CITY 1 READING 2
It is still early in the season but we went to the match with a mixture of excitement and trepidation after our stuttering start. The problem with a 5.20 pm kick off is that you can see all the teams gathering more points above you in the league even before you start.
The stadium seemed deserted even an hour before kick off. It was a small crowd, no doubt due to TV coverage and holidays and there was very little atmosphere. Clearly the ticket deals had not had much effect.
The team selection seemed flawed from the start. Andy King was on the subs bench, as was Morrison, and Moreno was played out of position alongside Jack Hobbs. Fryatt, coming back from injury, was on the bench. DJ was nowhere to be seen and we presumed that the lure of Blackpool had finally taken its course. Please get it over with and sell him! This has taken much too long and who knows what corrosive effect it has had on the team spirit in the camp.
Gallagher kept his place alongside Howard up front and this was a big chance for him to stake a claim for the key strikers role…..
The match started fairly evenly and City surprisingly playing long balls out of defence. Logan, in for the injured Weale, kicked long instead of rolling out to the full backs. Where was the close passing style of the Middlesborough match?
The formation was adventurous with two wide men- Dyer and N’Guessan. That only works if both wide players track back and cover otherwise we are exposed down the middle. N’Guessan failed miserably to undertake this role and I was surprised that he was kept on for most of the match.
As the match progressed Reading found that they could break quickly and easily through the middle with Wellens and Oakley not surprisingly unable to stem the tide.
Reading’s goal came from nothing. Moreno dallied on the ball when he should have passed, tried unsuccessfully to bring his man down, a quick passing movement from Kebe and the ball was chipped into the net to deafening silence from the crowd.
Throughout the first half Dyer was a man on a mission, and tormented Reading’s left back, creating countless chances that came to nothing. His pace was electric. However, in defence we were never tight to the men and gave Reading too much time. Hobbs seemed unsettled because of Moreno’s poor performance alongside him and did not win many headers.
Gallagher was completely ineffective and was too easily knocked off the ball. Sousa tried to orchestrate things from the touchline but all too often it seemed like the team was disjointed and lacked an understanding of what they should be doing.
It is easy to look back at Pearson’s reign (can someone tell me why, oh why, did he leave for Hull City?) with rose tinted spectacles but at least every man knew his role. At the moment there are clearly communication problems and frustration all round within the team and between players and manager.
After leaving the first half to muted boos from the crowd City kept the same team with Gallagher and N’Guessan being carried by the rest of the side.
City stepped up the pace but all the time Reading could break forward at will, often outnumbering our jittery defensive cover. Dyer continued his one-man show and scored a fantastic goal cutting in from the right and scoring from distance with a scorcher.
With 4 minutes to go Reading scored a simple headed goal from a corner. From the replays it looked like both Howard and Moreno had failed in their defensive duties. It had been on the cards for some time and was the type of goal we would not have let in during last season. Perhaps Wayne Brown is missed more than we think.
City then threw the kitchen sink at Reading in the second half and should have scored at least an equaliser. Howard hit a shot against the defender on the line, Federici saved brilliantly from Dyer, Wellens had a shot blocked on the line and King’s goal was dubiously ruled out for an alleged foul by Fryatt.
Defeat was cruel and the team did not deserve the boos at the end. Sousa’s team selection and formation were asking for trouble and Reading took advantage without having to play that well.
This leaves City equal bottom of the league, but more worryingly, seemingly in the middle of unrest just when cool heads are required. Something is not right. Sort it out Sousa- it’s your job!
City: Logan – Neilson, Berner, Hobbs, Moreno – N'Guessan, Oakley (c), Wellens, Dyer – Gallagher, Howard
Subs: Ikeme, Kennedy, Neilson, Morrison, Moussa (N'Guessan, 82), King (for Oakley, 63), Fryatt (for Gallagher, 55)
Reading – Federici – Gunnarsson, Pearce, Mills (c), Cummings – Karacan, Howard, Kebe, Sigurdsson, McAnuff- Long
Subs: Hunt, Antonio (for Gunnarsson, 45), Church (for Church, 62), Robson-Kanu, Hamer, Taylor, Davies
Attendance: 19,611
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation