sportinglife.com
Reading 2 Manchester City 0
By Jim van Wijk, PA Sport
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/pr ... EAMHD=manc
Relegation battlers Reading boosted their hopes of beating the drop with a 2-0 Barclays Premier League win over Manchester City at Madejski Stadium.
A second-half strike from Shane Long - with new assistant Republic of Ireland manager Liam Brady watching in the stands - and a late goal from substitute Dave Kitson proved enough for a second successive win by the Royals to move out of the bottom three.
City lost captain Richard Dunne to a leg injury, which needed stitches, and also had a strong penalty appeal turned down by referee Uriah Rennie.
Reading boss Steve Coppell kept faith with a winning team as the Royals looked to move out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone against Manchester City this afternoon.
Victory at Middlesbrough last week with a goal from James Harper in stoppage time ended an eight-game losing run, and the Royals will move out of bottom three with a point at their Madejski Stadium.
City, meanwhile, were looking for a win to re-ignite their push for a top-six finish and European qualification.
Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson was able to bring back Brazil midfielder Elano, fit again following a knee injury, but Martin Petrov was suspended.
Stephen Ireland was on the bench, and would be hoping for a chance to impress watching Republic of Ireland assistant boss Liam Brady.
Reading made a bright start. John Oster broke into the right side of the penalty area, but his pass across the face of goal was just too far ahead of Kevin Doyle.
After 10 minutes, a free-kick from the left channel was floated into the City box - but captain Richard Dunne was on hand to boot the ball clear.
The home side were closing down well, however.
Benjani Mwaruwari found some space and skipped clear into the right side of the Reading box. But his final touch was too heavy, taking the ball into the hands of goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
Slowly the visitors began to settle into a rhythm.
After 18 minutes, City midfielder Dietmar Hamann was cautioned for a late trip on Stephen Hunt.
A deep cross from John Oster then picked out the Reading man at the far post, but his looping header was safely collected by City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
City almost snatched the lead after 24 minutes.
A free-kick from the left touchline was sent over by Elano, and the ball bounced through to Vedran Corluka - who looked surprised at the chance and could only somehow guide it over the bar from five yards with his knee.
Benjani should have done better when he met Darius Vassell's cross at the far post, but headed tamely at the keeper.
City were forced into a change after 30 minutes when Dunne had to be taken off on a stretcher, replaced by Sun Jihai, after badly twisting and also cutting his knee following a challenge with Hunt.
Doyle - another Irishman hoping to impress - flicked on a corner from Hunt at the near post, but the ball flew behind.
Shane Long then also went close, this time with a backward header from Oster's left-wing free-kick.
Reading were enjoying a good spell as half-time approached.
Midfielder Marek Matejovsky drilled in a low, angled shot from the right edge of the penalty area, which Hart kept out with a fine reaction save.
Michael Johnson weaved into the Reading box, and looked to have been tripped by Royals skipper Ivar Ingimarsson - but referee Uriah Rennie was having none of it and booked the City man for what he saw as a dive.
HT Reading 0 Man City 0
At half-time, City revealed Dunne had received nine stitches in a shin wound and is now set for a spell on the sidelines.
Matejovsky had another chance to shoot from the edge of the area when the ball dropped to him following a corner but this time the Czech midfielder was way off target.
Slowly, City started to get a grip on the game. After 49 minutes, Gelson Fernandes let fly from 25 yards but his shot was straight at Hahnemann.
Elano was then given space on the left, and his low strike from distance was only just the wrong side of Hahnemann's right-hand post.
Reading, though, were still dangerous on the break, and Long just failed to connect with a deep ball from the right into the six-yard box.
As the hour mark passed, City sent on Ecuador forward Felipe Caicedo for Vassell.
The hosts continued to press and Doyle saw his angled drive from the right side of the area deflected into the side netting.
From the corner, Andre Bikey managed to get into space at the near post and slammed the ball goalwards, which Hart pushed onto the bar from point-blank range.
Reading, however, were soon in front.
A goal-kick was flicked on by Ireland forward Long out to the left after 62 minutes. Doyle chased the ball down and held off Michael Ball before cutting inside to the goal-line.
His pull-back was straight into the path of the on-rushing Long, who had continued his run and made no mistake with a cool finish from five yards.
