Best Reading game?

[Royalclapper]

Doncaster Rovers 2 - 3 Reading 1984 Belle Vue.

Remember it being a cracker. I'm pretty certain that Lawrie Sanchez was on the scoresheet.
(I think the season earlier was a 7-5 reverse scoreline).

My Dad was at that one - Doncaster unbeaten at home all season, Reading unbeaten away all season and it was one of the last games of the season with both sides gunning for promotion. He also recalls the Donny fans coming down the pitch towards the away end after the game and making a rather hasty exit

Ha!, I wasn't going to mention the Donny fans frothing at the mouth! Like you say, it was the whole setting to the game, both near the top, we were beaten 7-5 the year before with Kerry Dixon scoring 4 and still on the losing side. It was kind of like the ultimate 'pissed on their chips' match!

The real bonus was that the old Belle Vue ground was the other side of the road to Doncaster racecourse with easy parking and an easy escape. That game was unforgettable!

[leicsRoyal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJJO9sG ... ata_player

Suprised no mention of this one.

[From Despair To Where?]

One from each decade I've watched Reading

Reading 4 Plymouth 3 1985 - A brilliant comeback after playing shit and being dead and buried on 50 minutes
Blackpool 0 Reading 4 1994 - Just like watching Brazil. The home fans clapped Reading off the pitch that day
Blackburn 3 Reading 3 2007 - Inflatables day, brilliant atmosphere, brilliant game, brilliant goals and the perfect finale to a brilliant season
Southampton 1 Reading 3 2012 - A great game with 2 excellent teams that left you bursting with pride at the end.

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Plymouth, obvs.

Only one mention for Tranmere away in the play-offs?

Blackpool away. Total footy. *Edit: Just noticed the Blackpool reference above.

Arsenal in the cup in '72 at EP.

[pea]

If we're talking best ever then surely its the Tranmere game with that Friday goal?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Best game or best performance? Seems to be some confusion on what we're answering here.

[Ark Royal]

Best game or best performance? Seems to be some confusion on what we're answering here.

Good point. Best performance for me would probably be Tranmere away in the '95 play-off. Best game would be Plymouth in '85.

[double d]

Doesn't matter. Just anything that strikes you as something special. I enjoyed giving west ham a spanking both games last year aswell!

[SydenhamRoyal]

Reading 3 v 1 Southampton 1997ish- a cup tie, having beaten them the season before in the cup as well, and Dave Beasant getting sent off as well I think? I remember the South Bank absolutely rocking that night.

Caskey scoring; frozen pitch; Graeme Souness squaring up to the groundsman?

Southampton complaining that Graham Poll the referee was biased towards Reading because this is where he grew up; the FA responding with Mr Poll actually comes from Tilehurst

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Best game or best performance? Seems to be some confusion on what we're answering here.

Good point. Best performance for me would probably be Tranmere away in the '95 play-off. Best game would be Plymouth in '85.

This.

And despite managing to be on of the 48,000 that crammed into the SB the night Sir Robin scored *that* goal, the match would have been unmemorable without it.... Beating Barnsley 7-0 at EP was far more satisfying.

[Philly Flyer]

Best/most poignant game was beating Bristol City 4-1 in Nov 2008 at Ashton Gate. Cisse's goal right in front of us was awesome. It was my first visit back to Ashton gate since 1973 and watching my adult team beat my childhood team and thinking at the time we would bounce straight back up to the Prem was pretty special.

[Caskeys Lovechild]

Peterborough 1 - 2 Reading.

All I remember is that it was a terrible game, until a last gasp substitution. Darius Henderson, produced two identical headers, to win the game 1-2 in the last minute - I saw the first one, and had just stopped hyperventilating in time to see the second goal go in..... I pretty much forgot to breathe for 10 minutes after.

[Ark Royal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGCgRUXxQWY

Brilliant. Still gives me chills. I could watch that reverse ball from Quinny to Gilkes for the fourth over and over again.

[grey_squirrel]

Cannot think of a game that comes anywhere close to that Plymouth game. Just an astonishing turn around.

First versus second as Plymouth arrived on the back of an impressive fourteen-match unbeaten run. Plymouth took an early lead through Lee Hodges and extended the lead with a Steve Cooper penalty on the stroke of half-time. John Clayton made it three just after half-time and at that point several people around us on the Tilehurst End left. What happened next changed the game.

Ian Branfoot replaced the ineffective Michael Gilkes with Glen Burvill and Kevin Bremner went up front. 'Mad Max' immediately made an impact. In the 65th minute he was brought down in the box and Dean Horrix made it 1-3. In the 79th minute, a Bremner run and cross from the right was pushed home by Trevor Senior. Then, a minute later, he headed on a Gary Peters free kick and Senior looped a header over the keeper to make it 3-3 and it was pandemonium. Roared on by a crowd sensing victory and Argyle players looking like rabbits caught in headlights, Bremner forced home the winner in the 83rd minute after Senior's shot had been blocked.

Three goals in four minutes and as Andy Rogers ran the ball into the corner flag in front of the South Bank, Gorden Nisbet earned a red card for trying to lump Rogers into the crowd.

