before half-time when Kenwyne Jones headed home a Peter Whittingham corner. In the second half the visitors were the better team, and levelled through a somewhat mishit Norwood free-kick before Hal Robson-Kanu nicked the game in the dying minutes after an Obita cross.

As I've left this a bit late, I'll just run through some major points.

  • Obita's crossing is awful far too often, it destroys good moves. That said, he did manage to put in an inch perfect ball for HRK's goal which may redeem him slightly.
  • I can't describe just how badly Norwood struck his free-kick, but the keeper took a step the wrong way and couldn't get back; at which point he just needed to hit the target. Definitely not a classic but did what it needed.
  • I thought there were occasions in the game where Blackman was running absolutely everything. Putting in some nice runs, and finding positions at the edge of the box and just dictating the play. Was surprised to see him go off for HRK but obviously worked.
  • McCleary played well, but absolutely ran out of steam in the second half, which is unsurprising considering how long he's been out for.
  • Gunter's injury wasn't the perfect scenario, but Kelly came on and played exquisitely. Bursting down the right, and unlike the Welshman he puts more crosses in than the crossball after getting in behind the defence.
  • Chalobah also looked pretty solid in his first appearance as well, and looks like he could well provide some steel in the midfield.
So, next round is away at Derby, again. Our run of dull cup draws continues, and it's not likely we'll get through either. Still, it was fun while it lasted.

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