City replaced Hamann with Nery Castillo as Eriksson looked to get back into the match.
Hart blocked a shot from Hunt as the Royals went in search of a goal to kill off the game.
The atmosphere inside the Madejski Stadium was tense as the match entered the final 10 minutes.
Long was given a rest when Reading sent on Dave Kitson.
The Reading substitute made sure of victory with a fine solo effort on 87 minutes, cutting in from the right before slotting into the bottom corner from 10 yards.
FT Reading 2 Manchester City 0
TEAMS:
Reading
1. Marcus Hahnemann
19. Liam Rosenior
22. Andre Bikey
16. Ivar Ingimarsson
3. Nicky Shorey
11. John Oster
15. James Harper
28. Marek Matejovsky (79)
10. Stephen Hunt
9. Kevin Doyle
24. Shane Long (82)
SUBS
32. Adam Federici (GK)
4. Kalifa Cisse (79)
5. Ibrahima Sonko
12. Dave Kitson (82)
30. Jimmy Kebe
Man City
25. Joe Hart
24. Javier Garrido
16. Vedran Corluka
22. Richard Dunne (29)
3. Michael Ball
21. Dietmar Hamann (67) (yellow card)
28. Fernandes Gelson
12. Darius Vassell (59)
11. Blumer Elano
6. Michael Johnson (yellow card)
27. Benjani Mwaruwari
SUBS
19. Kasper Schmeichel (GK)
7. Stephen Ireland
17. Sun Jihai (29)
20. Felipe Caicedo (59)
30. Nery Castillo (67)
STAT ATTACK
Reading.....Man City
8 Shots On Target 5
5 Shots Off Target 7
9 Fouls (Conceded) 11
7 Corners 5
0 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
What the papers say: Man City
http://football.guardian.co.uk/Observer_Match_Report/0,,2263716,00.html
Kitson makes it lucky 13 for resurgent Royals
Will Buckley at the Madejski Stadium
Sunday March 9, 2008
The Observer
A humdinger of a relegation battle is beginning to develop. Derby and Fulham appear to be down, but you can perm any one from seven for the final berth on the sinking boat to the Championship. Reading, by notching up a second consecutive victory, ensured that they are unlikely to fill it as they moved to 13th in the table. Put simply, if Newcastle fail to win another point then the Royals are safe.
The first half was not thrill a minute. A fine ball from Marek Matejovsky set John Oster galloping through and with a kinder run of the ball he might have created something. At the other end, Benjani glided in from the right and should have cut the ball back rather than overriding his luck.
The game deteriorated somewhat. Dietmar Hamann was the first player to be booked. Reading kept pressing forward but failed to cobble together a serious chance.
City threatened less often but looked sharper when they did - except for Vedran Corluka who, after Elano had swept in a dangerous free-kick, rather daintily contrived to waft the ball over the bar when inside the six-yard box.
The next chance fell to Benjani following a Vassell cross, the signing from Portsmouth receiving the ball unmarked ten yards out. He had time to control the ball but instead headed lamely straight at Marcus Hahnemann.
On the half-hour, Richard Dunne fell to the ground, in evident pain, following a collision with Stephen Hunt and was taken off on a stretcher. The shin injury he sustained required nine stitches.
Reading's best first-half chance came from a Hunt corner that Kevin Doyle back-headed across rather than at the goal. Shortly afterwards Oster also back-headed the ball past the post, before Matejovsky barrelled in a shot and Joe Hart did well to block it.
Michael Johnson was booked for diving in the penalty area. This is not usually that noteworthy but it was a game so short of incident that, by default, it became a talking point for anyone awake enough to talk. 'Not a yellow card but not a penalty either' was the majority view.
The game became yet slower in the second half. City fired a few shots in from long range, which failed to disconcert Hahnemann. It started raining. This was probably to the home team's advantage. The more slippery and unpleasant things became, the more chance there was of an upset.
Almost immediately they nearly scored as André Bikey turned effectively and skewered his shot against the bar, but a minute later they gained the lead. Hahnemann's goal-kick was flicked on by Shane Long to Doyle who passed it back to him and he calmly scored. A long ball one-two had created a crucial goal.
Suddenly Reading had momentum. A shot from Hunt was well saved by Hart. City appeared to give up. They are falling down the table as quickly as Reading are rising and the chances of gaining a European place are slim. This was an insipid performance, exemplified by a complete absence of defending as substitute Dave Kitson sliced through from the right before pushing the ball past Hart.
'We are staying up, we are staying up,' sang the home fans. I doubt they will be proven wrong.
Man of the match: Stephen Hunt
He wasn't the most skilful player on the pitch, but he was the most purposeful and sometimes strength of will is just what's required.
Kitson makes it lucky 13 for resurgent Royals
Will Buckley at the Madejski Stadium
Sunday March 9, 2008
The Observer
A humdinger of a relegation battle is beginning to develop. Derby and Fulham appear to be down, but you can perm any one from seven for the final berth on the sinking boat to the Championship. Reading, by notching up a second consecutive victory, ensured that they are unlikely to fill it as they moved to 13th in the table. Put simply, if Newcastle fail to win another point then the Royals are safe.
The first half was not thrill a minute. A fine ball from Marek Matejovsky set John Oster galloping through and with a kinder run of the ball he might have created something. At the other end, Benjani glided in from the right and should have cut the ball back rather than overriding his luck.
The game deteriorated somewhat. Dietmar Hamann was the first player to be booked. Reading kept pressing forward but failed to cobble together a serious chance.
City threatened less often but looked sharper when they did - except for Vedran Corluka who, after Elano had swept in a dangerous free-kick, rather daintily contrived to waft the ball over the bar when inside the six-yard box.
The next chance fell to Benjani following a Vassell cross, the signing from Portsmouth receiving the ball unmarked ten yards out. He had time to control the ball but instead headed lamely straight at Marcus Hahnemann.
On the half-hour, Richard Dunne fell to the ground, in evident pain, following a collision with Stephen Hunt and was taken off on a stretcher. The shin injury he sustained required nine stitches.
Reading's best first-half chance came from a Hunt corner that Kevin Doyle back-headed across rather than at the goal. Shortly afterwards Oster also back-headed the ball past the post, before Matejovsky barrelled in a shot and Joe Hart did well to block it.
Michael Johnson was booked for diving in the penalty area. This is not usually that noteworthy but it was a game so short of incident that, by default, it became a talking point for anyone awake enough to talk. 'Not a yellow card but not a penalty either' was the majority view.
The game became yet slower in the second half. City fired a few shots in from long range, which failed to disconcert Hahnemann. It started raining. This was probably to the home team's advantage. The more slippery and unpleasant things became, the more chance there was of an upset.
Almost immediately they nearly scored as André Bikey turned effectively and skewered his shot against the bar, but a minute later they gained the lead. Hahnemann's goal-kick was flicked on by Shane Long to Doyle who passed it back to him and he calmly scored. A long ball one-two had created a crucial goal.
Suddenly Reading had momentum. A shot from Hunt was well saved by Hart. City appeared to give up. They are falling down the table as quickly as Reading are rising and the chances of gaining a European place are slim. This was an insipid performance, exemplified by a complete absence of defending as substitute Dave Kitson sliced through from the right before pushing the ball past Hart.
'We are staying up, we are staying up,' sang the home fans. I doubt they will be proven wrong.
Man of the match: Stephen Hunt
He wasn't the most skilful player on the pitch, but he was the most purposeful and sometimes strength of will is just what's required.
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Fubar
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Sunday Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 512049.ece
Keeper’s heroics can’t save City
Reading 2 Man City 0
Brian Glanville at Madejski stadium
This was an enormously important and deserved victory for Reading against a Manchester City team that lost Richard Dunne to injury early and so expensively. Without the heroics of Joe Hart in goal, it could well have been worse for the visitors.
These have been desperate days for Reading, dog days for Manchester City. Reading are notable sufferers from what might be called second-season syndrome. City are becalmed in mid-table after a splendid start, and are waiting anxiously to hear whether their controversial patron, Thaksin Shinawatra, now back in his native Thailand, can lay his hands on the £800m that lies embargoed in a bank there. If he can, City could presumably repeat their heavy spending of the summer.
Reading, a week earlier, won a dour but vital game at Middlesbrough, before which things had been going badly, as reflected in the fact that manager Steve Coppell dropped out-of-form David Kitson, who was not only their principal hope of goals but was even canvassed by some as a potential England player. Yesterday, the strikers were Shane Long and Kevin Doyle, an all-Irish attack, with another lively Irishman, the ever-active and speedy winger, Stephen Hunt, out on the left, but always ready to cut inside.
After 13 minutes, Benjani Mwaruwari, recently bought by City from Portsmouth, glided round Nicky Shorey on the left with embarrassing ease, only to be thwarted at the last stride as he cut in when Marcus Hahnemann, Reading’s American goalkeeper, dived briskly and bravely at his feet.
Mwaruwari had another opportunity after 28 minutes but wasted it. Darius Vassell, who was being used quite effectively not as a striker but as a deep left-winger, was given too much space to put in his cross. The same might be said about the Reading central defence as Mwaruwari was presented with a chance of a free header but all he could do was nod the ball tamely straight at Hahnemann.
On the half-hour, there was a disastrous development for City. Richard Dunne, their captain and the bulwark of their defence, collided with Hunt, went down heavily and painfully, and, after treatment, had to be removed on a stretcher and replaced by Sun Jihai.
Reading, perhaps predictably, began to have more of the play. And when Nicky Shorey took a free kick from the left, which he always does expertly well, Long got his head to it, only for the ball to fly not far wide of the right hand post.
Reading were more threatening a couple of minutes later when a left-wing corner was only half cleared to be met with a drive by Marek Matejovsky. Hart, who has kept more experienced and more expensive players out of the team, and has even been suggested as an England player, showed why by hurling himself to his left and saving the shot at full stretch.
It transpired at half-time that nine stitches had been inserted in the unfortunate Dunne’s leg wounds. There can be no doubt that City’s defence missed him. Reading took control and on 62 minutes they went ahead. The goal was a tribute to the pace and stamina of Long. A long clearance by Hahnemann was nodded on by Long to his strike partner, Doyle. He crossed from the left, and Long, who had made up ground, was there to shoot inside the left-hand post.
That was just one minute after Hart, powerless to save such a goal, had made an excellent stop at his left-hand post from Andre Bikey. Four minutes later Hart was in action again. Pushing out an insidious ball, he then had to deal with an immediate shot by Hunt, and this he capably did.
Finally, Reading brought on Kitson, and against a seemingly demoralised City defence, he scored. Moving in from the right, mysteriously unopposed, he eventually shot past a goalkeeper in Hart who surely deserved better support. You couldn’t imagine City giving away such a soft goal had Dunne still been on the pitch.
Reading: Hahnemann 7, Rosenior 6, Bikey 6, Ingimarsson 6, Shorey 6, Oster 5, Harper 6, Matejovsky 6 (Cisse 79min), Hunt 7, Doyle 7, Long 7 (Kitson 82min)
Manchester City: Hart 8, Garrido 6, Corluka 6, Dunne 6 (Jihai 29min, 6), Ball 6, Gelson 6, Johnson 6, Hamann 6 (Castillo 67min), Elano 6, Vassell 7 (Caicedo 59min, 6), Benjani 6
Yellow cards: Hamann, Johnson
Star man: Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 24,062
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 512049.ece
Keeper’s heroics can’t save City
Reading 2 Man City 0
Brian Glanville at Madejski stadium
This was an enormously important and deserved victory for Reading against a Manchester City team that lost Richard Dunne to injury early and so expensively. Without the heroics of Joe Hart in goal, it could well have been worse for the visitors.
These have been desperate days for Reading, dog days for Manchester City. Reading are notable sufferers from what might be called second-season syndrome. City are becalmed in mid-table after a splendid start, and are waiting anxiously to hear whether their controversial patron, Thaksin Shinawatra, now back in his native Thailand, can lay his hands on the £800m that lies embargoed in a bank there. If he can, City could presumably repeat their heavy spending of the summer.
Reading, a week earlier, won a dour but vital game at Middlesbrough, before which things had been going badly, as reflected in the fact that manager Steve Coppell dropped out-of-form David Kitson, who was not only their principal hope of goals but was even canvassed by some as a potential England player. Yesterday, the strikers were Shane Long and Kevin Doyle, an all-Irish attack, with another lively Irishman, the ever-active and speedy winger, Stephen Hunt, out on the left, but always ready to cut inside.
After 13 minutes, Benjani Mwaruwari, recently bought by City from Portsmouth, glided round Nicky Shorey on the left with embarrassing ease, only to be thwarted at the last stride as he cut in when Marcus Hahnemann, Reading’s American goalkeeper, dived briskly and bravely at his feet.
Mwaruwari had another opportunity after 28 minutes but wasted it. Darius Vassell, who was being used quite effectively not as a striker but as a deep left-winger, was given too much space to put in his cross. The same might be said about the Reading central defence as Mwaruwari was presented with a chance of a free header but all he could do was nod the ball tamely straight at Hahnemann.
On the half-hour, there was a disastrous development for City. Richard Dunne, their captain and the bulwark of their defence, collided with Hunt, went down heavily and painfully, and, after treatment, had to be removed on a stretcher and replaced by Sun Jihai.
Reading, perhaps predictably, began to have more of the play. And when Nicky Shorey took a free kick from the left, which he always does expertly well, Long got his head to it, only for the ball to fly not far wide of the right hand post.
Reading were more threatening a couple of minutes later when a left-wing corner was only half cleared to be met with a drive by Marek Matejovsky. Hart, who has kept more experienced and more expensive players out of the team, and has even been suggested as an England player, showed why by hurling himself to his left and saving the shot at full stretch.
It transpired at half-time that nine stitches had been inserted in the unfortunate Dunne’s leg wounds. There can be no doubt that City’s defence missed him. Reading took control and on 62 minutes they went ahead. The goal was a tribute to the pace and stamina of Long. A long clearance by Hahnemann was nodded on by Long to his strike partner, Doyle. He crossed from the left, and Long, who had made up ground, was there to shoot inside the left-hand post.
That was just one minute after Hart, powerless to save such a goal, had made an excellent stop at his left-hand post from Andre Bikey. Four minutes later Hart was in action again. Pushing out an insidious ball, he then had to deal with an immediate shot by Hunt, and this he capably did.
Finally, Reading brought on Kitson, and against a seemingly demoralised City defence, he scored. Moving in from the right, mysteriously unopposed, he eventually shot past a goalkeeper in Hart who surely deserved better support. You couldn’t imagine City giving away such a soft goal had Dunne still been on the pitch.
Reading: Hahnemann 7, Rosenior 6, Bikey 6, Ingimarsson 6, Shorey 6, Oster 5, Harper 6, Matejovsky 6 (Cisse 79min), Hunt 7, Doyle 7, Long 7 (Kitson 82min)
Manchester City: Hart 8, Garrido 6, Corluka 6, Dunne 6 (Jihai 29min, 6), Ball 6, Gelson 6, Johnson 6, Hamann 6 (Castillo 67min), Elano 6, Vassell 7 (Caicedo 59min, 6), Benjani 6
Yellow cards: Hamann, Johnson
Star man: Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 24,062
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biscuitsrus
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Hart 8 LOL!!!!!!!
Finally, Reading brought on Kitson, and against a seemingly demoralised City defence, he scored. Moving in from the right, mysteriously unopposed, he eventually shot past a goalkeeper in Hart who surely deserved better support. You couldn’t imagine City giving away such a soft goal had Dunne still been on the pitch.
Soft?? It were class!!
the independent
Reading 2 Manchester City 0: Kitson underlines return of better form at Reading
By Jim Foulerton at the Madejski Stadium
Sunday, 9 March 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 93420.html
Suddenly Reading are upwardlymobile, moving from third-bottom to a heady 13th after recording their only back-to-back wins in the Premier League all season. They will head for a training camp in Spain today in good heart, leaving City wondering what has happened to their hopes of Europe.
To make matters worse for the visitors, their captain, Richard Dunne, needed nine stitches in his shin after a first-half collision with the irrepressible Stephen Hunt. There was no malice on Hunt's part; if anything, Dunne put more into the tackle with his Ireland international team-mate.
City's manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, said it would be 10 days before the stitches were removed, but he will have to repair City's wounded pride quicker than that. After a bright opening to the season, Eriksson's team are heading in the wrong direction, with one win in eight League games.
In Cheltenham week, there was an Irish theme as City fell to a second-half goal by Shane Long, which was set up by Kevin Doyle in front of Giovanni Trapattoni's assistants, Marco Tardelli and Liam Brady. Dave Kitson, a late substitute for Long, hit a second two minutes from the end.
An unusually upbeat Coppell claimed he "still has Tardelli's signature on my arse" after a Cup-Winners' Cup clash between Manchester United and Juventus. These days his ambitions are not quite so high. "Forty points is our target and I feel we can get there," added Coppell, whose team stopped an eight-game losing streak at Middlesbrough last weekend. "It's very congested down the bottom. Now we have to put a run of results together."
Eriksson did have loftier ambitions, but they are fading. "There is no point talking about Europe until we start winning football games again," he said. This has not been a happy hunting ground for the Swede; his only other appearance as a manager here was an embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Belarus in an England B international in 2006.
City's best chance fell to the right-back Vedran Corluka after 25 minutes, but he lifted the ball over the bar from Elano's free-kick. The visitors also had penalty claims in the first half when Michael Johnson went down under challenges from James Harper and Ivar Ingimarsson. Uriah Rennie saw things differently and booked the City midfielder after the second incident. "They were both penalties," Eriksson said.
For Reading, Marek Matejovsky had a decent shot saved by Joe Hart and Long missed a presentable chance with his head from John Oster's cross.
Yet a sustained period of home pressure after the interval yielded reward when Long gave them a deserved lead. City had barely recovered from seeing Andre Bikey's close-range shot cannon off the bar when Marcus Hahnemann sent a long kick deep into their half. Long met the ball and flicked it on to Doyle, who had advanced down the left, and his precise centre was turned inside Hart's near-post with a first-time finish by Long. It was his third goal in just five Premier League starts this term.
Many of City's problems were coming from Oster's growing influence down the right and Reading almost doubled their lead when Doyle rose to meet his testing cross and Hunt's follow-up shot was blocked.
They did not have to wait long as Kitson made the most of some shoddy marking from Kalifa Cissé's quick free-kick and strolled through City's defence to beat Hart with the minimum of fuss.
Reading 2 Manchester City 0: Kitson underlines return of better form at Reading
By Jim Foulerton at the Madejski Stadium
Sunday, 9 March 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 93420.html
Suddenly Reading are upwardlymobile, moving from third-bottom to a heady 13th after recording their only back-to-back wins in the Premier League all season. They will head for a training camp in Spain today in good heart, leaving City wondering what has happened to their hopes of Europe.
To make matters worse for the visitors, their captain, Richard Dunne, needed nine stitches in his shin after a first-half collision with the irrepressible Stephen Hunt. There was no malice on Hunt's part; if anything, Dunne put more into the tackle with his Ireland international team-mate.
City's manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, said it would be 10 days before the stitches were removed, but he will have to repair City's wounded pride quicker than that. After a bright opening to the season, Eriksson's team are heading in the wrong direction, with one win in eight League games.
In Cheltenham week, there was an Irish theme as City fell to a second-half goal by Shane Long, which was set up by Kevin Doyle in front of Giovanni Trapattoni's assistants, Marco Tardelli and Liam Brady. Dave Kitson, a late substitute for Long, hit a second two minutes from the end.
An unusually upbeat Coppell claimed he "still has Tardelli's signature on my arse" after a Cup-Winners' Cup clash between Manchester United and Juventus. These days his ambitions are not quite so high. "Forty points is our target and I feel we can get there," added Coppell, whose team stopped an eight-game losing streak at Middlesbrough last weekend. "It's very congested down the bottom. Now we have to put a run of results together."
Eriksson did have loftier ambitions, but they are fading. "There is no point talking about Europe until we start winning football games again," he said. This has not been a happy hunting ground for the Swede; his only other appearance as a manager here was an embarrassing 2-1 defeat by Belarus in an England B international in 2006.
City's best chance fell to the right-back Vedran Corluka after 25 minutes, but he lifted the ball over the bar from Elano's free-kick. The visitors also had penalty claims in the first half when Michael Johnson went down under challenges from James Harper and Ivar Ingimarsson. Uriah Rennie saw things differently and booked the City midfielder after the second incident. "They were both penalties," Eriksson said.
For Reading, Marek Matejovsky had a decent shot saved by Joe Hart and Long missed a presentable chance with his head from John Oster's cross.
Yet a sustained period of home pressure after the interval yielded reward when Long gave them a deserved lead. City had barely recovered from seeing Andre Bikey's close-range shot cannon off the bar when Marcus Hahnemann sent a long kick deep into their half. Long met the ball and flicked it on to Doyle, who had advanced down the left, and his precise centre was turned inside Hart's near-post with a first-time finish by Long. It was his third goal in just five Premier League starts this term.
Many of City's problems were coming from Oster's growing influence down the right and Reading almost doubled their lead when Doyle rose to meet his testing cross and Hunt's follow-up shot was blocked.
They did not have to wait long as Kitson made the most of some shoddy marking from Kalifa Cissé's quick free-kick and strolled through City's defence to beat Hart with the minimum of fuss.
Many of City's problems were coming from Oster's growing influence down the right
Yeah, and what about Oster - big performance today from our No. 11.
the telegraph
Shane Long hauls Reading up Premier League
By Clive White at the Madejski Stadium
Last Updated: 12:51am GMT 09/03/2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.j ... rea109.xml
Reading (0) 2 Manchester City (0) 0
Reading could be making a mistake if they believe everything they read in the newspapers' league tables this morning.
This victory, which catapulted them five places up into 13th position, may have left them sitting pretty for now, but they are not out of the firing line just yet and their manager Steve Coppell said as much himself. Indeed with a trip to Anfield coming up next they could be back to earth with a bump.
Still, if Shane Long and substitute Dave Kitson continue to make the art of goalscoring look as simple as they did yesterday during the last half-hour Reading may eventually give themselves some real breathing space.
Those goals, however, only came after Manchester City had suffered the "significant" loss of their captain Richard Dunne, "a fine player and a good leader".
Those were not the observations of his manager Sven-Goran Eriksson but Coppell. Reading still had to take advantage of the situation, which they did.
One thing is certain: City's European ambitions are receding faster than the Royals' relegation fears.
With just one win in eight league games now, they must hope Dunne, who has a deeply gashed shin, is a quick healer because fellow central defender Micah Richards still needs a further five weeks to recover from his knee injury.
They were also without the influential Martin Petrov who still has one more game of his ban to serve.
City must have wished they had a recognised striker on the end of an Elano cross after 25 minutes instead of full-back Vedran Corluka who ran the ball over the bar instead of running it into the net.
Worse was to follow when Michael Johnson got a booking for diving instead of a penalty for what looked like a foul on him by Ivar Ingimarsson. Eriksson, with the benefit of a television replay, commented: "You can't speak about yellow cards, you must give a penalty."
Marco Tardelli - "that wonderful Dublin boy" as Coppell described him - was here in his capacity as assistant to the new Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni to cast an eye over the Irish contingent and cannot help but have been impressed with the way the Cork pair, Kevin Doyle and Long, combined to score the first goal for Reading.
It is probably fair to say that Kitson's goal, which was more of a solo effort and took him past three City defenders, didn't impress Eriksson.
Best moment: Dave Kitson's goal which wrapped the match up, although we had to wait 88 minutes for it..
Worst moment: Referee Uriah Rennie's decision to book Michael Johnson rather than award him a penalty. As if the denial of a penalty award wasn't bad enough for the City midfielder.
Man of the match
Shane Long (Reading) 8
• Scored Reading's first
• Had three attempts on goal
Shane Long hauls Reading up Premier League
By Clive White at the Madejski Stadium
Last Updated: 12:51am GMT 09/03/2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.j ... rea109.xml
Reading (0) 2 Manchester City (0) 0
Reading could be making a mistake if they believe everything they read in the newspapers' league tables this morning.
This victory, which catapulted them five places up into 13th position, may have left them sitting pretty for now, but they are not out of the firing line just yet and their manager Steve Coppell said as much himself. Indeed with a trip to Anfield coming up next they could be back to earth with a bump.
Still, if Shane Long and substitute Dave Kitson continue to make the art of goalscoring look as simple as they did yesterday during the last half-hour Reading may eventually give themselves some real breathing space.
Those goals, however, only came after Manchester City had suffered the "significant" loss of their captain Richard Dunne, "a fine player and a good leader".
Those were not the observations of his manager Sven-Goran Eriksson but Coppell. Reading still had to take advantage of the situation, which they did.
One thing is certain: City's European ambitions are receding faster than the Royals' relegation fears.
With just one win in eight league games now, they must hope Dunne, who has a deeply gashed shin, is a quick healer because fellow central defender Micah Richards still needs a further five weeks to recover from his knee injury.
They were also without the influential Martin Petrov who still has one more game of his ban to serve.
City must have wished they had a recognised striker on the end of an Elano cross after 25 minutes instead of full-back Vedran Corluka who ran the ball over the bar instead of running it into the net.
Worse was to follow when Michael Johnson got a booking for diving instead of a penalty for what looked like a foul on him by Ivar Ingimarsson. Eriksson, with the benefit of a television replay, commented: "You can't speak about yellow cards, you must give a penalty."
Marco Tardelli - "that wonderful Dublin boy" as Coppell described him - was here in his capacity as assistant to the new Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni to cast an eye over the Irish contingent and cannot help but have been impressed with the way the Cork pair, Kevin Doyle and Long, combined to score the first goal for Reading.
It is probably fair to say that Kitson's goal, which was more of a solo effort and took him past three City defenders, didn't impress Eriksson.
Best moment: Dave Kitson's goal which wrapped the match up, although we had to wait 88 minutes for it..
Worst moment: Referee Uriah Rennie's decision to book Michael Johnson rather than award him a penalty. As if the denial of a penalty award wasn't bad enough for the City midfielder.
Man of the match
Shane Long (Reading) 8
• Scored Reading's first
• Had three attempts on goal
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From Despair To Where?
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CookieFinally, Reading brought on Kitson, and against a seemingly demoralised City defence, he scored. Moving in from the right, mysteriously unopposed, he eventually shot past a goalkeeper in Hart who surely deserved better support. You couldn’t imagine City giving away such a soft goal had Dunne still been on the pitch.
Soft?? It were class!!
I thought that was a fairly accurate description of his goal, to be honest.
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Ian Royal
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From Despair To Where?CookieFinally, Reading brought on Kitson, and against a seemingly demoralised City defence, he scored. Moving in from the right, mysteriously unopposed, he eventually shot past a goalkeeper in Hart who surely deserved better support. You couldn’t imagine City giving away such a soft goal had Dunne still been on the pitch.
Soft?? It were class!!
I thought that was a fairly accurate description of his goal, to be honest.
It was soft, and had Dunne been on the pitch there is no way he'd have got away with it. But that doesn't stop it being an absolute class goal.
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chilipepper91
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Sorry, but that TImes report is absolutely ridiculous, or at least the one in the physical paper is. Says Long crossed for Doyle, says Benjani headed straight at Hart, and totally sucks up to Joe Hart. Pretty much any keeper could have made the saves he had made, and I thought it was a quite average performance. As for him being Star Man... just 
.
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From Despair To Where?
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Ian RoyalFrom Despair To Where?Cookie
Soft?? It were class!!
I thought that was a fairly accurate description of his goal, to be honest.
It was soft, and had Dunne been on the pitch there is no way he'd have got away with it. But that doesn't stop it being an absolute class goal.
Doesn't make the journo's description wrong though, and I would still stop well short of calling Kitson's goal "absolute class" in those circumstances. Any class was in Cisse's quick thinking and eye for an opportunity. Long's goal was considerably more classy. Perfect flick into space, good strength and skill to beat the man by Doyle, great pull back and excellent movement of the ball and a lovely first time finish from Long.
chilipepper91 Sorry, but that TImes report is absolutely ridiculous, or at least the one in the physical paper is. Says Long crossed for Doyle, says Benjani headed straight at Hart, and totally sucks up to Joe Hart. Pretty much any keeper could have made the saves he had made, and I thought it was a quite average performance. As for him being Star Man... just
The Times report posted above says:
A long clearance by Hahnemann was nodded on by Long to his strike partner, Doyle. He crossed from the left, and Long, who had made up ground, was there to shoot inside the left-hand post.
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Upper West Ginger
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"The Game" - the Football section of today's Times - awards Marek Matejovsky Player of the Day / Weekend for the Premier League, for making several defence-splitting passes. Nice to see him getting some recognition at a national level.
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Handsome Man
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Will Buckley of The Observer Put simply, if Newcastle fail to win another point then the Royals are safe.
I liked that bit!!
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Franchise FC
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Handsome ManWill Buckley of The Observer Put simply, if Newcastle fail to win another point then the Royals are safe.
I liked that bit!!
Is that Will Buckley of Warnford Road, Tilehurst ?
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