By this time we were going rabid on the Tilehurst End and I was literally shaking when the final whistle blew. We could not believe what we had just witnessed. Me and my uncle stumbled up to the supporters' club shed at the top of the terrace to get coach tickets for the Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers Christmas away matches.

Without doubt the greatest game I have ever witnessed.

Ditto that!
Other thoughts of the game
Didn't we go 21 points clear at the top?
First and last time I had ever witnessed the whole of the Town End of the Southbank singing "You're not singing anymore" - including a very old boy next to me pointing his walking stick inthe direction of the away end- especially gratifying after them singing "Jingle bells" at us for most of the game
The post match celebration "drink a pint for each player!"

[Ark Royal]

Cannot think of a game that comes anywhere close to that Plymouth game. Just an astonishing turn around.

First versus second as Plymouth arrived on the back of an impressive fourteen-match unbeaten run. Plymouth took an early lead through Lee Hodges and extended the lead with a Steve Cooper penalty on the stroke of half-time. John Clayton made it three just after half-time and at that point several people around us on the Tilehurst End left. What happened next changed the game.

Ian Branfoot replaced the ineffective Michael Gilkes with Glen Burvill and Kevin Bremner went up front. 'Mad Max' immediately made an impact. In the 65th minute he was brought down in the box and Dean Horrix made it 1-3. In the 79th minute, a Bremner run and cross from the right was pushed home by Trevor Senior. Then, a minute later, he headed on a Gary Peters free kick and Senior looped a header over the keeper to make it 3-3 and it was pandemonium. Roared on by a crowd sensing victory and Argyle players looking like rabbits caught in headlights, Bremner forced home the winner in the 83rd minute after Senior's shot had been blocked.

Three goals in four minutes and as Andy Rogers ran the ball into the corner flag in front of the South Bank, Gorden Nisbet earned a red card for trying to lump Rogers into the crowd.

By this time we were going rabid on the Tilehurst End and I was literally shaking when the final whistle blew. We could not believe what we had just witnessed. Me and my uncle stumbled up to the supporters' club shed at the top of the terrace to get coach tickets for the Bournemouth and Bristol Rovers Christmas away matches.

Without doubt the greatest game I have ever witnessed.

Ditto that!
Other thoughts of the game
Didn't we go 21 points clear at the top?
First and last time I had ever witnessed the whole of the Town End of the Southbank singing "You're not singing anymore" - including a very old boy next to me pointing his walking stick inthe direction of the away end- especially gratifying after them singing "Jingle bells" at us for most of the game
The post match celebration "drink a pint for each player!"

On 31st December 1985, our record was: P24 W 20 D 2 L 2 GF 42 GA 20 Pts 62 with identical 10-1-1 home and away records. We were NINETEEN points clear of second-placed Derby. That was as good as it got - the following day we lost 2-1 at home to Gillingham.

We needed that cushion, because we did not win another league game until the 3-2 win at Swansea on 22nd February. That was also the game where Andy Rogers nearly died after swallowing his tongue.

[RoyallyFcuked]

Best Reading game ive ever been to was probably Forest 3-4 Reading (2010-11), incredible game and atmosphere, our fans were magnificent that day.

Also our first ever Premier League game against Boro where we came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, that was simply an amazing day, as was our 6-0 thrashing of West Ham the same season, unforgettable stuff.

[bracksroyal10]

Reading vs Cardiff 1-1

We had played pretty poorly for the majority of that match. Then up popped Federici to score in the dying moments. The combination of it being the last moments of the game an equaliser, the fact our keeper had scored and finally just purely because it was in front of the the scummiest fans in the league.

[fruits]

Definately Reading 4 Plymouth 3.
The game was a week or so before Christmas and I remember saying to a friend "Reading won´t score even if we play till Christmas Day", that was after an hour or so, I also commented that I had never been so cold in my life, it was a freezing day and Plymouth was outplaying us in every department,half an hour later(4 goals) was as warm as toast and thought life couldn´t get much better. That I suppose is what football the great game it is.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Reading vs Cardiff 1-1

We had played pretty poorly for the majority of that match. Then up popped Federici to score in the dying moments. The combination of it being the last moments of the game an equaliser, the fact our keeper had scored and finally just purely because it was in front of the the scummiest fans in the league.

A brilliant last 5 minutes, I'll grant you - but the 85 before that were all pretty

[3 veesinarow]

I can't claim to have seen the Plymouth game, so I won't...

The Bolton game in 95 at EP was outstanding for every reason you can think of.

Sticking half a dozen past West Ham was just pure entertainment.

Routing Cardiff in the play-off second leg was just...

The 4-3 at Forest recently was just breathless.

The 4-2 over Wolves after McGhee left was

But for me, nothing can ever surpass the cup win at Anfield...freezing night, blizzards all around, awful journey to get there, hardy bunch of fans who just went completely mental when we scored and Gunnarsson's nutmeg - a single moment to rival Friday's volley, I think. I tried to call the wife after the game, but nothing came out of my throat except a high-pitched gurgling croak as the combination of the bitter air and 120 minutes of shouting had made my voice give up the ghost.