Sent Off From The Bench

After weeks of every game being the biggest of the season so far it was almost relaxing to go into a match we never had a chance of winning. Leeds were comfortable victors, without really breaking a sweat. What was a little annoying is that all the goals in the first half were so avoidable. Mo Barrow tracks Luke Ayling's run well before slipping, allowing the Leeds player to easily pull the ball back to the penalty spot for an simple finish. Goal two sees Pablo Hernandez surrounded by at least four Reading players, but still somehow in a few yards of space. His quick turn and shot hits the woodwork, before dribbling along the line and in. A good finish but he shouldn't have been allowed the time. Similarly for the final goal of the game Blackett stands off Hernandez - who had already shown his talent - before a little shift to the right allows the Leeds' player the angle he needs to pick out the far corner. Strangely I didn't think Reading played badly in the first ...

Reading showed three moments of quality to overcome a combative Wigan side. Wigan's first goal comes down to a lack of midfield presence. Ejaria gets pushed off the ball, Yiadom dives in, and all of a sudden Wigan overload the box. Powell's finish trickles in, but was perfectly placed inside the corner. I did think there was a foul on Blackett with no real advantage, his foot seemed to get trodden on. That being said he didn't really break a sweat getting back, which is also an issue for Wigan Goal #2. If we're being super critical Moore probably gets himself a little too deep - actually ending up right in front of Martinez - and Baker should probably be tracking Powell's run. At the end of the day, we were in a bad position from the moment we lost the ball. The first piece of real (Royal?) quality came with John Swift standing over the ball in first half stoppage time. In the programme versus Rotherham there was a fairly lengthy piece that touched on his dead ...

Finally. Three away points. If we're being deadly honest, we didn't deserve anything from the match. After their equaliser it was the first time I've ever really felt completely let down by a side. On paper they have an absolute abundance of talent. There's a handful that have been on the books at the biggest sides in their respective countries but they seem so brittle.  It was only the sheer relief, and importance, of the result that stopped the EPR 3 just being 'papers over cracks' again and again. Things started well enough - McCleary and Oliveira will get the credit for the opening goal but it was almost entirely made by Blackett. A beautiful ball just beyond the full back allowed McCleary to race onto it, draw three men to him, and pull it across for Oliveira. Yet again our loanee forward found the net. His celebration was, presumably, a reaction to some pretty tasteless Ipswich chants, but had I already been on a yellow card I may have been slightly le...